• Lost in Shangri-La

  • A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II
  • By: Mitchell Zuckoff
  • Narrated by: Mitchell Zuckoff
  • Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (2,592 ratings)

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Lost in Shangri-La  By  cover art

Lost in Shangri-La

By: Mitchell Zuckoff
Narrated by: Mitchell Zuckoff
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Editorial reviews

Lost In Shangri- La by Mitchell Zuckoff is a blockbuster tale Hollywood couldn’t better. An American military plane crashes in an uncharted and barely accessible part of New Guinea leaving only three survivors, one of them a brave and fetching blonde member of the Women’s Army Corps. The survivors and natives share a fascinating rapprochement, despite the tribe’s propensity to war.

Zuckoff tells the tale with an unusual focus on the personalities randomly thrust together and the collision of stunningly different worlds. His writing and delivery let the drama speak for itself: his mellow voice and almost conversational style avoids histrionics at the climactic moments, yet still conveys the characters’ emotional journeys.

Events take off, literally in 1945 in Dutch New Guinea, where Americans still at war with the Japanese were stationed. Twenty-four soldiers and members of the Women’s Army Corps are treated by their boss to a recreational flight over “Shangri-La”, a storied part of the island recently discovered.

Flying over a narrow valley on the mountainous island (which had already foundered 600 planes during the war), treacherous terrain and human error result in the crash, killing all but three on board: Corporal Margaret Hastings, a 30-year-old WAC enlistee from upstate New York, who sustained leg burns; Sergeant Kenneth Decker, whose stoicism wasn’t fully realized until the severity of his wounds were discovered days later, and, finally, Lieutenant John McCollom who, while physically the heartiest, was arguably the most wounded, having left the remains of his twin brother in the wreckage.

Zuckoff sensitively narrates the travails of the immediate aftermath when the trio, living on scant water and hard candies, drag themselves through the jungle to a clearing where they will be more visible to search planes.

But they are first spotted by natives, fierce-looking and, for all the survivors know, cannibals. Drawing heavily on Margaret’s diary, Zuckoff seems to share the sense of wonder, as well as the initial condescension, curiosity, and fear shared by the survivors. And, through his research with the tribesmen and their progeny about the long-ago event, he helps us grasp the culture and reactions of the tribe, who believed the survivors to be gods or spirits of death to be honored. The tribe’s almost religious commitment to making war makes the relationships that grew between the two groups that much more remarkable. Margaret and a regal, gracious tribeswoman find a deep bond, with nary a comprehensible word between them.

After five weeks together, the rescue operation is ready. Zuckoff sets it up with all the challenges of logistics and aeronautic risks, telling a heart-stopping narrative from the arrival of paratroopers through the seemingly doomed attempts to “snatch” the survivors to safety.

For all the swashbuckling, exotic appeal of this historic episode, the most moving sections were the intimacies Zuckoff sought out from the survivors and shares here like secret, treasured knowledge the snippets of letters sent home; details of families’ idiosyncrasies, and especially, the fascinatingly ordinary lives the survivors lived out, after the event Zuckoff reveals in all its extraordinariness. Elly Schull Meeks

Publisher's summary

On May 13, 1945, 24 American servicemen and WACs boarded a transport plane for a sightseeing trip over “Shangri-La,” a beautiful and mysterious valley deep within the jungle-covered mountains of Dutch New Guinea .Unlike the peaceful Tibetan monks of James Hilton’s best-selling novel Lost Horizon, , this Shangri-La was home to spear-carrying tribesmen, warriors rumored to be cannibals.

But the pleasure tour became an unforgettable battle for survival when the plane crashed. Miraculously, three passengers pulled through. Margaret Hastings, barefoot and burned, had no choice but to wear her dead best friend’s shoes. John McCollom, grieving the death of his twin brother also aboard the plane, masked his grief with stoicism. Kenneth Decker, too, was severely burned and suffered a gaping head wound.

Emotionally devastated, badly injured, and vulnerable to the hidden dangers of the jungle, the trio faced certain death unless they left the crash site. Caught between man-eating headhunters and enemy Japanese, the wounded passengers endured a harrowing hike down the mountainside - a journey into the unknown that would lead them straight into a primitive tribe of superstitious natives who had never before seen a white man - or woman.

Drawn from interviews, declassified U.S. Army documents, personal photos and mementos, a survivor’s diary, a rescuer’s journal, and original film footage, Lost in Shangri-La recounts this incredible true-life adventure for the first time. Mitchell Zuckoff reveals how the determined trio - dehydrated, sick, and in pain - traversed the dense jungle to find help; how a brave band of paratroopers risked their own lives to save the survivors; and how a cowboy colonel attempted a previously untested rescue mission to get them out.

By trekking into the New Guinea jungle, visiting remote villages, and rediscovering the crash site, Zuckoff also captures the contemporary natives’ remembrances of the long-ago day when strange creatures fell from the sky. A riveting work of narrative nonfiction that vividly brings to life an odyssey at times terrifying, enlightening, and comic, Lost in Shangri-La is a thrill ride from beginning to end.

©2011 Mitchell Zuckoff (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Lost in Shangri-La

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Terrible

I kept listening in the hopes that it would get better. Unfortunately, it never did.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Horrible. Returned.

After listening to unbroken, I wanted another book set in the pacific and world war 2. I wanted to like the book but couldn’t even get to the rescue part. It should have been a great story but the writing is tedious with too much detail, frequently about tangents one doesn’t really care about. Despite all the background and details about the individuals, I never got to the point where I truly cared about them. I was just too irritated with the writing. The reading is amateur. Don’t waste your time.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Didn't meet expectations.

What would have made Lost in Shangri-La better?

I tried to get into it, but got lost in the minutia. I kept waiting for the story to develop into something more exciting like the description, but it never came.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

For me, it was a lackluster performance that put me to sleep.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Too many extraneous details.

Author was not good as the audiobook narrator.

This is a true story - a good story. I liked the substance of it. But I’m not sure I liked the things the author chose to put in the story. It was more like journalism than a story. I’ve read other authors who take facts and make them into an engaging story. This one needed some changes if that’s the goal. But I was very engaged during the last 2/3.

My complaints:

1. The author did too much background detail on various characters who were not the main characters. It was kind of boring in the beginning. It was hard to keep track of the many characters. Some of the back stories were about people who died in the plane crash. That was a nice thing to do, but it didn’t help the story. He did a back story about women who died at other times and places during World War II - that did not interest me. However I did enjoy his story about the history of gliders starting with Hitler’s use. Although it was a tangent from the main story.

2. I wish the author talked more about the natives and their beliefs and habits. One thing that continues to trouble me: at various times during a female’s life the men chop off her fingers. By the time they are old, some of them have only thumbs left. And they wanted to chop off Margaret’s fingers. She was one of the plane survivors. She got away before they could. Apparently this was a way to appease the gods. The men fought other men with spears. If you don’t have fingers you can’t hold a spear. Was this a way to keep women from having power over men? Another horrible custom of men subjugating women.

3. There are pictures in the paperback book. The author should have made a PDF of those pictures to go with the audiobook.

4. The author should not narrate his own book. He is not a professional narrator. He read it like he was reading an encyclopedia - at times like he wanted to get done with it. At times his voice had a whining quality.

Narrative mode: 3rd person.
Genre: nonfiction.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding Read!

Where does Lost in Shangri-La rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'd rank this book very high--probably in the top ten for sure.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lost in Shangri-La?

I loved the way the author put me on the edge of my seat with deliberate tension as he recreated the events in the book--particularly the plain crash and then the glider rescue.

Have you listened to any of Mitchell Zuckoff’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I like the current title.

Any additional comments?

Nope.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fluff

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone desperately bored.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Dull.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Mitchell Zuckoff?

Several. My favorite is Simon Prebble.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disgust.

Any additional comments?

I'm so sick of a plethora of background information being used as filler for short stories! This story could have been told (with a better narrator as well ) in a much more concise and exciting way.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Adventure Story

If you could sum up Lost in Shangri-La in three words, what would they be?

Unique Literary Experience

What did you like best about this story?

The persistence and originality of the rescuers.

Which scene was your favorite?

When the rescuers arrived in Shangri-La

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were many.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Magnificient

It is almost impossible to believe. But it is so real – as told by the author. How history passed over this wonderful adventure is hard to believe. I think someone in Hollywood is already making a deal to bring this real-life story to the silver screen. The book is wonderfully researched and written. If I have a fault, it is that the stories of the brave Pilipino paratroopers are never really explained beyond the cursory introductions. That is a shame. Otherwise this is one remarkable story that can never be forgotten. Thoroughly recommended.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

don't recommend

As a pilot and WWII buff my husband chose this book to listen to on a recent road trip. We both were dissatisfied. A better writer could have made this story more concise and interesting but it just droned on and on. The narrator also added to the lack luster quality of the listen, as his voice was monotone and draggy. We had to force ourselves to the finish. We've just begun Unbroken and already find it more interesting. Save your money on this one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Book and Very Well Read

This is a very interesting story that easily reads like a novel. It is very well written and very well read. The story has a cast of compelling characters and the author does a good job of developing their individual stories. As a 20th century history buff and particularly WWII, I was quite surprised that I had never heard of this survival story. I hated for the story to end. The author reads the book and I can say without a doubt that he is better than 90% of the professional readers I listen to on other audio books. This book would make an excellent movie. If I knew how to do it, I would contact Steven Speilberg and recommend he look into making it into a movie.

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