Lost at Sea

Eddie Rickenbacker's Twenty-Four Days Adrift on the Pacific: A World War II Tale of Courage and Faith

De: John Wukovits

Narrado por: Nathan Agin

Duración: 8 h y 55 m

Resumen del Editor

The forgotten story of American war hero Eddie Rickenbacker's crash landing in the Pacific during World War II, and his incredible twenty-three-day crusade to keep his crew alive

In the darkest days of World War II, an unlikely civilian was sent to deliver a letter from Washington to General MacArthur in New Guinea. Eddie Rickenbacker was a genuine icon, a pioneer of aviation, the greatest fighter pilot of the First World War, recipient of the Medal of Honor, who’d retired to become a renowned race car driver. Now in his fifties, one of the most admired men in America, Rickenbacker was again serving his nation, riding high above the Pacific as a passenger aboard a B-17.

But soon the plane was forced to crash-land on the ocean surface, leaving its eight occupants adrift in tiny rubber life rafts, hundreds of miles from the nearest speck of land. Lacking fresh water and with precious little food, the men faced days of unrelenting sun, followed by nights shivering in the cold, fighting pangs of hunger, exhaustion, and thirst, all the while circled by sharks. Each prayed to see a friendly vessel on the horizon, and dreaded the arrival of a Japanese warship. Meanwhile, as the US Navy scoured the South Pacific, American radio and newspapers back home parsed every detail of Rickenbacker's disappearance, and an adoring public awaited news of his fate.

Using survivors’ accounts and contemporary records, award-winning author John Wukovits brings to life a gripping story of survival, leadership, and faith in a time of crisis.

©2023 John Wukovits (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Wukovits delivers a detailed account of their suffering from maddening thirst, starvation, burning sun during the day, bitter-cold, wet nights, and painful injuries from the crash.... [The] author shows how Rickenbacker refused to lose hope, encouraging and often bullying the others to maintain morale.... A gripping survival story.” —Kirkus

“Historian Wukovits delivers an immersive account of wartime disaster and survival.... Drawing largely from survivors’ accounts, Wukovits viscerally describes their ordeal and conveys the miraculous nature of the outcome. Readers will be gripped.” —Publishers Weekly

“In Lost at Sea, acclaimed historian John Wukovits has crafted a harrowing tale of survival against all odds as eight men, including famed aviator Eddie Rickenbacker, battle for their lives in rubber rafts in the vast Pacific Ocean during World War II. In his adept hands, readers will feel the hunger, thirst, and fear that consumed them as well as relish in the courage and faith that helped them persevere as the days turned to weeks beneath a blistering sun. This is a gripping thriller—and without a doubt, one of the best books I have read in years.” —James M. Scott, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Black Snow and Rampage