In Harm's Way

The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors

By: Doug Stanton

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Winner, 2017 APA Audie Awards - History/Biography

A harrowing, adrenaline-charged account of America's worst naval disaster - and of the heroism of the men who, against all odds, survived.

On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine. An estimated 300 men were killed upon impact; close to 900 sailors were cast into the Pacific Ocean, where they remained undetected by the navy for nearly four days and nights. Battered by a savage sea, they struggled to stay alive, fighting off sharks, hypothermia, and dementia. By the time rescue arrived, all but 317 men had died.

The captain's subsequent court-martial left many questions unanswered: How did the navy fail to realize the Indianapolis was missing? Why was the cruiser traveling unescorted in enemy waters? And, perhaps most amazing of all, how did these 317 men manage to survive?

Interweaving the stories of three survivors - the captain, the ship's doctor, and a young marine - journalist Doug Stanton has brought this astonishing human drama to life in a narrative that is at once immediate and timeless. The definitive account of a little-known chapter in World War II history, In Harm's Way is destined to become a classic tale of war, survival, and extraordinary courage.

©2001 Reed City Productions, LLC.; "Afterword: 2001" copyright 2002 by Reed City Productions, LLC. (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"With a delivery like a seasoned storyteller, Mark Boyett makes this riveting story of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis even more compelling. The combination of Boyett's reading and the author's straightforward style and heavy use of declarative sentences creates a presentation that will fully engage listeners." ( AudioFile)

Failure at the Very Top

I did not think that I would be able to bear to listen to this dreadful story; however, author Doug Stanton presents the grim facts in as palatable a manner as is possible, given the nature of the awful events. It was a bearable listen, even for the faint of heart.

It is clear that Captain Charles McVay conducted himself in a heroic manner throughout the ordeal. It is likewise clear that navy brass cast all blame onto Captain McVay in an attempt to mask their own miserable failure to keep track of one of their ships. Shame on them.

Mark Boyett's narration is excellent.

Please Read

Simply amazing. When you listen to this book, you will be shocked and amazed regarding this story. Bravo to the writer and the narrator.

Riveting and Devastating

This is an unbelievable true naval disaster that I am ashamed to say I did not know even happened. How is it that a US naval ship – a ship that FDR and military brass boarded regularly, a ship that was so important that it secretly ferried components of the “Little Boy” atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima to its mission destination, could be torpedoed by the Japanese with almost 1200 men aboard, sink in 12 minutes, cast 900 men alive into the dark waters, and the US military doesn’t even bother to look for it when it fails to appeared at its assigned destination?

This is a devastating and riveting story of what happened to those men as they prayed and awaited a rescue that was never launched. This book was excellently written and made me care about those men in the water, agonizing when one more of the brotherhood was stolen by a shark or swallowed by the sea. For five days, they are surrounded by water they cannot drink, to do so guarantees certain death. I never imagined I would be so taken by a military story, but I was. I never imagined that so many men would die, but they did.

This is an important story that needs to heard. The US military failed the USS Indianapolis in many ways. It failed to tell them an enemy sub was nearby, it failed to provide them a protective escort, it failed to report their non-arrival, it failed to order a search and recovery mission, and because of these failures, many young men lost their lives unnecessarily. It even failed to place the blame where it really belonged. I ask you to not fail them now. Listen to this true story of the men aboard the USS Indianapolis and honor their sacrifice.

In Harm's Way

One of the most compelling books I have listened to. What a great story about the value of life and how you can always find ways to influence those around you.

Profoundly Enlightening

Great Book of a story that needed to be told in a compassionate approach. As an Army Viet Nam Vet, I considered the Navy’s demand on their enlisted somewhat less than the contribution required by those of us who served in the Army ground forces’. After reading this account and identifying with the armed service’s bureaucratic screw-ups so magnified in the fog of war, I’ve corrected my condescending attitude realizing we were all placed in harm’s way regardless which branch of the service we served. The book touched me deeply in a place buried in the past.