Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II - Tapa blanda

Zuckoff transforms impressive research into a deft narrative that brings the saga of the survivors to life. His access to journal accounts, letters, photos, military records, and interviews with the eyewitnesses allows for an almost hour-by-hour account of the crash and rescue, along with vivid portraits of his main subjects. (Publishers Weekly)

Zuckoff delivers a remarkable survival story. . . . In this well-crafted book, Zuckoff turns the long-forgotten episode into an unusually exciting narrative. . . . Because of Zuckoff 's successful re-creation of the grueling month-long experiences of the survivors. . . readers will devour the epilogue to learn what happened in ensuing decades to the story's principals. . . . Polished, fast-paced and immensely readable--ready for the big screen. (Kirkus Reviews)

Energetic and empathetic, Zuckoff delivers a page-turner for WWII readers. (Booklist)

Near the end of World War II, American airmen stationed in the South Pacific found a secluded tropical valley in Dutch New Guinea where Army maps showed only mountains. On a Sunday afternoon in May 1945, a sightseeing trip over the valley carried fifteen Army officers and enlisted men and nine members of the Women's Army Corps. When the plane crashed into a jungle-covered mountain, nineteen passengers were killed and two mortally wounded. But somehow three survived: John McCollom, a lieutenant whose twin brother died in the crash, Ken Decker, a sergeant who suffered terrible head wounds, and Margaret Hastings, a beautiful member of the WAC whose own shoes were burnt off in the fiery explosion and had to use those of her dead best friend.

Hurt, unarmed, and afraid, they prayed for deliverance from their wounds, from the elements, and from the spear-carrying Dani tribesmen who roamed the mountains naked but for long gourds covering their genitals. John, Ken, and Margaret hiked through the jungle for three days before they were spotted by search planes above. But the Army had no idea how to rescue them. Until a plan took shape, a cowboy colonel ordered a crack unit of paratroopers and medics to parachute into the valley to protect them.

Meanwhile, the outsiders arrival fulfilled an ancient prophecy for the Dani: Legends foretold light-skinned spirits would climb down a rope from the sky to herald the End of Days. Now the natives had to decide whether to befriend the spirits or kill them.

What followed was perhaps the greatest untold story of World War II, a gripping tale of survival, discovery, anthropology, heroism, and a near-impossible rescue mission. For seven weeks, John, Ken, and Margaret experienced one remarkable adventure after another-- some terrifying, some enlightening, some comic. And Margaret chronicled it all in the detailed shorthand diary she kept during their time in the valley, an invaluable resource from which the author references and quotes directly.

Throughout this time, the Army's Far East Command staff struggled to devise a rescue plan vacillating between two 100-mile marches, one way through headhunter territory and the other through 10,000 Japanese troops. The idea they eventually settled on could have been pulled from a comic book: A lightweight glider would be dropped on the floor of the valley, then with everyone onboard, an army plane would swoop down to hook a cable attached to the glider and pull it up above the jungle. Any wind could have easily thrown both the plane and the glider into the mountains on all sides. A rogue filmmaker with a checkered past as a B-movie actor and a jewel thief parachuted in to capture the daring attempts to pull off the rescue. And the Dani chose to spare their lives and aided in their descent from the mountain into the lush region known as Hidden Valley but nicknamed Shangri-La.