In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors, by Doug Stanton

In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors
by Doug Stanton
with a new afterword by the author
Now available in a quality trade paperback edition

Published by Owl Books
May 2003
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Drawing on new material and extensive interviews with survivors, In Harm's Way relates the tragedy of the USS Indianapolis not as a history of war, but as a portrait of men battling the sea. Interweaving the stories of three survivors -- Charles Butler McVay, the captain; Lewis Haynes, the ship's doctor; and Private Giles McCoy, 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.

"Doug Stanton has done this country a service by bringing the incredible yet almost-forgotten story of the USS Indianapolis to heart-pounding life. Do yourself a favor. Read In Harm's Way." --James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers

"For millions of people everywhere, World War II had moments, hours, days of horror and terror. For Captain Charles McVay and his crew, their five days in the ocean, where they were ripped apart by sharks, were gruesome and terrible almost beyond description. But after painstaking research and a brilliant use of oral history, Doug Stanton has told the tale. He writes carefully and judiciously, with a sense of timing and an eye for the right detail, to make this the most frightening book I've ever read." --Stephen E. Ambrose, author of Nothing Like It in the World

"In Harm's Way is a stunning book. The story of the USS Indianapolis is one of the most harrowing tales of World War II -- and Doug Stanton takes you through every terrifying moment in a vivid and utterly memorable account." --Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation

"A thoroughly researched, powerfully written account of a nightmare at sea, one of the most poignant tragedies and injustices of World War II. I was struck throughout by the extraordinary heroism of the marines and sailors who survived, all the more remarkable because they do not see it on themselves." --Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

"A haunting story of valor, iniquity, and young men in peril on the sea. Once the Indianapolis steams into the crosshairs of the Japanese submarine I-58, In Harm's Way is impossible to put down. Doug Stanton's account of the Indy's sinking and the harrowing aftermath is as infuriating, mesmerizing, and heartbreaking as any tale yet told of the great war in the Pacific." --Rick Atkinson, author of The Long Gray Line and Crusade