A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II
Starred review from March 14, 2011
Zuckoff (Ponzi's Scheme) skillfully narrates the story of a plane crash and rescue mission in an uncharted region of New Guinea near the end of WWII. Of the 24 American soldiers who flew from their base on a sightseeing tour to a remote valley, only three survived the disaster, including one WAC. As the three waited for help, they faced death from untreated injuries and warlike local tribesmen who had never seen white people before and believed them to be dangerous spirits. Even after a company of paratroopers arrived, the survivors still faced a dangerous escape from the valley via "glider snatch." 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. Zuckoff also delves into the Stone Age culture of the New Guinea tribesmen and the often humorous misapprehensions the Americans and natives have about each other. In our contemporary world of eco-tourism and rain-forest destruction, Zuckoff's book gives a window on a more romantic, and naïve, era.
Starred review from February 1, 2011
Zuckoff (journalism, Boston Univ.; Robert Altman: The Oral Biography) presents an engaging story about the survival and ultimate rescue of three American service people who crashed in the dense jungles of New Guinea toward the end of World War II. While that is exciting enough in its own right, what makes Zuckoff's story an essential read is the interaction between these survivors and the indigenous tribe they encountered after crashing. Humorous and at times dangerous misunderstandings arose between the Americans and the indigenous people during the 46-day ordeal in the jungle. The tribe had never encountered white people before and assumed their "guests," including a young female WAC corporal, were spirits whose arrival fulfilled a prophecy of the end of the world. In a sense, this prophecy was true as after the rescue and the war, the Americans, Europeans, and Indonesians returned and changed the way of life that these tribes had followed for centuries. VERDICT This excellent book will be enjoyed by anyone who loves true adventure stories of disaster and rescue such as Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.--Michael Farrell, Reformed Theological Seminary Lib., Oviedo, FL
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from January 15, 2011
Former Boston Globe reporter Zuckoff (Journalism/Boston Univ.; Robert Altman: The Oral Biography, 2009, etc.) delivers a remarkable survival story.
On May 13, 1945, an American transport plane carrying 24 servicemen and women crashed into a mountain in the tropical jungles of Dutch New Guinea (now Papua), leaving three survivors. Learning about the event while researching another subject, the author recognized the ingredients of a terrific tale: a beautiful young WAC, a hidden valley reminiscent of the Shangri-La in James Hilton's Lost Horizon, primitive tribal people and a daring air rescue. In this well-crafted book, Zuckoff turns the long-forgotten episode into an unusually exciting narrative. Drawing on the young WAC survivor Margaret Hastings' diary as well as journals and interviews, the author hones in on life at the U.S. military base in Hollandia, on the northern coast of uncharted New Guinea; a soldier's chance discovery a year earlier of Baliem Valley, a verdant area about 150 miles into the interior, with its hundreds of native villages surrounded by gardens; and the doomed flight of officers and enlisted personnel out on a joy ride to view this much-talked-about land of Stone Age people from the air. Because of Zuckoff's successful re-creation of the grueling month-long experiences of the survivors--badly burned, with gangrenous wounds, often despairing that search planes wouldn't find them under the dense jungle canopy--and their wary encounters with farmer-warrior natives (who turned out to be friendly; they thought the white visitors were spirits), readers will devour the epilogue to learn what happened in ensuing decades to the story's principals. With candy for nutrition and lacking medicine, the survivors make their way to an open plain, where planes drop supplies and medical technicians. The dangerous rescue by glider planes has all the makings of a breathtaking movie scene. Zuckoff weaves in interesting digressions about reporters who covered the story, a filmmaker parachuted in to make a documentary and the rich boy/amateur anthropologist who visited the valley in the late '30s to collect specimens.
Polished, fast-paced and immensely readable--ready for the big screen.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
April 15, 2011
A survivors story from WWII, the tale Zuckoff relays contains a story line seemingly lifted from Hollywood. In a land of cannibals who wear nothing but penis gourds, a damsel in distress hopes for salvation from intrepid heroes. This scenario of an American plane crash in New Guinea in 1945 provoked prodigious publicity at the time, but the entire, true drama has never before been as comprehensively presented as it is here. Using military files, the damsels diary, interviews, and a visit to the region, Zuckoff integrates all the elements into a mesmerizing narrative. It begins at a backwater air base, where apparent discovery of a New Guinea tribe inspired excitement to see the Stone Age from the air. The flight, carrying 24 passengers, hit a mountain, and only 3 survived. Switching to the tribes reception of these spirits from the sky, Zuckoff explains how the survivors fit into the tribes legends, establishing a cultural-contact theme for Zuckoffs ensuing recounting of a remarkably unorthodox rescue operation. Energetic and empathetic, Zuckoff delivers a page-turner for WWII readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)