From Barnes & Noble
In July 1945 the U.S.S. Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese sub, and sank in a mere fourteen minutes, spilling more than a thousand men into deadly, shark-infested waters. The survivors struggled to stay alive, some of them without life jackets. Meanwhile, the Navy had lost track of the ship's whereabouts. Ultimately, only 317 men were rescued, making it the worst disaster in U.S. naval history. The Navy made the ship's captain a scapegoat. The sailors who served under him fought valiantly to clear his name, to no avail. It wasn't until the intervention of an eleven year old boy named Hunter Scott -- and his history fair project -- that the tide turned for the Indianapolis.
From the Publisher
Just after midnight on July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The ship sank in 14 minutes. More than 1,000 men were thrown into shark-infested waters. Those who survived the fiery sinking—some injured, many without life jackets—struggled to stay afloat in shark-infested waters as they waited for rescue. But the United States Navy did not even know they were missing. The Navy needed a scapegoat for this disaster. So it court-martialed the captain for “hazarding” his ship. The survivors of the Indianapolis knew that their captain was not to blame. For 50 years they worked to clear his name, even after his untimely death. But the navy would not budge—until an 11-year-old boy named Hunter Scott entered the picture. His history fair project on the Indianapolis soon became a crusade to restore the captain’s good name and the honor of the men who served under him.
Publishers Weekly
Left for Dead by Pete Nelson explains how the research of 11-year-old Hunter Scott who was inspired by a passing reference in the movie Jaws uncovered the truth behind a historic WWII naval disaster aboard the USS Indianapolis and led to the reversal of the wrongful court martial of the ship's captain. A full-color photographic inset and a preface by the now 17-year-old Scott round out the volume. (May) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Rosemary A. Chase
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Children's Literature
This remarkable true account of a young boy's fight for justice on behalf of a group of World War II survivors of the greatest naval wartime tragedy is at once appalling, gripping, and uplifting. From the descriptions of the men who fought off sharks in the ocean to the accounts of commanding officers who defended the Navy's stance, the first person statements and photographs make this an all together unbelievable war story. At age 11, Hunter Scott set out to research the June 30, 1945 sinking of the USS Indianapolis for his history fair project. Pete Nelson recounts the story of the attack on the Indianapolis as well as Hunter's quest to correct the unjust court martial of Captain McVay. After winning the local competition in the spring of 1997, the project was displayed in the Pensacola office of Hunter's congressman, where crowds of World War II veterans gathered to see it. National exposure of Hunter's work on Tom Brokaw's weekly "American Spirit" segment gave momentum to his mission to correct the injustice. Hunter's perseverance in the face of considerable resistance on the part of the Navy and U.S. Government presents a mighty example of honor. The narrative is probably too graphic for the very young, but perfect for young adults searching for real life adventure and aspiring researchers in sixth grade and above. 2003, Delacourt/Random House, Ages 12 up.
Patti Sylvester Spencer
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VOYA
Thanks to the curiosity of a Florida sixth-grader, Hunter Scott, crew members of the ill-fated World War II ship USS Indianapolis had the opportunity to reveal to Congress truths about the ship's sinking and the captain's unwarranted court martial. In the preface, Scott, now in high school, explains how viewing Jaws proved the catalyst for a History Day project and a lengthy journey toward justice. Some of the chilling statistics associated with Captain McVay and the rapid sinking of a torpedoed ship near the end of the war include countless shark attacks, 5 days in treacherous waters, and merely 317 survivors from a crew of 1,197. Nelson borrows letters, photographs, translations, and research notes from Scott to chronicle how a school project uncovered untruths, righted a wrong, and returned reputation to a dedicated seaman. The tale is compelling, dreadful, and amazing. Photographs illustrating faces of young adults, who in 1945 faced horrors unspoken for decades, contrast with their pictures as near-octogenarians given voice by Scott's inquiry. Unfortunately, Nelson does not footnote or index the volume—an irony given the competition's demands for documentation. Narrating Scott's process in ferreting out the truth deserves specific documentation, as do readers. Nelson's prose is fluent, at times poignant; thorough documentation would not mar it. Readers might also appreciate more glimpses of primary sources—the letters, transcripts of interviews, and more—crucial elements of History Day projects compiled by middle and high schoolers. Maps and photographs are meaningful additions to this tribute to inquiry and its astonishing reward. Photos. Maps. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P M J S (Readablewithout serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2002, Delacorte, 180p,
Raymond Puffer, PhD.
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KLIATT
The sinking of the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) and the subsequent injustices connected with that wartime tragedy just will not go away. Several recent titles, nearly all of them bestsellers, confirm the public's continuing fascination with the case. When the heavy cruiser was ambushed and sunk by a Japanese submarine in the waning days of WW II, the warship was but one of more than 400 US Navy vessels destroyed during the war. Out of all those unfortunate captains, however, the commanding officer of the Indianapolis was the only one to be court-martialed for the loss of his ship. Widespread suspicions that the Navy's high command made Captain Charles McVay a scapegoat for its own egregious blunders have continued to the present day. What sets this book apart from the others is its straightforward and unadorned style, the result of its origin in a middle-schooler's curiosity. Eleven-year-old Hunter Scott stumbled across the story of the naval catastrophe while he was learning basic research techniques from his graduate student father. The relative scarcity of information on the subject soon intrigued both father and son, and led them to attend a reunion of USS Indianapolis survivors. The younger Scott interviewed the graying sailors and put together a highly successful project for his school's History Fair. This in turn resulted in collaboration with a professional writer and hence to the present volume. Pete Nelson was wise enough to cast his narrative at a basic level that will entice younger readers yet not bore most adults who pick up the book. He recounts the tale from the first-person viewpoints of several of the youthful sailors who managed to survive the disasteronly to suffer tropical sun, thirst, shark attacks and a shamefully delayed rescue attempt. To be sure, the whole shameful episode was nowhere near as "hidden" and "obscured" as the researchers make out, but neither had the Navy ever encouraged publicity about it. The book is far from impartial, and Nelson overlooks none of the drama and pathos, but it is a good way for intermediate students to make their first foray into serious history. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2002, Random House, 201p. illus. bibliog. index., Ages 12 to 18.
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-World War II aficionados will find this title both interesting and, at times, appalling. Nelson essentially relates two stories at the same time. One is of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Alternately, he tells of a junior high student's crusade to exonerate the wrongfully court-martialed captain of the ship. In the preface, Hunter Scott relates how, as an 11-year-old, his curiosity about the Indy was piqued by a shark story in the movie Jaws. While seeking more information about it, he learned of the gross errors and oversights that effectively doomed the ship by sending it directly into the path of a Japanese submarine. The U.S. Navy was not willing to admit that anyone except Captain McVay made any errors. The author describes the horrors the survivors endured as they waited for four and a half days to be rescued, which came about only because of an accidental sighting. The text also describes how the combined efforts of Scott, several of the survivors, national media attention, and several members of Congress posthumously exonerated McVay of any charges. The text is well written and well documented. Navy portraits and present-day photos of the survivors are included, as is a second section that shows the Indy, a map of the Pacific and the scene of the attack, and people who helped Scott. This excellent presentation fills a void in most World War II collections.-Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
On July 30, 1945, after transporting the atomic bomb to Tinian for the Enola Gay, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed in shark-infested waters and sunk. In the largest wartime loss of life for the navy, 880 of the ship's 1,197 men found themselves in the water, 250 miles from the closest land. When they were eventually rescued, only 317 men had survived. How had it happened that a ship as important as the USS Indianapolis had been unescorted in waters where Japanese submarines were known to lurk, and Captain McVay had not been notified? Why was Captain McVay court-martialed, when accountability clearly extended beyond his role as captain? Nelson is telling two stories here: the wartime story of the USS Indianapolis and the story of Hunter Scott, a young boy doing a history project for school. Scott got interested in the Indianapolis after watching Jaws with his dad, and a character in the movie tells of the Indianapolis and the shark attacks on the men. Fascinated, Scott chose this as his topic for a history fair. He did research, wrote letters to survivors, and began to feel something was not quite right in the story, that Captain McVay and his officers were more heroic than negligent, and the record should be set straight. The story of the USS Indianapolis is fascinating, and Nelson capably puts that story in the context of the war and the events leading up to it. Less successful is the melding of the two stories of ship and young researcher. The story of Hunter Scott sandwiches the war story, but it is important in its own right, and Scott, along with survivors and a congressman, plays a key role in the exoneration of Captain McVay. As engaging as the best historical fiction, this willappeal to any reader who likes history and a good story at the same time. (photographs, maps, bibliography) (Nonfiction. YA)
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