Ordeal by Sea

Ordeal by Sea, first published in 1963, is the moving account of the World War Two-era cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis and her crew. On July 30, 1945, after delivering parts for the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the U.S. base at Tinian, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese submarine I-58. The Indianapolis disappeared beneath the surface of the Pacific in a mere 12 minutes. Of 1,196 crewmen aboard, about 300 went down with the ship. The remaining 900 men faced exposure, dehydration, and shark attacks while floating in the water; there were few lifeboats and almost no food or water. The Navy learned of the sinking when survivors were spotted four days later by the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on routine patrol. Only 317 crewmen would survive in what remains the worst single loss of life at sea in the history of the U.S. Navy. Author Thomas Helm served on the Indianapolis before the war and conducted numerous interviews with surviving crew to prepare the book. Included are 16 pages of photographs and a complete list of the crew and their fate. (Note that this print edition does not contain a later addition by Capt. William Toti, USN, who discussed efforts to clear the name of Indianapolis Captain Charles McVay.)