Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Book
Review: After finishing this amazing page turner, I was left stunned and breathless. The harrowing events that the sailors faced made me realize not only their courage to surive, but their courage to protect their country. I was even more amazed that after all of this bravery the Navy had the nerve to accuse McVay of something that was out of his control. My heart went out to McVay and the men of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. This is an amazing book that everyone should read at some point during their lives. Stanton paints a beautiful portrait of America's heros and leaves the reader with a deep moral lesson on how to live bravely.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating subject, poorly written
Review: As others, the word "boys" repeatedly applied to the enlisted men, as though they were schoolkids - sometimes alternating in the same sentence with "men" - became more and more irritating; idiotic title for one chapter: "Genocide"; Japanese submarine machine gun existed only to kill survivors (also mentioned by someone else) - very shallow and self-important writing. Well, I'll say this for it, I read it all the way through, more or less.
Rating:
Summary: Buy the Hardcover and pass it on...
Review: Everybody ought to read this book about real events and real men. This book is just riveting!!!! All young people should read this book and see what the Navy was made of and the character of these men.
The writing is great---to explain...not great writing, but greatly written in that the author never over shadows the characters of the story...he doesn't judge or gush either. He tells a story woven together by their words...
WOW.
Lancha
Rating: 
Summary: page-turning history
Review: I first heard about the USS Indianapolis in the movie Jaws and later came across references to it in history books, usually those about the atomic bombs. It's a gripping tale in itself, and Stanton does it--and the young men who survived the sinking--great justice. He tries to give it historical weight with some footnotes and light discussion of the sources, but the book is almost pure narrative, which Stanton pens excitingly with a clear eye to the individuals who endured the ordeal of their ship going down and spent days afloat. It was harrowing: sharks, no food, no water, few lifeboats, dehydration-induced hallucinations. And Stanton captures the drama, the fear, the horror--and the joy of being rescued. Stripped of the (important) controversy about who was responsible for the ship's whereabouts being unknown, this is a story of human courage, plain and simple. I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: An excruciating ordeal, wonderfully told
Review: I first remember hearing about the USS Indianapolis when I was a boy from Dr. Lew Haynes, himself...(Dr. Haynes was married to Elizabeth Dodge, my mother's first cousin). Since then the story has remained fresh in my mind as one of the most tragic but in many ways heroic sagas from World War II. Doug Stanton has put together a moving and important account of the ship's sinking and aftermath.Almost sixty years after the ship went down it remains hard to fathom that so many errors could have occurred in not keeping track of the whereabouts of the Indianapolis. The fact that the ship played such a pivotal role just before its demise (the delivery of the atom bomb parts to Tinian) puts the story in an even more macabre light; hundreds of seamen did not live long enough to know the importance of their mission. The stories told by the survivors as they endured shark attacks, blistering sun, a lack of drinking water, fuel oil all around them, broken limbs, delirium, and for most of them, death, is of such shocking proportion that the term "hero" is almost not enough to bestow on each of them. Captain McVay's court-martial and eventual suicide has always been a sad epilogue to the whole chronicle. Stanton tells of the dozens of letters from families of the Indianapolis who for years after the tragedy blamed him for the loss of their loved ones and how McVay carried that with him to his own death. The silver lining to be found in "In Harm's Way" is that survival against incredible odds can and does happen and that we need to be reminded of what it takes to be faced with such adversity. This book is a tribute to the survivors of the Indianapolis and their brethren who perished.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting read for any World War 2 or Disaster Fan
Review: In Harm's Way was an extremely interesting book. It is filled with small details that really bring out the emotions and feelings of the trapped men. By the end of the book, I really felt I had been through the whole disaster and lived. It was simply amazing. The book is detailed enough to keep you interested, but it keeps moving so you don't feel like your in a college lecture. I read this book in High School and loved it. I read it again and loved it; you will too.
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Summary: A fitting tribute to the valor of our naval forces in WWII.
Review: Of all the scenes I have seen in all of the movies I have watched, few stand out in my mind as much as Quint's haunting monologue in "Jaws". In the course of that scene, Quint details the tragic story of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. I saw that scene for the first time as a child. Even today at age 32 the scene sends shivers up my spine. On first viewing, I thought the story of the Indianapolis was made up for dramatic effect. It wasn't until years later that I discovered that this disaster actually happened. Upon learning the truth, I knew this was a book that I had to read. As eerie and horrible as the scene Quint painted in "Jaws" was, the book shows the excrutiating horror of the actual ordeal. Many horror stories have their scariest moments take place at night. What makes this story so harrowing is that the nightmare never ends and it is a true story to boot. The sharks are there night and day, there is no drinking water, no food, oil slicks and dwindling hope of rescue. There is no respite from the death that surrounds these men and threatens to take them at any moment. This book will likely arouse several emotions in the reader: hope and hopelessness, sadness, anger at the U.S. naval command and admiration for the sailors who bore the awful burden of the this mission. Doug Stanton has done a service to the crew of the U.S.S. Indianapolis in making sure that their story is not relegated to being a mere footnote to history. He deserves to be saluted for his fine work as do the men who shared with him what must have been the most difficult, darkest chapter of their lives.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome book
Review: The book is about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the horrors that come to them. It starts when the ship is hit by a torpedo and sinks. Everything that you can think of goes wrong. When they aren't rescued they have to survive in the pacific waters. They have endure shark infested waters and hope they come out alive.
This book is great and is very well written. If you like history and things like this you would love this book. Its thrilling and keeps you wanting to read more. Its suspenseful and a great way to find out what happened to the men on the USS Indianapolis. I know if you read this book that you will most definately enjoy this great book.
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Summary: A terrifying read...
Review: This book, about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at the closing of World War II, will absolutely terrify you. It is incredible to think that the events portrayed in this book actually took place, and even more unbelievable to know that some people actually survived these events. This book is guaranteed to be a fast-reading page-turner. Highly recommended for anyone interested in World War II history or simply looking for an astounding story of danger, heroism, and survival!
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Summary: Truth is stranger than Fiction....
Review: This is an excellent account of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis.This is not a commonly known story.I first heard about this ship in a book "Double-Edged Secret" by W.L.Holmes.That book gave a good understanding of Intelligence in the Pacific Theatre during WW2.In it, there was mention of the possibility that it was known that the sub was in the area of the Indianapolis, but that intelligence was not passed on for fear of comprosmising the knowledge that the US had broken the Japanese codes.See my review on that book dated 5 March 2004.
There are numerous reviews on this book,so I won't express
many of the ideas already covered ,other than to say they are very good and I agree with most of them.
However;after reading both of these books,the mention of ULTRA on page 265 takes on a great importance in the prevention of the loss of the Indianapolis.It's highly possible that secrecy of decoded intelligence overruled all else .Remember the Indianapolis's mission was tied to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.There was nothing of greater secrecy or importance at that time. Much was said in Holmes,s book of the great burden that intelligence placed on those who had to make decisions of how much could be told when sending forces IN HARM,S WAY.
This book shows that ,particularly in times of war,many things are never fully known.
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