Rating: 
Summary: A Darned Good Read
Review: What makes this book so entertaining and enlightening is that Stanton is NOT a Navy man. It does give us just one more example of how inept the US Navy is, and how when they screw up, the try to cover it up, and in doing so only make matters worse (shooting down an Iranian airliner, Subs that run into Japanese ships, USS Cole, etc.).
Rating: 
Summary: Vividly written, but much too slanted in view
Review: "In Harm's Way" was vividly written, and one can easily picture all the events surrounding the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. The shock, suffering, and other feelings the sailors experienced when their ship was sunk and they were stranded, floating, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, were captured well. (In many cases, the descriptions were much too graphic, though.)
Unfortunately, this book does not give fair treatment to both sides of a very controversial subject. Some people blame Captain McVay for the tragedy; others blame the Navy. Doug Stanton is definitely one of those who totally blames the Navy, and the book is written to sway readers to blame the Navy, too. I feel that in this respect the book is very unbalanced. I do not recommend "In Harm's Way" if you want to read a fair account of the events that brought about the sinking of the Indianapolis.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting read
Review: I knew nothing about the USS Indianpolis except the short little reference to it in the JAWS movie, until now. The first 100 pages or so are the preliminary events that led up to the disaster with some terms and references that I am not familiar with, but they were not so complicated that I couldn't follow the story. After that "all hell broke loose". I found out, I think in necessary detail, just some of what these men endured during their 4 long days in the water. These men struggled for days to keep themselves and each other alive. Some were attacked by sharks, some drank the salt water, and some died from plain exposure to the elements. I had no idea what salt water could do to the human body and these men could not escape it. It's an amazing story.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting read
Review: I knew nothing about the USS Indianapolis except the short little reference to it in the JAWS movie, until now. The first 100 pages or so are the preliminary events that led up to the disaster with some terms and references that I am not familiar with, but they were not so complicated that I couldn't follow the story. After that "all hell broke loose". I found out, I think in necessary detail, just some of what these men endured during their 4 long days in the water. These men struggled for days to keep themselves and each other alive. Some were attacked by sharks, some drank the salt water, and some died from plain exposure to the elements. I had no idea what salt water could do to the human body and these men could not escape it. It's an amazing story.
Rating: 
Summary: A good effort but not quite good enough; the facts remain
Review: Doug Stanton did an excellent job at conveying the emotions and injustices of the events surrounding the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. The initial reaction one gets from reading this book is shock and anger at the Navy for court-martialing the Captain. However, this was not the Titanic or the Lusitania or another passenger ship. This was a war ship, in a war zone, during war time. This puts an entirely new perspective on the events that happened. In my opinion, this ship was run extremely poorly for being a United States military ship. The men appear not to take their duties seriously; the Captain himself is rather lax in his duties. This is especially surprising as the US was at war. No precautions were taken to guard against the enemy; and no plan was in place in case of attack. It is not surprising that the Captain was blamed for the tragedy. Doug Stanton writes the book persuasively to convince the reader that the Navy was entirely at fault; yet on reflection, one sees many things which were the fault of the captain, such as having very little discipline on his ship. Perhaps if the men had been trained soldiers, taking their duties seriously, rather than men just out to have a good time, many more of them would have survived. When they were adrift, there was no sort of plan, no authority or leadership, and no voice of reason. Therefore, they all fought over the water or life-preservers, and many basically went insane and drowned themselves. One thing that I didn't like about the book was that Mr. Stanton tended to dwell on rather gruesome, unnecessary details. It would be sufficient to say that sharks got some of the men without having to describe how the men were torn apart. Perhaps he wanted to convey the reality of the event; but I don't believe it was necessary to include quite so many descriptions of pain and suffering. I don't recommend this book. It was a disappointment because Mr. Stanton went to the extreme of placing all the blame on the Navy in order to make the captain completely innocent. Most likely the blame is on both sides; but this book makes the military seem very shoddily run, and our military men very incompetent.
Rating: 
Summary: Takes you on an action-packed ride
Review: At the same time I am speechless about this book, and I can't say enough. Read it. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe they were the Greatest Generation
Review: I opened this book and did not put it down until I was done. I, like many of my generation, knew of the USS Indianapolis only from the that great scene in Jaws where Quinnt tells her story. I never knew it was a true story. What these men endured and continue to live with to this day is remarkable. War is hell but these sailors' experience can not be described so glibly. Please read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary
Review: This is a very moving, personal account by the survivors of the last voyage of the USS Indianapolis and the last days of the men who did not come home. Totally absorbing.
Rating:
Summary: Reading In Harm's Way
Review: An excellent book that really seems to capture the struggle of these young sailors. It not only does a great job of telling the story, but delves deep into the emotional and physical challenges that these men suffered during their days adrift at sea. I read one other book on the sinking of the Indianapolis, but this one was by far much better. I recommended it to a friend, and she finished it in two days! Give it a read!
Rating:
Summary: Well-written account of the naval disaster
Review: I had read "ABANDON SHIP" by Richard Newcomb right before reading IN HARM'S WAY. While the latter lacks the technical details provided by the older title, it makes up for it in readability. IN HARM'S WAY dwelves much more into the psychological drama of the men who perished and the ones who survived. It thoroughly catches your attention because it's almost written like a novel, whereas ABANDON SHIP sets a more formal tone from start to finish. I'd suggest that you read both if you want to know everything about this naval disaster and the injustice in the aftermath. Starting off with IN HARM'S WAY would probably be the best introduction to this historical event.
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