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Frozen in Time

An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II

ebook
3 of 3 copies available
3 of 3 copies available

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A gripping true story of survival, bravery, and honor in the vast Arctic wilderness during World War II, from Mitchell Zuckoff, the author of New York Times bestseller Lost in Shangri-La

On November 5, 1942, a US cargo plane slammed into the Greenland Ice Cap. Four days later, the B-17 assigned to the search-and-rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on board survived, and the US military launched a daring rescue operation. But after picking up one man, the Grumman Duck amphibious plane flew into a severe storm and vanished.

Frozen in Time tells the story of these crashes and the fate of the survivors, bringing vividly to life their battle to endure 148 days of the brutal Arctic winter, until an expedition headed by famed Arctic explorer Bernt Balchen brought them to safety. Mitchell Zuckoff takes the reader deep into the most hostile environment on earth, through hurricane-force winds, vicious blizzards, and subzero temperatures.

Moving forward to today, he recounts the efforts of the Coast Guard and North South Polar Inc.—led by indefatigable dreamer Lou Sapienza—who worked for years to solve the mystery of the Duck's last flight and recover the remains of its crew.

A breathtaking blend of mystery and adventure Mitchell Zuckoff's Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II is also a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of our military personnel and a tribute to the everyday heroism of the US Coast Guard.

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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from March 11, 2013
      In this harrowing true-life adventure, journalist Zuckoff (Lost in Shangri-La) follows the crew of an American B-17 bomber that crash-landed in 1942—while searching for another downed plane—on a vast glacier in the Greenland ice cap, one of the most isolated and inhospitable places on earth. With little food or cold-weather gear and an assortment of nasty injuries, the nine airmen found themselves trapped in a field of hidden, ever-shifting crevasses that threatened to swallow up their plane and made hiking even a few yards a mortal danger. Zuckoff juxtaposes their months-long battle against hurricane-blizzards, starvation, frost-bite, gangrene and madness with equally perilous rescue attempts by sled teams and military aviators flying through gales and white-outs. (His tense first-hand account of a 2012 expedition to locate the remains of one of those rescue flights buried in 30-foot-deep ice frames the story.) Zuckoff’s gripping narrative unfolds with immediacy and verve as men in fetid snow caves and sputtering aircraft pit their dogged camaraderie and desperate, white-knuckle improvisations against the fury of an Arctic winter. Photos.

    • Library Journal

      December 1, 2012

      The author of the best-selling Lost in Shangri-La recounts the November 1942 crash of a U.S. cargo plane into the Greenland Ice Cap, the loss of the B-17 sent to find it, and the loss of a Grumman Duck amphibious plane that had managed to rescue one B-17 crew member. The remaining crew endured 148 days of Arctic winter before finally being rescued. With a 200,000-copy first printing.

      Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Library Journal

      April 15, 2013

      Zuckoff (journalism, Boston Univ.; Lost in Shangri-La) has written a kind of chilly companion to his previous best-selling book on a World War II aviation disaster. During that war the strategic air route between North America and Britain had a stop in Greenland, renowned for presenting atrocious flying conditions. In November 1942, three military planes crashed on the ice cap, leaving 17 fliers huddling in the wreckage. Over the next five months, various hazardous rescue efforts were undertaken by air and ground teams. Eventually ten men were saved. Zuckoff carefully relates the terrible physiological and psychological strains that almost broke the hope and souls of those involved. He joined the recent expedition that sought to find the crashed Coast Guard amphibious plane that saved two of the men and interweaves that story with the wartime tale of stubborn frozen survival. VERDICT This tale of true heroism, human ingenuity, and sacrifice by ordinary people in the face of a bitter enemy is for anyone interested not only in World War II aviation or modern scientific techniques for locating missing aircraft, but in popular histories of real adventure. [See Prepub Alerts, 11/19/12.]--Daniel Blewett, Coll. of DuPage Lib., Glen Ellyn, IL

      Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:8.2
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:7

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