Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II – Deckle Edge Author: Visit Amazon's Mitchell Zuckoff Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0062133438 | Format: PDF
Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II – Deckle Edge Description
Amazon.com Review
An Amazon Best Book of the Month, April 2013: Talk about bad luck: In 1942, a United States cargo plane crash-landed while flying over Greenland, stranding the crew on sea of ice. A rescue flight was quickly dispatched--it crashed in a November storm, stranding its own nine crewmembers. The third time was not the charm: a second rescue mission disappeared in another blizzard, leaving neither clues nor apparent survivors. Subsequent attempts--some with fatal results--failed under the harsh conditions, forcing the men to weather the Arctic winter in makeshift shelters, including the tail section of a broken bomber. This tale of survival in the deadliest conditions would be enthralling on its own (and it is), but Zuckoff's meticulous research led him to a modern-day group dedicated to solving the mystery of the third flight. As a chronicler of their mission, Zuckoff is swept into their adventure, and his project becomes much more than an interesting World War II subplot. Part
Alive, part Shackleton,
Frozen in Time is a thrilling story of courage, perseverance, and loyalty that spans decades. --
Jon Foro From Booklist
It sounds so implausible that you think it must be fiction: in 1942, a U.S. military cargo plane crashed in Greenland; soon after, a B-17 bomber, assigned to the rescue mission, also crashed; and, not much longer after that, a Coast Guard rescue plane carrying one of the B-17 survivors disappeared in a storm. Facts, not fiction. Nearly seven decades later, Lou Sapienza, a commercial photographer who documented an earlier effort to find lost WWII planes, put together an expedition to Greenland aimed at finding out what happened to that Coast Guard plane. Author Zuckoff tagged along, chronicling the adventures of the colorful Sapienza while also telling us, through flashbacks, the story of the survivors of the B-17 crash and their months-long ordeal to stay alive while awaiting rescue. Zuckoff, who also wrote 2011’s Lost in Shangri-La (about a different but equally compelling WWII crash-and-rescue story), juggles the modern-day and historical stories adroitly, making us feel as though we are right there with the crash survivors, fighting against the bitter cold. --David Pitt
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- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Harper; First American Edition edition (April 23, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0062133438
- ISBN-13: 978-0062133434
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
"Frozen in Time" is a story of hell in a frozen wasteland. For the first time the tragedy and heroism of downed airmen over the frozen wastes of Greenland while ferrying planes and cargo to our Allies in England during World War II is told by Mitchell Zuckoff. This is a fascinating story of how the U.S. Coast Guard also played a vital role in the search and rescue of many of the aircrews.
Zuckoff recounts the misfortune of the C-53 Skytrooper Cargo plane lost over Greenland that initiated the air and sea search which resulted in the loss of a B-17 (PN9E). In a rescue attempt for some of the crew of the B-17 a Grumman "Duck" was lost after being launched off the Coast Guard cutter Northland.
Zuckoff conveys to the reader the horrendous conditions the crew of the B-17 suffered; from the physical conditions of facing starvation and dealing with frostbite to the mental deprivations derived from isolation upon a frozen wasteland with little chance of rescue.
In a way without distracting from the main focus of survival of the air crews, Zuckoff tells the story of a present day team that has set out to retrieve the remains and reveal the truth about what really happened to those lost. This story is told in concurrence with the survival tale. In some ways I found this distracting, but not overly so. Only enough to reduce what I thought was a 5 star book down to 4 stars.
A historic note of interest:
As well as a way station for aircraft making their way to England, the United States had an early interest in Greenland at the outbreak of hostilities in Europe.
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