Scan barcode
papidoc's review
4.0
I enjoyed this account of Leon Crane's survival during an Alaskan winter after his B-24 crashed. He was the only survivor, and was incredibly lucky relatively early in his survival journey to stumble across a cache of supplies left behind by an Alaskan hunter in his cabin. Still, it was a remarkable example of endurance and fortitude.
The author interspersed side notes throughout the actual account of Crane's survival. Some of these were interesting and relevant, such as his notes about the other crew members that didn't survive the crash, but other elements were less relevant, and unnecessarily distracting. I would also have liked to hear more about the day to day aspects of Crane's survival, but that information may not have been available. As the author mentions toward the end of the book, Crane was tight-lipped about the experience, even with his family.
All in all, though, what an experience for Leon Crane!
The author interspersed side notes throughout the actual account of Crane's survival. Some of these were interesting and relevant, such as his notes about the other crew members that didn't survive the crash, but other elements were less relevant, and unnecessarily distracting. I would also have liked to hear more about the day to day aspects of Crane's survival, but that information may not have been available. As the author mentions toward the end of the book, Crane was tight-lipped about the experience, even with his family.
All in all, though, what an experience for Leon Crane!
mariahnilsen's review
2.0
I love a good survival story, but this one didn’t do it for me. It would cut to so many different times and basically spewed out random historical facts. The actually survival story was okay.
thatbookishwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
4.0
cher_n_books's review
1.0
1.5 stars - I didn't like it.
This survival story would make for an interesting magazine article, but there were simply not enough events or information to force a novel out of the story. Instead, the author cobbled together numerous tangents which make up the majority of the material, and created this very fractured and disjointed book. Unfortunately, the result is that it feels long and drug out despite its very short length.
The reader does not even feel like they really get to know Leon Crane, whom the title misleads you into thinking the whole book will concern. There was never a feeling of suspense, in part because the survival story is constantly being paused to go off on yet another tangent. I simply wasn't concerned with what happened next. This book was easy to put down and was only ever picked back up to finish it for a book club discussion.
-------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: War is always a negative-sum outcome. It subtracts, removes, empties. No one who has witnessed combat can, with any honesty, describe it another way.
First Sentence: These are true stories.
This survival story would make for an interesting magazine article, but there were simply not enough events or information to force a novel out of the story. Instead, the author cobbled together numerous tangents which make up the majority of the material, and created this very fractured and disjointed book. Unfortunately, the result is that it feels long and drug out despite its very short length.
The reader does not even feel like they really get to know Leon Crane, whom the title misleads you into thinking the whole book will concern. There was never a feeling of suspense, in part because the survival story is constantly being paused to go off on yet another tangent. I simply wasn't concerned with what happened next. This book was easy to put down and was only ever picked back up to finish it for a book club discussion.
-------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: War is always a negative-sum outcome. It subtracts, removes, empties. No one who has witnessed combat can, with any honesty, describe it another way.
First Sentence: These are true stories.
emilyrosebooks's review
3.0
I thought this was a pretty interesting read, I learned a lot about WWII and some of the happenings up in Alaska. I thought there would be more about his survival, but I liked how it worked in some of his history as well as that of his comrades throughout the book. Not a cliff hanger of course, but I definitely wanted to keep turning pages!
cook_memorial_public_library's review
4.0
A 2015 staff nonfiction favorite recommended by Thomas.
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__S81%20days%20below%20zero%20murphy__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__S81%20days%20below%20zero%20murphy__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold