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A review by nkmeyers
81 Days Below Zero: The Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska's Frozen Wilderness by Toula Vlahou
3.0
Voice actor maybe or maybe not the best fit for this survival history - definitely not a survival story - the facts and a first person linear account of the survival story presented here could have fit in Reader's Digest, but our survivor, Leon Crane was reticent about telling his tale and what we have here is an (overly?) ambitious compilation of many interweaving histories and stories. The reader is presented with a history of the alaska of WWII and 1943 along with plenty of aviation, military and Alaskan/Yukon backstory, a review of the search, of the accident report and accident investigation, the re-telling of Crane's survival tale itself, and some backstory about the others lost in the crash and how their survivors mourned them/what they left behind.
What is strongest here is the author's admiration for the challenges overcome by aviators and residents of the 1940s Yukon as well as how contemporary forensic investigators tackle the challenges they face today. The author more than acknowledges how information and closure are important to survivors and descendants of those lost in war while at the same time respecting the outward quietude Crane adopted toward his own survival story -it's presented carefully here and I'm one reader that was impressed it was handled neither as an expose or as a heroes' tale for the recovery or investigative teams.
What is strongest here is the author's admiration for the challenges overcome by aviators and residents of the 1940s Yukon as well as how contemporary forensic investigators tackle the challenges they face today. The author more than acknowledges how information and closure are important to survivors and descendants of those lost in war while at the same time respecting the outward quietude Crane adopted toward his own survival story -it's presented carefully here and I'm one reader that was impressed it was handled neither as an expose or as a heroes' tale for the recovery or investigative teams.