A review by michaelkerr
81 Days Below Zero: The Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska's Frozen Wilderness by Toula Vlahou, Brian Murphy

3.0

The only survivor of a WW2 plane crash in remote, frozen Alaska, Leon Crane - with a few bits of incredible luck - manages to walk out of the wilderness in the dead of winter. This is a well-researched book, but even so, there just isn't enough material in the survival story for a book-length treatment. Murphy therefore gives lots of detail about the families involved, the Air Force search, the recovery of the plane (many decades later), and some of the old salts Crane encounters. It's all pretty interesting, but the character of Crane is never very well explored. 3.5 stars.