August 2009 In Harm's Way. The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors. by Doug Stanton. This is an extremely well written book. It's an extraordinary story of survival and man's capacity to put one's own life, career, or reputation on the line for someone else. The book tells the story of the the sinking of the cruiser USS Indianapolis by Japanese torpedos on July 30, 1945. The names of all 1196 men on board at the time of the sinking are listed inside the front and back overs of the book. About 300 men died on board fron the torpedo attack. 900 or so men were tossed into the Phillipine Sea, most with lifejackets and a few rafts. Only 317 men remained alive when they were finally rescued 4 days later. Over those 4 days, the others died of their wounds, or drowned due to fatigue and the elements...or taken by the hundreds of sharks that dogged them for the 4 days. I could go on and on about this book...the stories of personal heroism, the captain's court martial and the subsequent efforts by the survivors to clear his name, the physiology of humans and seawater, etc... but you'll have to read it yourself. It's about 280 pages long. I could not put this book down.