Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight To Exonerate an Innocent Man

One of the most memorable scenes in the movie Jaws is when Robert Shaw's character talks about the horror that faced the crew of the World War II cruiser, USS Indianapolis. After delivering the first atomic bomb to Tinian, the ship was on her way back to the Philippines when she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Almost immediately, the ship was consumed by fire and sank. The authors do a skillful job describing life aboard the Indianapolis and on the Japanese sub, giving listeners glimpses into the daily lives of the sailors, submariners, and officers who were to become tragically entwined. There are also details about the development of the atomic bomb and the decision to use it in an effort to save the lives of millions of people. On the night of July 30, 1945, the fears, hopes, dreams, and ambitions of these men changed catastrophically, and the authors tell of the horrifying hours and days spent by the vessel's surviving members. Ravaged by the effects of fire, smoke, and fuel oil, they thought their lives could not get any worse. Then came the sharks. John Bedford Lloyd reads the book without artifice, relying on the words of the authors to establish suspense.