INDIANAPOLIS:THE TRUE STORY OF THE WORST SEA DISASTER IN U.S. NAVAL HISTORY AND THE FIFTY YEAR FIGHT TO EXONERATE AN INNOCENT MAN BY LYNN VINCENT.

INDIANAPOLIS:THE TRUE STORY OF THE WORST SEA DISASTER IN U.S. NAVAL HISTORY AND THE FIFTY YEAR FIGHT TO EXONERATE AN INNOCENT MAN BY LYNN VINCENT. starts with an eighth grader watching the movie "JAWS."
 Anyone who has watched the movie knows the scene where Quint talks about his being one of the survivors of the Indianapolis.  But this eighth grader wanted to learn more. And he did learn, and so did the two authors of this book.  They contacted the survivors, the families of the survivors and the Japanese people  of this disaster, the captain of the sub that sank the Indi.
 This book starts where all true stories should start: at the beginning.  The history of the building, and launching and the whole story .  The Indianapolis is famous or infamous for carrying the makings of the first atomic bomb, code name Big Boy. A very very ultra classified cargo , the men of the Indianapolis dropped the bomb & its scientists off at a secluded island and left to go in for a refresher training, but she never showed.  She was sunk by a Japanese sub and her men left out in the ocean, some very critically burned to fight off the sharks and the elements.  The captain of the ship was rescued, court marshalled and found guilty and suffered for many years while his crew tried and tried again to overturn the court-marshall , for they knew he was a hero ,not responsible for the death of the ship & so many of the crew.  But the Navy does not like to admit its was wrong.  Along comes an eighth grader: Hunter Scott & he takes up the survivors cause and advocates on national television after deep research into the ship & the disaster.  The rest of the story you all are going to have to read to find out. 

Never before have I read such a moving book of life on board a ship during WWII as this one.  Watching these men work day after day, each of them real people, with families ,fighting what was then an enemy.  The jokes the boredom & life aboard the Indianapolis coming to an abrupt end. The death by the elements, by sharks and yes by suicide.  These men who respected their captain and knew he was innocent and knew that the system let them down when they needed help , fought for decades to vindicate not only the captain but their beloved Indianapolis !  I laughed , I cried and I, for a time lived with those brave men who served aboard the Indianapolis & I really hope you pick up this book and take a bit of time with them as well, you will not be sorry.

I recieved this book free from goodreads in exchange for a honest review.