USS Indianapolis

I finished "Left for Dead" this afternoon. It is the story of the USS Indianapolis, a battleship that was sunk near the end of WWII. I first heard about the Indianapolis during Discovery Channel's Shark Week a few summers ago. I was fascinated, both because of the prevalence of shark attacks during the four days and five nights the crew was stranded in the ocean and because of the events leading up to the ship's sinking and how the navy dealt with the crisis. So when my Children's Lit. teacher showed us the book in class and talked a bit about it, I made sure I was the first one to get to the front of the room after class to check it out. I thought the story was well explained and I learned a lot from reading the book that I didn't know before, but I was a little disappointed in the writing. It wasn't terribly inspiring. In my opinion, the major selling point of the book was how it weaved in the story of an 11-year-old boy from Pensacola, Florida and how he worked for years to clear the name of the Indianapolis' Captain, Charles McVay who had been court-martialed after the sinking. I hope I can be that passionate about something and help to change history in my life. If an 11-year-old boy can, I think I might be able to as well.