Vanished
The Sixty-Year Search for the Missing Men of World War II
ISBN 9781594487279 | 288 pages | 05 Nov 2013 | Riverhead | 9.25 x 6.25in | 18 - AND UP
Summary of Vanished
Summary of Vanished
Reviews for Vanished
An Excerpt from Vanished
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From a mesmerizing storyteller, the gripping search for a missing World War II crew, their bomber plane, and their legacy. On September 1, 1944, a massive American bomber carrying eleven men vanished over the tiny Pacific archipelago of Palau, leaving behind a trail of mysteries. For more than sixty years, the U.S. government, the children of the missing airmen, and a maverick team of scientists and scuba divers searched the archipelago for clues with cutting-edge technology and unyielding determination. They crawled through thickets of mangrove and slogged into groves of poison trees, flew over the islands in private planes shooting infrared photography, trolled the water with magnetometers and side-scan sonar, and launched grid searches on the seafloor, but the trail seemed to lead nowhere. Now, in a spellbinding narrative, Wil S. Hylton weaves together the true tale of the missing men, their final days, the loved ones left wondering, and the broad sweep of world events that converged upon their last mission. With more than 56,000 troops still missing, the Pacific theater of World War II accounts for two-thirds of all American MIAs over the past century. These soldiers have never been seen again. But our government has never stopped trying to find them, and for two generations, their families have passed down the wounds of war, unable to find closure in a story without an ending. This is the story of those missing soldiers, the families they left behind, and the legion of scientists, explorers, archeologists, and deep-sea divers who offered everything to finally give their story an ending. Praise for Vanished "Spellbinding, moving, and masterfully researched, Vanished is at once a first-rate mystery and an ode to the timelessness of a loved one’s memories. In writing it, Wil Hylton has done more than tell a beautiful story; he has spoken, as his heroes do, to one of man’s noblest instincts, that no one should be left behind." —Robert Kurson, author of Shadow Divers “A beautifully reported tale sprawling from Texas to the South Pacific. Hylton writes about fathers and sons, what is lost forever, and what can be found after all hope is gone. Vanished is a crucial book for anyone who cares about the cost of war.” —Stephen Rodrick, author of The Magical Stranger “A great read. Wil Hylton documents America’s noblest policy in riveting narrative detail.” —Stephen Hunter, Pultizer Prize-winning author of The Third Bullet “This is an astonishing, kaleidoscopic book—part mystery, thriller, and ghost story that happens to be true. I read it with goose bumps, convinced that Vanished will take its place among the classics of World War II literature. Wil Hylton is a storyteller extraordinaire. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for honoring the fallen with such clear-eyed, bighearted power here.”—Michael Paterniti, author of Driving Mr. Albert “A breathtaking work of literary journalism and a dazzling debut. Vanished unfolds like a cinematic mystery while exploring the eternal questions of war, love, and loss. Hylton is a master storyteller.”—Philipp Meyer, author of The Son “There is no boosterism or puffery in saying that Wil Hylton is one of the best journalists working today.”—John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead |
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