This story goes into the time in WWII when Eddie Rickenbacker was flying as a passenger in a B-17 with the crew and the plane crashed in the Pacific. Part of the book goes into the life of Eddie Rickenbacker who was a World War One Ace and a Medal of Honor Recipient. He also had many other accomplishments. I will say that I do remember reading a book in the seventies about him and this event and there was also a movie made not in the seventies but it was good at the time, but hey I was a kid and knew about him from my granddad who fought in WWI and my father fought in WWII so I was interested. Here though this book was more real to life to what took place on those rafts and also the end when they split up. How the actual pilot really should be created with saving the men for if they all would have stayed together I don’t think they would have made it. Rickenbacker did apologize to the captain of the plane but by then he had already had a dislike for Rickenbacker and you could get that feel by the reading from this book. Still, I enjoyed this book, and brought back memories from when I was a kid and how back then not everything was always so rosy. A good read.

I can't count how many books I've read recently which contain so much extraneous material that I wonder, "where was the editor in all of this?" I just want the story I signed up for and not padding to get to a page count. A perfect example of avoiding this trap is John Wukovits' Lost at Sea. It is a focused look at a forgotten episode of World War II which is all story and no fluff.

Eddie Rickenbacker may not be the household name he used to be, but anyone who likes flying has probably heard of him. In World War II, he was a civilian on a somewhat secret mission and hitching a ride across the Pacific. As you may be able to tell by the title of the book, it did not go well.

Wukovits tells the story masterfully, which is to say he states the facts and lets the history speak for itself. The entire narrative is unbelievable and needs no embellishment. There is even an undercurrent of religion and what it means when you are facing death. I worried that this theme might make the book preachy but Wukovits never lets it get that way. He talks about religion because his characters did. It's a perfectly balanced book which any World War II nerd must read.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton. The full review will be posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 5/18/23.)

SYNOPSIS
Lost at Sea is an epic journey of the human spirit, the will to survive and faith!

In October, 1942, eight men took off from Hawaii in a B-17D Flying Fortress bound for Canton Island; its first stop enroute to the South Pacific. The plane never arrived. Having drifted off course by hundreds of miles, the plane and crew were hopelessly lost. As with Emilia Earhart, the crew became frantic and the plane was low on gas. With no other option the pilot, Captain Cherry, was forced to ditch at sea.

It is a testament to Captain Cherry’s piloting skills, that he was capable of landing the aircraft on a rolling ocean without it coming apart and killing everyone instantly. The eight people onboard were able to escape the sinking plane and mount three life rafts. What followed was a twenty-four day struggle for survival adrift a vast ocean.

On board the aircraft was WWI most famous aviator and flying Ace Eddie Rickenbacker. He was accompanied by John Bartek, Wiliam Cherry, John De Angelis, Alexander Kaczmarczyk, James Reynolds, and James Whittaker. Unfortunately, only seven would survive the ordeal.

CONCLUSION
Lost at Sea is a very good book! John’s unrelenting research into this incident is evident in his writing. He takes the reader alongside Eddie Rickenbacker on his sojourn through life. The reader actually feels as if he is sitting right next to Eddie as he his racing his car around the track, or sitting in an open cockpit WWI fighter earning his Medal of Honor. The reader is right there with Eddie and those men crammed in little rubber rafts drifting on the Pacific Ocean. I literally got hot, hungry and thirsty just reading about their trials and tribulations.

Lost at Sea is a book for every aviation enthusiast. Anyone who has flown an aircraft over the ocean outside the sight of land can definitely sympathize with those men. I heartily recommend this book. It will certainly keep the reader engrossed and captivated.

A truly inspirational novel regarding the hardships faced by eight individuals adrift in the Pacific. What they were forced to endure in a raft and the near death experience will inspire you. This is a great book and highly recommended.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.