Sole Survivor

by Ruthanne Lum McCunn

Overview

On November 23, 1942, German U-Boats torpedoed the British ship Benlomond and it sank in the Atlantic in two minutes. The sole survivor was a second steward named Poon Lim, who, with no knowledge of the sea, managed to stay alive for 133 days on a small wooden raft. Finally rescued at the mouth of the Amazon River, Poon was hailed as the "World's Champion Survivor." He still holds the Guinness World Record for survival at sea.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780932538888
Publisher:	Design Enterprises of San Francisco
Publication date:	01/15/2013
Pages:	238
Sales rank:	964,965
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)

Editorial Reviews

This is a fictionalized account of an actual event: 22-year-old Poon Lim's 133 days alone at sea following the WW II sinking in the South Atlantic of the British freighter on which this Chinese steward worked. Based on interviews with Poon, the reconstruction shows us a meek, dependent person who is suddenly thrown on his own resources to remain alive. Although he finds a lightly-stocked emergency raft in the debris of the sunken ship, he immediately encounters the first of many challenges: English-language labels on food cans, flares and other items. Through tortuous trial and error, Poon survives after the supplies run out. He learns to fish with a nail, to collect rainwater and to keep alert despite storms, blazing sun and nighttime cold. Five months later, when he washes ashore in Brazil, he is a matured man. Poon's experience makes for a dignified, uplifting adventure tale. Dolphin Book Club alternate. November

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This is a fictionalized account of the true story of Poon Lim, a second steward and the only survivor of the British ship Benlomond, which was torpedoed on November 23, 1942 off the coast of South America. McCunn beautifully recounts Lim's 133 days of survival on a wooden raftthe longest recorded survival story in modern history. Even though Lim was unfamiliar with life at sea, he managed to become self-sufficient and emerged healthy and fit when he was finally rescued by a Brazilian fisherman. McCunn based her story on wartime documents and interviews with Lim, and claims that the facts and their sequence have not been altered though the book is written as a novel. Fictional or not, this book should become a classic in sea survival. Highly recommended for most public libraries. Dolphin Book Club alternate. John Kenny, San Francisco P.L.

Library Journal

YA The British merchant ship Benlomond was torpedoed by a German U-Boat off the coast of Brazil on November 23, 1942. Of the 55 crew members on board, only a 24-year-old Chinese second steward survived. To this day, Poon Lim holds the Guinness world record for survival at sea. McCunn, who interviewed Poon Lim in 1982, 40 years after this remarkable ordeal took place, presents an exciting account of how Poon Lim stayed alive from the time his ship was sunk until 133 days later when he was picked up by fishermen just off the coast of Brazil. Because of the time lapse, McCunn has written his story in the form of a novel. There are black-and-white photographs of Poon Lim's tools, raft and of him just after his rescue. A vivid account of how one man used his intelligence and ingenuity to survive against incredible odds. Pat Royal, Prince George's County Public School System, Md.

School Library Journal