81 Days Below Zero: The Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska's Frozen Wilderness

by Brian Murphy

Overview

"A riveting...saga of survival against formidable odds" (Washington Post) about one man who survived a World War II plane crash in Alaska's harsh Yukon territory


Shortly before Christmas in 1943, five Army aviators left Alaska's Ladd Field on a routine flight to test their hastily retrofitted B-24 Liberator in harsh winter conditions. The mission ended in a crash that claimed all but one-Leon Crane, a city kid from Philadelphia with no wilderness experience. With little more than a parachute for cover and an old Boy Scout knife in his pocket, Crane found himself alone in subzero temperatures. 81 Days Below Zero recounts, for the first time, the full story of Crane's remarkable twelve-week saga.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306823282
Publisher:	Da Capo Press
Publication date:	06/02/2015
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Brian Murphy is a journalist at the Washington Post. He joined the paper after more than twenty years as an award-winning foreign correspondent and bureau chief for the Associated Press in Europe and the Middle East. He has three previous books, including 81 Days Below Zero, and currently lives in Washington with his wife Toula Vlahou.

Editorial Reviews

2015-04-01
A reporter for the Washington Post debuts with the forgotten story of a pilot whose B-24 crashed near the Charley River in some of Alaska's most remote territory in December 1943. At the outset, Murphy acknowledges a number of problems. The pilot, Leon Crane, who died in 2002, was never willing to talk much about his ordeal; there were no other survivors among the crew. Later, the author writes, researchers have not been able to settle on a definite cause for the crash. Much remains unknown, so Murphy supplies what is missing, inventing dialogue (exterior and interior) and other aspects of the narrative. He also writes—sometimes at unnecessary length—about other crashes, other survival stories, other players in the drama, and other events in the region (the Klondike Gold Rush). He alludes to Jack London and "Bard of the Yukon" Robert Service, and he teaches us about frostbite, hypothermia, and other dangers of the North. Crane's story remains a compelling and astonishing one. He survived in brutal conditions, principally because he stumbled upon a remote cabin that held all sorts of supplies—food, clothing (until the cabin, he'd had no mittens), a rifle, and a stove. He survived some nearly fatal falls through the Charley River ice and managed, at last, to find a cabin inhabited by a friendly soul who was able not just to comfort him, but, later, to introduce him to the man whose cabin and cache Crane had discovered. The author does some hopping about in time and space, periodically devoting space to Douglas Beckstead (an on-the-ground Crane-crash researcher who did not live long enough to write his own account), the failed recovery efforts launched by the military in late 1943, and the horrified families. A gripping story whose grasp sometimes loosens in explanatory passages.

Kirkus Reviews

"A gripping story."
—Kirkus Reviews, -

"A solid entry in the perennially popular canon of real-life adventure stories."
—Booklist, -

"A riveting tale of survival."
—BookPage, -

"This would be a great read at the beach on a hot summer day...An interesting sage of survival against formidable odds."
—Washington Post, -

"[An] excellent volume...Murphy crafted a volume that is superbly written, thoroughly researched, and is unique within this popular genre. Crane's incredible story of survival deserves to be known by a far greater audience. That is why 81 Days Below Zero is such a valuable contribution."
—Military Review, -

"[A] thrilling true story...Many have been the tales of man against nature, the struggle for survival among icy peaks in a howling wilderness—some fictitious (Jack London's "To Build a Fire"), others far too true ("Alive"). Few if any have chronicled such an epic battle as this, the journey of a lone airman from near death to life, in the course of which might be seen a series of miracles, fortified by his indomitable will to survive...It is a well-told tale."
—Roanoke Times, -

"A primer for anyone looking for information on extreme weather survival."
—New York Journal of Books, -

"Murphy vividly describes Crane's World War II Alaskan ordeal."
—Military Officer, -

"Leon Crane's amazing story is recounted in great detail. The author relates the young aviator's harrowing tale in smooth prose, which beckons the reader to continue reading. There are many survival stories of airmen and sailors adrift at sea and how they beat the odds. This story reveals how one flyer endured an experience just as extreme and lived to tell about it."
—World War II History Magazine, -

"[Murphy] manages to transport the reader to a cold and isolated arctic landscape through vivid descriptions...A satisfying read for military aviation buffs and anyone with an interest in Alaska history during the war years."
—Alaska History, -

"An epic tale and one that will hold the attention of anyone interested in Alaska, World War II history, survival, or operations in the extreme cold...This story's value lies in giving us an understanding of how it is possible to survive in the harshest conditions on almost nothing but wits, guts and determination."
—Association of the United States Army, -

"This is a well written book which should be of interest to anyone who likes aviation history, survival stories and the will to live when confronted with seemingly impossible odds."
—Military magazine, -

"Murphy relays the incredible survival story in subzero conditions with masterful suspense."
—Jacksonville Journal-Courier, -

"An exciting, caring, and interesting story."
—Portland Review of Books, -

"[A] sharply detailed, gripping account...The reader shivers with Crane as he ponders each next step through a desolate Alaskan forest when a warm day during the winter of 1943 is zero degrees Fahrenheit...A fresh, vivid, film-worthy tale of World War II survival."
—Charleston Post and Courier, -

"Gripping...Murphy perfectly captures Crane's predicament of trying to survive in some of the most brutal terrain and weather on the planet...This book is an epic story of one man's will to survive in a harsh environment."
—Collected Miscellany, -

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