3.94/5
Author: Brian Murphy
Publication Date: Mar 1, 2016
Formats: PDF,Paperback,Hardcover,Kindle,Audible Audiobook,Audio CD
Rating: 3.94/5 out of 1612
Publisher: Da Capo Press
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Jul 03, 2015
1.5 stars - I didn't like it.Jan 10, 2017
"81 Days Below Zero" felt like watching a Netflix or Hulu TV show without the paid subscription. It was like the free plan--the one with all the commercials. All you want to do is get through the commercials so you can finish your show.Aug 05, 2016
This book was just right... enough detail, without getting bogged down. It had a number of tangents to "pad" the story, but I found those tangents quite interesting, as I learned a lot about the battles in the Aleutian Islands against the Japanese during WWII and about the culture of rural Alaska at the time. The characters were interesting and well-drawn, and the survival story kept me engaged. You do sense how vulnerable Crane was, as a pilot from Philadelphia with all-too-little survival This book was just right... enough detail, without getting bogged down. It had a number of tangents to "pad" the story, but I found those tangents quite interesting, as I learned a lot about the battles in the Aleutian Islands against the Japanese during WWII and about the culture of rural Alaska at the time. The characters were interesting and well-drawn, and the survival story kept me engaged. You do sense how vulnerable Crane was, as a pilot from Philadelphia with all-too-little survival training. I was moved by the efforts of modern day researchers to recover any remains of those who didn't survive. ...moreAug 16, 2015
This is the first time that I skipped entire sections of a book. Normally, if I don't like what I am reading, I'll just stop. But, I was interested in the main subject and wanted to know what happened to him, how he was able to survive. There was way too much extraneous, irrelevant information that was not needed and most of it was boring. If all of the worthless stuff was removed, it would have been a very slim book. It should have been just a magazine article on the WWII pilot who survived the This is the first time that I skipped entire sections of a book. Normally, if I don't like what I am reading, I'll just stop. But, I was interested in the main subject and wanted to know what happened to him, how he was able to survive. There was way too much extraneous, irrelevant information that was not needed and most of it was boring. If all of the worthless stuff was removed, it would have been a very slim book. It should have been just a magazine article on the WWII pilot who survived the crash. ...moreJun 26, 2015
I really enjoyed this book! It was an interesting tale from a unique experience. The background info and relevant historical data were also fascinating. I am by no means an airplane or war buff, so I would have been bored had the book gone into too much detail. But it didn't - it was just enough to teach me what I needed to know to understand the crash and war as it related to Alaska. I especially enjoyed learning about survival skills and the Alaskan winters (which I have experienced and are no I really enjoyed this book! It was an interesting tale from a unique experience. The background info and relevant historical data were also fascinating. I am by no means an airplane or war buff, so I would have been bored had the book gone into too much detail. But it didn't - it was just enough to teach me what I needed to know to understand the crash and war as it related to Alaska. I especially enjoyed learning about survival skills and the Alaskan winters (which I have experienced and are no joke).Dec 05, 2015
I still can't decide if I liked the fact that the author took so many breaks from the main story to tell a whole bunch of other people's stories. It did add a nice dimension to the story in terms of seeing how Crane's story fit into other things going on during the war and within the history of the Yukon/Alaska, but at the same time I sometimes felt impatient to find out what was going to happen to Crane. All that said, I definitely was hooked and excited to see how the story turned out (but I still can't decide if I liked the fact that the author took so many breaks from the main story to tell a whole bunch of other people's stories. It did add a nice dimension to the story in terms of seeing how Crane's story fit into other things going on during the war and within the history of the Yukon/Alaska, but at the same time I sometimes felt impatient to find out what was going to happen to Crane. All that said, I definitely was hooked and excited to see how the story turned out (but then I do like my polar survival stories...) ...moreJul 02, 2015
The survival story was interesting but the rest felt like filler. I agree with another reviewer on here that said it would have been better off as a magazine article.Jul 31, 2015
It's beyond me how anyone can fail to be taken into this story of Leon Crane's survival, alone in Alaska, given up for dead. I guess it's because we all read from our unique perspective. Because of quirks, luck, and Crane's ingenuity, creativity and fortitude, he survives 81 days in sub-zero temperature, and makes his way back to civilization. I'm so glad that Brian Murphy did the research and told this story, especially when Crane never wanted to talk about it. All this happened during WWII, It's beyond me how anyone can fail to be taken into this story of Leon Crane's survival, alone in Alaska, given up for dead. I guess it's because we all read from our unique perspective. Because of quirks, luck, and Crane's ingenuity, creativity and fortitude, he survives 81 days in sub-zero temperature, and makes his way back to civilization. I'm so glad that Brian Murphy did the research and told this story, especially when Crane never wanted to talk about it. All this happened during WWII, but Murphy has through interviews and diaries of those involved reconstructed the story. Along the way, Murphy writes of related history of the war, and Alaska. It's what some called "filler." I call it fascinating. I never knew, for instance that the U.S. ferried planes to Alaska that were then flown by Soviet pilots to use in their efforts against Germany. This book was one of those I couldn't put down. My husband, a WWII buff is now enjoying it. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes history and a good survival story. ...moreMar 10, 2016
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 now found himself alone in subzero temperatures. Crane knew, as did the Ladd Field crews who searched 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 now found himself alone in subzero temperatures. Crane knew, as did the Ladd Field crews who searched unsuccessfully for the crash site, that his chance of survival dropped swiftly with each passing day.Jul 07, 2015
Started out really slow. Pretty good now.May 22, 2017
Learned a lot about WWII and how Alaska was involved. Easy read. The best part was the survival skills used by the pilot to survive.Jul 04, 2017
Good read, interesting exploration of Alaska recent history and WW2.Dec 07, 2016
A true story about surviving against great odds in Alaska. The author goes off on numerous tangents but they are all relevant to the main character's challenges and add context.May 30, 2017
Listened on audio. A gripping story of one man's survival from a B24 crash in Alaska during WW2. Added interest because my father in law was navigator in a B24 during the war. Reminded me of Hatchet by G Paulsen, another favourite book, but this one is true.May 24, 2017
This was very well written. I enjoyed it so much that I literally could not put it down for the first 100 pages. I wish the ending would have had even more details but I understand how it ended. It was very moving.Apr 20, 2016
Fascinating, well-researched and presented in a readable way. Even includes a large number of photos. The author is a journalist, rather than a novelist, and it shows in this historical book. I really enjoyed it.Oct 29, 2015
The part of the story where B-24 copilot bails out his out of control plane and then survives 81 days in the Alaskan winter is fascinating. There was not enough material to fill the book so there is a lot of back story, some more interesting than others. I rushed through those parts to get to the main story. If you like survival stories, you should enjoy this one. You can skip the other chapters and not miss much.Jun 10, 2018
The story is very interesting but the author structured the book in a disjointed confusing way. He could have told a compelling story of the events in 1943/44 and then crafted just as interesting of a story of the search in later years for the crash site. Maybe weaving in more of Hoskins’ family’s desire to know what happened to him. At one point I thought my digital ap had glitches and skipped a bunch of pages because suddenly the author switched to 2004 and inserted photos. The structure The story is very interesting but the author structured the book in a disjointed confusing way. He could have told a compelling story of the events in 1943/44 and then crafted just as interesting of a story of the search in later years for the crash site. Maybe weaving in more of Hoskins’ family’s desire to know what happened to him. At one point I thought my digital ap had glitches and skipped a bunch of pages because suddenly the author switched to 2004 and inserted photos. The structure disrupted the story too much and impeded the reader’s immersion in the story. ...moreOct 16, 2018
Exposition is the spice a writer uses to mark the stew's flavor pop, yet when you add too much garlic, even the best meat can become a bad meal. Im all for learning back story, but the author often lost me in completely unneeded history of every character who even slightly crossed paths with the story. If the core story wasn't so compelling I probably would have given up around the paragraphs explaining the importance of ravens to a culture that wasn't even part of the book. The author does Exposition is the spice a writer uses to mark the stew's flavor pop, yet when you add too much garlic, even the best meat can become a bad meal. Im all for learning back story, but the author often lost me in completely unneeded history of every character who even slightly crossed paths with the story. If the core story wasn't so compelling I probably would have given up around the paragraphs explaining the importance of ravens to a culture that wasn't even part of the book. The author does admit in the beginning that he does not have access to all the details when the main character was left alone in the wilderness, and it was obvious he was meeting a page count with endless unneeded filler.Sep 05, 2017
Interesting read. It provided enough detail to give you a sense of what the ordeal was like without bogging down the story. I learned something about Alaska ' s role in WWII and also about life for those brave enough to live there.Sep 11, 2019
*** 2.5 StarsJan 15, 2018
I really enjoyed this nonfiction account of Leon Crane, of the US Army Air Force, whose plane went down in the Alaskan wilderness. It's a story of perseverance, survival and luck. I learned a lot about the WWII effort in Alaska (I had no idea!) and the history of the gold rush and how Alaska was built up. While I read it for my school's biography unit, so I could recommend it to students, it's not written necessarily for middle schoolers.Sep 07, 2019
A well told story about an airman who bailed out of a B-24 bomber in the wilds of Alaska and managed to survive in freezing conditions until he hiked out to a town.Oct 30, 2019
Leon Crane survived 81 days in freezing temperatures after his plane crashed. He was the only survivor. He had to brave cold, snow, hypothermia, frozen fingers, miles of walking, and desperate thoughts. Luckily, along the way, he found shelters that had items that enabled him to sleep, regain energy, eat, warm up, recoup! That was an intriguing story. There didn't seem to be enough of it. That story could have been told in less than 100 pages. What fluffs up the nonfiction work is the addition Leon Crane survived 81 days in freezing temperatures after his plane crashed. He was the only survivor. He had to brave cold, snow, hypothermia, frozen fingers, miles of walking, and desperate thoughts. Luckily, along the way, he found shelters that had items that enabled him to sleep, regain energy, eat, warm up, recoup! That was an intriguing story. There didn't seem to be enough of it. That story could have been told in less than 100 pages. What fluffs up the nonfiction work is the addition of vignettes, ranging from personal biographies to Alaskan history to Soviets living in America (!) to a complete side story set in the 1990s about DNA research and missing soldiers recovery. That was also an interesting story, describing the recovery efforts of the plane, the sifting through the debris some fifty years later, the finding of Hoskins' remains, and the burial of Hoskins' in Arlington. Furthermore, the vignettes were insights into stories often not told or well known. The fighting in Aleutian islands and the faulty planes led to fatalities on American soil (territory). The selling of American planes to the Soviets and providing housing for Soviets in the United States was an interesting factoid, in light of our ensuing Cold War post WWII. The book didn't read smoothly. It felt disjointed. However, while at times it felt tiresome jumping from point to point, each bit was interesting. As you can see from the following quotes and historical tidbits, it went everywhere!Oct 19, 2017
The book started out great, it started at where it took place in World War 2 and how it happened and when it happened. The book has a lot of information about World War 2 and what it really was like during World War 2 and what the character saw in it to. This book gives a lot of detail of how the main character survives the harsh-cold winter of Alaska. The only thing that is wrong in the book is that it jumps to different times in the book like one minute the character is talking about the past The book started out great, it started at where it took place in World War 2 and how it happened and when it happened. The book has a lot of information about World War 2 and what it really was like during World War 2 and what the character saw in it to. This book gives a lot of detail of how the main character survives the harsh-cold winter of Alaska. The only thing that is wrong in the book is that it jumps to different times in the book like one minute the character is talking about the past and then the present and itÅ› really confusing and takes the book off track and then you're just sitting there and reading it and you're going through your head thinking this doesn't make any sense.Take your time and choose the perfect book.
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