About the Author
Lynn Vincent, a former Navy career counselor and air traffic controller, is a writer and a military career specialist. She has written about military career guidance for Army Times Publishing's 1998 Military Handbook, Army/Navy/Air Force Times, and National Business Employment Weekly. She lives in show more San Diego, California show less
Works by Lynn Vincent
Indianapolis : The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an… (2018) 541 copies, 28 reviews
Dog Company: A True Story of American Soldiers Abandoned by Their High Command (2017) 77 copies, 1 review
Associated Works
Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back (2010) 5,367 copies, 233 reviews
Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them… (2006) — Author — 3,517 copies, 104 reviews
Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom (2008) 158 copies, 4 reviews
The Prodigal Comes Home: My Story of Failure and God's Story of Redemption (2007) 68 copies, 5 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1962
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- San Diego, California, USA
- Occupations
- journalist
- Organizations
- World
World Journalism Institute
The King's College
United States Navy - Short biography
- The author or co-author of nine books, Vincent worked for eleven years as senior writer, then features editor, at the national news biweekly WORLD Magazine where she covered politics, culture, and current events. A U. S. Navy veteran, Lynn is also a lecturer in writing at the World Journalism Institute and at The King's College in New York City, She lives in San Diego, California. [adapted from Heaven is for Real (2010)]
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Reviews
True story of the worst sea disaster in US Naval history. It starts with a high-level overview of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, tracing its involvement in various events over its lifetime. It sets the context for how it was involved in the Pacific theatre. It is known for delivering the atomic bomb that was subsequently dropped on Hiroshima. It was torpedoed by the Japanese in the Philippine Sea, resulting in the deaths of 879 sailors. The secondary narrative involves Captain Charles McVay III, who was subsequently court-martialed for not seeing to the safety of the ship by zig zagging, a technique later discredited.
The authors have obviously done their homework. This book is extremely detailed and thorough. They do a top-rate job in covering the sailors (whom they interviewed) – where they were on the ship and their individual experiences in the water. The court martial and subsequent attempt to exonerate the captain become rather tedious. It may depend on which book you read first, but I enjoyed In Harm’s Way by Doug Stanton more than this one, although they are both worth reading. I read this in honor of Veteran’s Day.… (more)
The authors have obviously done their homework. This book is extremely detailed and thorough. They do a top-rate job in covering the sailors (whom they interviewed) – where they were on the ship and their individual experiences in the water. The court martial and subsequent attempt to exonerate the captain become rather tedious. It may depend on which book you read first, but I enjoyed In Harm’s Way by Doug Stanton more than this one, although they are both worth reading. I read this in honor of Veteran’s Day.… (more)
An extremely detailed and meticulous history of the sinking of the Indianapolis. The author covers the events of the disaster including survivor accounts of the harrowing days spent floating in shark infested waters. The second part of the book follows the resulting trials against the Indianapolis' captain who was popularly believed to have been responsible for the destruction of the ship and the deaths of so many of his crew.
The author then reports on the grass roots campaign to have the captain exonerated which eventually succeed, although unfortunately after the captain's death by suicide. Still, in the end, the Navy's unjust prosecution of the captain to create a scapegoat to distract from their own mistakes was eventually established and an innocent man cleared.
It's a fascinating story and an important part of U.S. Naval history.… (more)
The author then reports on the grass roots campaign to have the captain exonerated which eventually succeed, although unfortunately after the captain's death by suicide. Still, in the end, the Navy's unjust prosecution of the captain to create a scapegoat to distract from their own mistakes was eventually established and an innocent man cleared.
It's a fascinating story and an important part of U.S. Naval history.… (more)
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Statistics
- Works
- 7
- Also by
- 7
- Members
- 960
- Popularity
- #26,838
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 35
- ISBNs
- 32
- Languages
- 1
Think of the story as having at least five components not counting the ship's early service beginning with launching in 1932. (Spoiler alert: If you want to know none of this prior to reading the book, now would be a good time to leave.)
One, the ship and its crew transport key components of the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima to Tinian, an island in the Philippine Sea from which the bombing mission to Hiroshima was launched.
Two, two weeks prior to the Japanese surrender ending WWII, four days after leaving Tinian, Indianapolis is sunk by a Japanese submarine, leaving many of the crew in the water for four days prior to rescue. Only 316 of the 1,195 crew were rescued. Many of those who did not survive were eaten alive by schools of sharks.
Three, Captain McVay, Commander of the Indianapolis, is court-martialed and convicted of "hazarding his ship".
Four, in 2001, after multiple failed earlier attempts, McVay's record is cleared of all wrongdoing, an effort began as a history class project by 6th-grade student Hunter Scott.
Five, in August 2017 the Indianapolis wreck was located in the Philippine Sea at a depth of 18,044 feet.
Each one of these segments is a book itself, taken together, a thoroughly researched, well-written account, one of a few great WWII stories that stand out from so many others.… (more)