81 Days Below Zero, Brian Murphy
81 Days Below Zero, Brian Murphy
5 Rating(s)
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

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

Author: Brian Murphy, Toula Vlahou

Narrator: Richard Ferrone

Unabridged: 8 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 06/02/2015


Synopsis

The untold story of Leon Crane, the only surviving crew member of a World War II B-24 crash on a remote mountain near the Arctic Circle, who managed to stay alive 81 days in sub-zero temperature by making peace with nature, and end his ordeal by walking along a river to safety. Part World War II story, part Alaskan adventure story, part survival story, and even part inspirational story, this is what we call " a good read." This is the first full length retelling of Crane' s incredible survivalist story. It has been noted in magazines and in story collections over the years: most notably, just after the war ended, Crane' s story was included in a book aptly titled, The 100 Best True Stories of World War II , and in the 1970s, the story was a part of John McPhee' s hot-selling collection of Alaskan survival tales, Coming into the Country. The author suggests that we think Jon Krakauer' s Into the Wild " meets" Alfred Lansing' s Endurance . I would suggest that we also think Dick Proenneke' s Alone in the Wilderness " meets" Slavomir Rawicz' s The Long Walk . These meetings can go on and on; but there are some very impressive WWII survival stories that have become bestselling books-- even with previously " untold" and " unknown" stories, like Crane' s.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brandon on January 09, 2021

"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. I really wanted to go give this book a higher rating. But when......more

Goodreads review by Matt on March 29, 2017

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......more

Goodreads review by Emily on September 01, 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.......more

Goodreads review by Angela on September 11, 2019

*** 2.5 Stars The book was enjoyable: however, I was disappointed in the execution. This is a true story of how a WWII pilot (Crane) survived in the Alaskan wilderness after his plane crashed. He took each agonizing step to live. After 9 days of starvation, he finds an abandoned cabin with provisions......more

Goodreads review by Charlie on March 07, 2024

I enjoyed this book. It is the account of Leon Crane's survival in the Alaskan wilderness in winter after he bailed out of a B-24 that was about to crash. The author fills out the story with additional history and snippets of related characters. At first I found this annoying, but as the book progre......more