Play Book Tag discussion

Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff - 4 stars - My Review

In November 1942, an American military plane crashed in Greenland. In a search and rescue effort, two other planes crashed. The end result was nine men stranded in extreme cold in a remote location, attempting to survive in intermittent blizzards with limited food. Mitchell Zuckoff tells the story of the multiple crashes and the heroic rescue attempts. He weaves in an account of a 2012 expedition (in which he played a key role) to locate and recover one of the missing planes.

This narrative non-fiction is filled people facing dangerous conditions. It includes planes landing on ice, planes flying in “milk” (white-out), dog sled teams traveling across unstable glaciers, isolated crash survivors facing frostbite, hypothermia, and psychological trauma. It serves to highlight one of the lesser known stories of WWII. It is well-researched and told with dramatic flair. Just when we think conditions cannot get worse, they do.

As in most dual storylines, one of the two is more riveting than the other. The modern quest for lost heroes is perhaps a bit oversold. I listened to the audiobook, competently read by the author. Unlike some authors reading their own books, Zuckoff has a pleasant voice and conveys the intensity of the situation. It is a gripping story that will appeal to those interested in WWII history, aviation, geology, and accounts of survival in harsh conditions.