Abandon Ship!

January 1, 2001
In the mid-1990s, 11-year-old Hunter Scott, working on a project for a state history fair at his Florida school, began delving into an old WWII naval tragedy he had learned about by chanceDthe destruction of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, which sank in only 12 minutes after being hit by a torpedo fired by a Japanese submarine. Hundreds of sailors died. The navy blamed the ship's captain, Charles Butler McVay III, charging that he failed to issue a timely warning to abandon his fast-sinking ship. The beleaguered McVay became the only commander ever court-martialed by the U.S. Navy for losing his vessel in wartime; despondent for years afterward, he eventually killed himself. The story of the Indianapolis and of the subsequent punishment of McVay, was the subject of this 1958 book by Associated Press editor Richard F. Newcomb (Iwo Jima, etc.), which spent 18 weeks on bestseller lists. Now, thanks in large part to the efforts of Scott, additional information has emerged to shed light on the sad saga of the Indianapolis, explicated in a foreword and afterword to this reissue by investigative journalist Maas (Serpico). The result is an even more compelling look at this long-ago tragedy, one that could lead to the exoneration of McVay. Photos not seen by PW. (Jan.) Forecast: Hunter Scott's sleuthing has received a lot of media attention, which will certainly be highlighted by Harper when the book is released. Young readers will be inspired by Scott's determination (though discretion should obviously be exercised regarding McVay's plight), and any reader interested in WWII will want a chance to weigh the evidence.