Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II Paperback - 2011

A New York Times bestseller, the extraordinary World War II mission to rescue survivors of a U.S. military plane crash in an isolated corner of the South Pacific, and the ancient indigenous tribe members that aided those stranded on the ground in this "Shangri-La."

Award-winning former Boston Globe reporter Mitchell Zuckoff unleashes the exhilarating, untold story of an extraordinary World War II rescue mission, where a plane crash in the South Pacific plunged a trio of U.S. military personnel into a land that time forgot. This true survival story will captivate fans of Hampton Sides' Ghost Soldiers, Marcus Luttrell's Lone Survivor, and David Grann's The Lost Cityof Z, who will be captivated by Zuckoff's masterfully recounted, all-true story of danger, daring, determination, and discovery in jungle-clad New Guinea during the final days of WWII.

Based on declassified documents, a survivor's journal, and original film footage, this gripping work of military history brings a forgotten chapter of the war to vivid life.

• A WWII Aviation Disaster: The harrowing true story of the Gremlin Special, a C-47 transport plane, lost in an uncharted region of Dutch New Guinea during a sightseeing flight gone wrong.
• Survival Against the Odds: Follows Corporal Margaret Hastings and two fellow survivors as they endure horrific injuries, gangrene, and the dangers of a jungle that time forgot.
• First Contact with a Lost Tribe: An incredible account of the survivors' encounter with a prehistoric tribe, reputed to be cannibals, who had never before seen the outside world.
• The Impossible Rescue: The gripping, high-stakes mission to find the survivors and the daring glider snatch operation devised to pull them from the isolated valley known as Shangri-La.