Lost in Shangri-La

Summary (from the publisher): On May 13, 1945, twenty-four American servicemen and WACs boarded a transport plane for a sightseeing trip over Shangri-La, a beautiful and mysterious valley deep within the jungle-covered mountains of Dutch New Guinea. Unlike the peaceful Tibetan monks of James Hilton's bestselling novel Lost Horizon, this Shangri-La was home to spear-carrying tribesmen, warriors rumored to be cannibals. But the pleasure tour became an unforgettable battle for survival when the plane crashed.

Miraculously, three passengers pulled through. Margaret Hastings, barefoot and burned, had no choice but to wear her dead best friend's shoes. John McCollom, grieving the death of his twin brother also aboard the plane, masked his grief with stoicism. Kenneth Decker, too, was severely burned and suffered a gaping head wound.

Emotionally devastated, badly injured, and vulnerable to the hidden dangers of the jungle, the trio faced certain death unless they left the crash site. Caught between man-eating headhunters and enemy Japanese, the wounded passengers endured a harrowing hike down the mountainside--a journey into the unknown that would lead them straight into a primitive tribe of superstitious natives who had never before seen a white man or woman.

Drawn from interviews, declassified U.S. Army documents, personal photos and mementos, a survivor's diary, a rescuer's journal, and original film footage, Lost in Shangri-La recounts this incredible true-life adventure for the first time. Mitchell Zuckoff reveals how the determined trio--dehydrated, sick, and in pain--traversed the dense jungle to find help; how a brave band of paratroopers risked their own lives to save the survivors; and how a cowboy colonel attempted a previously untested rescue mission to get them out.

By trekking into the New Guinea jungle, visiting remote villages, and rediscovering the crash site, Zuckoff also captures the contemporary natives' remembrances of the long-ago day when strange creatures fell from the sky. A riveting work of narrative nonfiction that vividly brings to life an odyssey at times terrifying, enlightening, and comic, Lost in Shangri-La is a thrill ride from beginning to end.

Review: I receieved a copy of this book from HarperCollins. 

Lost in Shangri-La describes the harrowing story of Americans stationed in Dutch New Guinea during WWII who ended up trapped in the jungle after a plane crash left most of their group dead. What was supposed to be a morale-boosting pleasure flight over the valley and for the men and women aboard to catch a glimpse of native villages went horribly wrong with the plane crashed, leaving 21 dead and only three survivors: John McCollum, Kenneth Decker, and Margaret Hastings. Despite the fact that his twin brother and lifelong companion was killed in the crash and both of the other two survivors were severely wounded, John McCollum was able to lead Decker and Hastings to safety until help could reach them. Decker and Hastings both had severe burns and cuts, which quickly developed gangrene in the wet, tropical conditions of the jungle. 

I found the most interesting part of the story was the beginning from when the different individuals are introduced, the crash occurs, and the three survivors are stumbling through the jungle. I lost interest in the second half when C. Earl Walter, Jr. is leading the escape mission and the rescuers and crash survivors are mostly sitting around as they wait for the government to devise a way to airlift them out of the jungle. 

The author's description of Margaret Hastings was really intriguing. She seems like an impossible flirt, particularly when Walter recounts how he was terrified she would end  up "pregnant" under his watch when she was flirting with his men. She was also the darling of the media during the ordeal and was referred to as the "Queen of Shangri-La." Yet she seemed quick tempered and stubborn - which probably helped her survive her ordeal. I do wish I could have learned more about Decker in particular, who appears stoic and brave throughout without pause. 

The conclusion of this account seemed abrupt to me. The glider sent to carry them out is dangerous and they doubt its ability to get them home and yet it done. The book then shifts to years after the conclusion of the war and the lives of the individuals involved in the years following the crash. 

I was impressed with Zuckoff's detailed research for this story, including his travel to New Guinea to talk to natives who may remember the event. Their role in the story was important - without their tolerance, the wounded survivors would have been killed or lost in hostile territory. I thought the insight into their culture - ongoing and ritualized warfare, gourds worn to cover the penis, cannibalism, removal of female's finger joints to express grief, etc. - was intriguing but also necessary since the Americans landed and lived for weeks in their land. Despite the numerous hilarious misunderstandings between Americans and native New Guinea residents that occurred due to a language barrier, the natives  were amazingly welcoming and kind to the stranded Americans. 

Stars: 3