In the bestselling tradition of Indianapolis and In Harmâs Way comes a âcaptivatingâŚgrippingâ (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) account of the USS Plunkettâa US Navy destroyer that sustained the most harrowing attack on any Navy ship by the Germans during World War II, later made famous by John Ford and Herman Wouk.
âA reflection on the nature of storytelling itselfâ (The Wall Street Journal), Unsinkable traces the individual journeys of five men on one ship from Casablanca in North Africa, to Sicily and Salerno in Italy and then on to Plunkettâs defining moment at Anzio, where a dozen-odd German bombers bore down on the ship in an assault so savage, so prolonged, and so deadly that one Navy commander was hard-pressed to think of another destroyer that had endured what Plunkett had. After a three-month overhaul and with a reputation rising as the âfightinâest shipâ in the Navy, Plunkett (DD-431) plunged back into the war at Omaha Beach on D-Day, and again into battle during the invasion of Southern Franceâperhaps the only Navy ship to participate in every Allied invasion in the European theatre.
Featuring five incredibly brave menâthe indomitable skipper, who will receive the Navy Cross; the gunnery officer, who bucks the captain every step of the way to Anzio; a first lieutenant, whoâs desperate to get off the ship and into the Pacific; a seventeen-year-old water tender, whoâs trying to hold onto his hometown girl against all odds, and another water tender, who mans a 20mm gun when under aerial assaultâthe dramatic story of each plays out on the decks of the Plunkett as the shipâs story escalates on the stage of the Mediterranean. Based on Navy logs, war diaries, action reports, letters, journals, memoirs, and dozens of interviews with the men who were on the ship and their families, Unsinkable is a timeless evocation of young men stepping up to the defining experience of their lives. âIf you were moved by Norman Macleanâs A River Runs Through It, by William Kent Kruegerâs This Tender LandâŚby the values we hold dear, decency, sacrifice, steadfastness, then Unsinkable will take you to a place long dead in your soul, and flood it with lightâ (Doug Stanton, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Horse Soldiers).