Rating: 
Summary: Well written, researched and documented
Review: If you can get past Stanton's over use of the word "boy", this books flows nicely and is IMHO an excellent account of the tragedy of the USS Indianapolis. If you like military history, and even if you don't, I think you'll enjoy this book.Just my $.02
Rating:
Summary: Tragedy at the End of the War
Review: July, 1945. The United States is mere weeks from victory over Japan. In perhaps the greatest blunder by the Americans in the entire war, the USS Indianapolis is sunk by a Japanese submarine after delivering the parts to the atomic bomb. Mr. Stanton does a good job of outlining the events leading up to the sinking. For example, he points out that an American destroyer was sunk on the same route that the Indianaplois was scheduled to take to the Philippines only days before. Also, no destroyer escort was given to the Indianapolis to protect her from the submarine threat. Perhaps the biggest and most costly blunder was the fact that the Indianapolis was never listed as being "overdue" by the authorities in the Philippines after she failed to arrive on time. This blunder cost over 800 men their lives. The story of the sinking and the fight for survival in shark-infested waters are brought to life by Mr. Stanton. For 4 1/2 days, the survivors battled hunger, thirst, sharks, hallucinations, and in some cases, each other. Finally, the men were sighted by an American seaplane, and were ultimately rescued, including the captain, Charles McVay. McVay was ultimately court-martialed in one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in the history of the U.S. Navy. Overall, I thought this was a good book, but I was disappointed that only 1 chapter was devoted to the court martial hearings.
Rating:
Summary: A Darned Good Read
Review: What makes this book so entertaining and enlightening is that Stanton is NOT a Navy man. It does give us just one more example of how inept the US Navy is, and how when they screw up, the try to cover it up, and in doing so only make matters worse (shooting down an Iranian airliner, Subs that run into Japanese ships, USS Cole, etc.).
Rating: 
Summary: Vividly written, but much too slanted in view
Review: "In Harm's Way" was vividly written, and one can easily picture all the events surrounding the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. The shock, suffering, and other feelings the sailors experienced when their ship was sunk and they were stranded, floating, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, were captured well. (In many cases, the descriptions were much too graphic, though.)
Unfortunately, this book does not give fair treatment to both sides of a very controversial subject. Some people blame Captain McVay for the tragedy; others blame the Navy. Doug Stanton is definitely one of those who totally blames the Navy, and the book is written to sway readers to blame the Navy, too. I feel that in this respect the book is very unbalanced. I do not recommend "In Harm's Way" if you want to read a fair account of the events that brought about the sinking of the Indianapolis.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting read
Review: I knew nothing about the USS Indianpolis except the short little reference to it in the JAWS movie, until now. The first 100 pages or so are the preliminary events that led up to the disaster with some terms and references that I am not familiar with, but they were not so complicated that I couldn't follow the story. After that "all hell broke loose". I found out, I think in necessary detail, just some of what these men endured during their 4 long days in the water. These men struggled for days to keep themselves and each other alive. Some were attacked by sharks, some drank the salt water, and some died from plain exposure to the elements. I had no idea what salt water could do to the human body and these men could not escape it. It's an amazing story.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting read
Review: I knew nothing about the USS Indianapolis except the short little reference to it in the JAWS movie, until now. The first 100 pages or so are the preliminary events that led up to the disaster with some terms and references that I am not familiar with, but they were not so complicated that I couldn't follow the story. After that "all hell broke loose". I found out, I think in necessary detail, just some of what these men endured during their 4 long days in the water. These men struggled for days to keep themselves and each other alive. Some were attacked by sharks, some drank the salt water, and some died from plain exposure to the elements. I had no idea what salt water could do to the human body and these men could not escape it. It's an amazing story.
Rating: 
Summary: A good effort but not quite good enough; the facts remain
Review: Doug Stanton did an excellent job at conveying the emotions and injustices of the events surrounding the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. The initial reaction one gets from reading this book is shock and anger at the Navy for court-martialing the Captain. However, this was not the Titanic or the Lusitania or another passenger ship. This was a war ship, in a war zone, during war time. This puts an entirely new perspective on the events that happened. In my opinion, this ship was run extremely poorly for being a United States military ship. The men appear not to take their duties seriously; the Captain himself is rather lax in his duties. This is especially surprising as the US was at war. No precautions were taken to guard against the enemy; and no plan was in place in case of attack. It is not surprising that the Captain was blamed for the tragedy. Doug Stanton writes the book persuasively to convince the reader that the Navy was entirely at fault; yet on reflection, one sees many things which were the fault of the captain, such as having very little discipline on his ship. Perhaps if the men had been trained soldiers, taking their duties seriously, rather than men just out to have a good time, many more of them would have survived. When they were adrift, there was no sort of plan, no authority or leadership, and no voice of reason. Therefore, they all fought over the water or life-preservers, and many basically went insane and drowned themselves. One thing that I didn't like about the book was that Mr. Stanton tended to dwell on rather gruesome, unnecessary details. It would be sufficient to say that sharks got some of the men without having to describe how the men were torn apart. Perhaps he wanted to convey the reality of the event; but I don't believe it was necessary to include quite so many descriptions of pain and suffering. I don't recommend this book. It was a disappointment because Mr. Stanton went to the extreme of placing all the blame on the Navy in order to make the captain completely innocent. Most likely the blame is on both sides; but this book makes the military seem very shoddily run, and our military men very incompetent.
Rating: 
Summary: Takes you on an action-packed ride
Review: At the same time I am speechless about this book, and I can't say enough. Read it. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe they were the Greatest Generation
Review: I opened this book and did not put it down until I was done. I, like many of my generation, knew of the USS Indianapolis only from the that great scene in Jaws where Quinnt tells her story. I never knew it was a true story. What these men endured and continue to live with to this day is remarkable. War is hell but these sailors' experience can not be described so glibly. Please read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary
Review: This is a very moving, personal account by the survivors of the last voyage of the USS Indianapolis and the last days of the men who did not come home. Totally absorbing.
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