81 Days Below Zero

The untold story of Leon Crane, the only surviving crew member of a World War II B-24 crash on a remote mountain near the Arctic Circle, who managed to stay alive 81 days in sub-zero temperature by making peace with nature, and end his ordeal by walking along a river to safety. Part World War II story, part Alaskan adventure story, part survival story, and even part inspirational story, this is what we call "a good read." This is the first full length retelling of Crane's incredible survivalist story. It has been noted in magazines and in story collections over the years: most notably, just after the war ended, Crane's story was included in a book aptly titled, The 100 Best True Stories of World War II, and in the 1970s, the story was a part of John McPhee's hot-selling collection of Alaskan survival tales, Coming into the Country. The author suggests that we think Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild "meets" Alfred Lansing's Endurance. I would suggest that we also think Dick Proenneke's Alone in the Wilderness "meets" Slavomir Rawicz's The Long Walk. These meetings can go on and on; but there are some very impressive WWII survival stories that have become bestselling books-- even with previously " untold" and " unknown" stories, like Crane' s.