Abandon Ship!

December 1, 2022
The story of the fates of passengers on a British former luxury liner torpedoed by a German U-boat in September 1942 off the west coast of Africa. The Laconia, with nearly 3,000 passengers aboard--Italian POWs, Polish guards, British military personnel, and civilians--was traveling from Egypt to England via the Cape of Good Hope. After being hit by the German submarine, survivors scrambled to board the insufficient number of lifeboats and rafts. After realizing the POWs--Germany's allies--were onboard, along with women and children, U-boat Cmdr. Hartenstein tried to save as many people as he could and radioed for assistance. However, during the rescue, an American plane bombed the U-boat, forcing another evacuation of the frightened passengers. The personal stories of a few of the British survivors of varying ages and backgrounds will especially grab readers' attention. This powerful account of human resilience and behavior during crises will inspire contemplation of the impact of war. The book explores extremes: the British mistreatment of the POWs, Hartenstein's humanitarian actions, stronger survivors throwing a weakened sailor off a lifeboat, and an ill doctor who drowned himself, sacrificing his own life to avoid infecting others on his lifeboat. The lengthy lifeboat voyages under the brutal sun with little food and water and the experiences some survivors had in a Vichy French prison camp in Morocco are vividly described. A gripping wartime story that probes moral uncertainties. (main characters and vessels, epilogue, glossary, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 12-15)

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January 9, 2023
Tougias and O’Leary (Attacked at Sea) recount the 1942 sinking of the Laconia in this pulse-pounding work. Divided into five rapidly paced chronological parts described in cinematic detail, the creators outline the ship’s origins, its destruction, and the fates of the shipwrecked passengers. Chapter one, “The Voyage,” briefly explains how the British ship had been a luxury ocean liner that transported people from Liverpool to New York City, until it was commandeered as a war vessel at the start of WWII, during which it was integral in ferrying civilians and troops on and off battlefields. In 1942, the ship set sail for England loaded with passengers fleeing war-torn Cairo. A few weeks into this voyage, the creators note in a chapter titled “Torpedoes in the Night,” the Laconia was attacked by a German U-boat. After learning that the ship had women, children, and Italian POWs on board, the U-boat commander embarked on an unprecedented rescue attempt. Through viscerally told accountings, including stories of passengers spending several days awaiting rescue aboard lifeboats, the authors deliver a fascinating tale of human perseverance and morality that explores the “most unusual actions in all of World War II,” as stated by the creators in an introduction. Ages 9–14. (Feb.) ■

February 1, 2023
Grades 4-6 In contrast to the usual run of shipwreck tales built around the simple theme of "heroic survival against the odds," this account depicts the 1942 torpedoing of the British liner Laconia as a realistically messy mix of confusion, desperation, altruism, cruelty, and extreme hardship. The German captain of the U-boat that sank the ship was moved to surface, despite the dangers, to pick up survivors; on the other hand, American planes were directly ordered to bomb the overcrowded sub, and they destroyed at least one nearby lifeboat (which is why details of the incident were long suppressed by the Allies). Meanwhile, other passengers in widely scattered lifeboats slowly died of thirst or, in multiple cases, were ruthlessly pitched overboard to drown. In the end, less than half of the 2,732 people aboard the Laconia survived. Focusing on a handful of eyewitnesses who left records of their experiences, the authors tell their grim, brutal tale in matter-of-fact tones, then, along with comprehensive lists of resources, close with notes on the subsequent lives of significant involved figures.

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March 3, 2023

Gr 5 Up-On September 12, 1942, the British ship Laconia was sunk by a German submarine off the African coast. The attack quickly became a rescue mission when the German sub-commander learned that nearly 1,800 Italian POWs-his allies-were aboard the Laconia and faced drowning. The rescue then became an unprecedented moment in wartime history: the German commander decided to rescue everyone on the Laconia, whether allies or enemies. He radioed for help from any craft nearby, from any country, and asked to declare the area neutral waters. The recovery mission was not understood or trusted by the U.S. military who flew over the site and bombed the humanitarian effort. While providing fascinating facts on this remarkable but little known incident, the book is primarily an account of survival after the U.S. bombing. The unbiased narrative follows the personal stories of the real men, women, and children moved to German ships or abandoned in lifeboats on the open ocean. Readers will need the list of characters and vessels to keep track of these alternating players and locations as people reach safety-or literally die off. Tension escalates as the narrative is pared down to just two lifeboats and their occupants' harrowing struggle to remain hopeful. Back matter includes an epilogue completing the character biographies, an extensive bibliography, and glossary. VERDICT Ideal for WWII history fans and readers who have graduated from Lauren Tarshis's "I Survived" series.-Marybeth Kozikowski

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