81 days below zero : the incredible survival story of a World War II pilot in Alaska's frozen wilderness

Murphy, Brian, 1959-

First Da Capo Press paperback edition.

Book

Boston, MA : Da Capo Press, 2016.

©2015

x, 238 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Shortly before Christmas in 1943, five Army aviators left Alaska's Ladd Field on a test flight. Only one ever returned: Leon Crane, a city kid from Philadelphia with little more than a parachute on his back when he bailed from his B-24 Liberator before it crashed into the Arctic. Alone in subzero temperatures, Crane managed to stay alive in the dead of the Yukon winter for nearly twelve weeks and, amazingly, walked out of the ordeal intact. 81 Days Below Zero recounts, for the first time, the full story of Crane's remarkable saga. In a drama of staggering resolve with moments of phenomenal luck, Crane learned to survive in the Yukon's unforgiving landscape. His is a tale of the human capacity to endure extreme conditions and intense loneliness-and emerge stronger than before.

Crane, Leon, 1919-2002.

Air pilots, Military -- United States -- Biography.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American.

Airplane crash survival -- Alaska.

Wilderness survival -- Alaska.

B-24 (Bomber) -- Accidents -- Alaska.

Aeronautics, Military -- Accidents -- Alaska.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Alaska.

Biographies.

Vlahou, Toula.

Eighty one days below zero

Incredible survival story of a World War II pilot in Alaska's frozen wilderness

Mount Athos, Greece -- December 21, 1943 -- December 22, 1943 -- December 23, 1943 -- June 23, 1994 -- December 25, 1943 -- December 29, 1943 -- December 29, 1943 -- December 30, 1943 -- August 31, 2006 -- January 10, 1944 -- January 19, 1944 -- February 10, 1944 -- September 15, 2006 -- March 3, 1944 -- March 9, 1944 -- March 10, 1944 -- March 13, 1944 -- March 14, 1944 -- March 7, 2007 -- September 7, 2007.

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