Frozen in Time - Mitchell Zuckoff

Subtitled: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II

Mitchell Zuckoff's name might already be familiar to you - he's also the author of a previous best seller - Lost in Shangri-La.

Zuckoff again revisits World War II history, recounting the fate of the men on a US military cargo plane that crashed in November 1942 on the inhospitable shores of Greenland. And that of the men on the rescue B17 plane - that also crashed. And unbelievably, the third rescue plane, the Grumman Duck, that managed to pick up one survivor - and disappeared.

It sounds like a movie plot and improbable that three planes could crash or disappear. What's even more unbelievable is the will of the crash survivors to survive the dead of winter in frozen Greenland.

Zuckoff takes this factual piece of history and makes it 'real'  and personal by inserting many, many details. Where did he get his information? There are survivors to this miraculous tale and Zuckoff follows them all the way through to the present.

But, there are those whose bodies have never been recovered. And that's where the present day story kicks in. Between the US Coast Guard and North South Polar Inc. (a group, who as one of their mandates, tries to bring home the bodies of US servicemen) a mission is mounted to find the lost Duck and the men aboard. Zuckoff accompanies this mission to Greenland.

Cutting between past and present Zuckoff  brings to life this phenomenal story. I could feel the cold seep into my bone as the men were stranded yet another day. And the desperation of those determined to save them.

I chose to listen to Frozen in Time. Zuckoff himself reads the book. I love hearing an author share his words - it just seems to give every sentence more weight. He has an excellent reading voice, expressive and easy to listen to. Listen to an excerpt of Frozen in Time.

Frozen in Time is a testament to the human spirit. Highly recommended. Read an excerpt of Frozen in Time. You can find Mitchell Zuckoff on Facebook and on Twitter.