Lost in Shangri-La (Enhanced Edition) (Enhanced Edition)

Mitchell Zuckoff masterfully places the reader in the midst of the action, thoughts, and emotions of the survivors of a tragic military plane crash in an unexplored jungle in New Guinea (a very attractive WAC, an officer, and an enlisted man) and those of their eventual rescuers. His genius, however, comes across in his ability to acknowledge the individuals whose personalities, skills, and commitment combined to bring about ultimate success. Zuckoff's juxtaposition of the cultural values of the survivors and their rescuers against those of the indigenous tribes inhabiting the region of New Guinea where the crash occurred begins as a tenuous thread of trust between a prehistoric civilization and the presumably "civilized" World War II era. Overcoming trust issues and language barriers, this "thread" ultimately weaves into a strong bond of mutual respect and lifelong relationships: from Filipino volunteers, WACS, enlisted men, officers, and tribal members, to wartime correspondents and anxious family members on the home front, Zuckoff acknowledges each person, by name, whose contributions combined to create this compelling true story about America's Greatest Generation.