Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man

Name: Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man
Price: 2.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.7 (3382 reviews)
Author: Lynn Vincent

by Lynn Vincent

Biography Memoir

4.7 (3,382)

4.7 stars from 3,382 reviews. Top 66% of Biography Memoir books we track.

592 pages~9.9 hr readPublished by Simon & Schuster, LimitedPublished 2018-01-01

$2.9982% off peak

Last checked: Jun 30, 2026

Price history: $2.99 – $16.99

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Price range: $2.99 – $16.99

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Perfect for you if...

You love meticulously researched WWII history that reads like a thriller, not a textbook.
You're drawn to stories about ordinary people facing extraordinary odds and fighting for justice against institutional failure.
You appreciate narrative nonfiction that weaves together multiple timelines: the ship's peacetime service, the disaster itself, the survival ordeal, and the decades-long exoneration battle.

Maybe not for you if...

You prefer lighter reads. This is a 592-page deep dive into naval history, trauma, and bureaucratic injustice.
You're squeamish about graphic descriptions of shark attacks, drowning, and the psychological breakdown of desperate men.
You want a quick wartime action story rather than a comprehensive account that doubles as both history and courtroom drama.

About this book

On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis is struck by two Japanese torpedoes in the Philippine Sea and sinks. Nearly nine hundred men spend five nights and four days in the water almost three hundred miles from land, facing injuries, sharks, dehydration, and psychological breakdown. Only 316 survive. Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic present the complete account of the USS Indianapolis, from her christening in 1932 through World War II. The ship's final mission involves delivering the core of the atomic bomb to the Pacific for the strike on Hiroshima. The narrative extends beyond the immediate disaster to document the survivors' fifty-year effort to exonerate Captain Charles McVay III, who is wrongly court-martialed for the sinking. The book combines naval history with the personal stories of the crew, examining the mistakes, courage, horror, and cover-up surrounding the worst sea disaster in United States naval history.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$2.99 – $16.99

Currently on sale at $2.99 — 82% off peak. Price has dropped 2 times over the last 6 years. Goes on sale roughly every 2117 days. Typically stays discounted for 16 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently #959 in the Kindle store — a top-1,000 bestseller.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.7★ from 3,382 reviews

Gaining approximately 4 new reviews per month. Rating has remained stable at 4.7 over the tracking period.

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This book is currently discounted at $2.99. It typically returns to around $16.99.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.

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