"Lost In Shangri-La"

"Lost In Shangri-La" by Mitchell Zuckoff is a well researched and well written account of an event that occurred during World War II. It's a story about loss and survival, adventure and day to day struggles, and an incredible rescue mission doomed to fail for a lot of reasons but instead succeeding thanks to the perseverance of many working together.

What started out as a celebration/reward for WACs in Dutch New Guinea turned deadly when the plane taking them on a sightseeing trip crashed on a remote New Guinea jungle mountainside. There were five survivors but two died shortly after and two more were seriously injured leaving one to lead them to safety while mourning the loss of his twin brother in the crash. One of the survivors is a beautiful WAC who is late for a date when the plane crashes. The story weaves in their private lives with their military lives and the lives of the families waiting for their rescue.

When the survivors encountered natives, they didn't know what to expect as they'd heard stories of cannibalism. The natives became a central part of their survival even though they might not discover this for years to come.

They manage to get to a clearing where they are spotted by a military plane searching for survivors so supplies are dropped to them and rescue plans made. The first step in the rescue was to send in a small paratrooper team to assess the situation and to include a couple of medics to treat the wounded. Once they were stabilized and well enough to travel the complexity of rescuing them and their paratrooper assistance team became a full time job for those looking at how to do that. By now they're the subject of many highly published news stories so it wouldn't look too good to have them die in a rescue attempt!

This book reads like a novel and kept me engaged throughout. It doesn't end with the story but also goes on to tell what happened to those involved after their rescue and/or military service as well as the fate of the natives in that area. Their lives changed dramatically, too, when missionaries and the Indonesian government moved in to "civilize" them. I'm not sure they did them any favors, though.

There is a quote on page 130 of the hardback copy of the book by Albert Einstein: "I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." Zuckoff commented that "Viewed in that light, the people of Shangri-La were the most advanced warriors on earth."

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