Oldie, But Goodie Book Review: Left for Dead by Pete Nelson and Hunter Scott.

One of my all time favorite movies is the original Jaws. I saw it as a young girl and was appropriately frightened of the ocean for years after I saw the movie. Now, of course, it plays on various channels so I have the chance to watch it at least once a year and always jump when one of the attacks happens.  I bring this up because I recently saw the movie and one of the scenes  in that movie is responsible for an excellent NF book written by Pete Nelson and Hunter Scott, Left For Dead.   

The book details a young man's research into what happened to the USS Indianapolis on the return trip from her secret mission to deliver the atomic bomb to the island of Tinian on July 30, 1945. Hunter Scott, who wrote the forward for the book, was a young man when he was watching Jaws with his father in the mid 1990's. The scene in question is when the three shark hunters are comparing various scars from shark attacks, and Quint, the crusty boat owner, is asked about a tattoo on his forearm. He goes on to explain his experience on the USS Indianapolis. 

The scene prompted Hunter to ask his dad if the story was true. After receiving confirmation that it was, indeed, true he wanted to know more and thought it might be a good topic for an upcoming History Fair project. His initial search turned up nothing, so he took out an advertisement in a local paper asking anyone if they had information on the accident. He was astounded at the reply. His research is detailed in the book and contains first hand accounts of the terrible tragedy that happened as first, the soldiers' ship was torpedoed and then, they were left waiting to be rescued in shark infested waters for THREE days.  His research helped clear the good name of this ship's captain.

The book is so well written, and  there is ALWAYS a hold on the multiple copies I have in the library once I book talk it.  Showing the clip from the movie is a great way to get the students interested and the book itself proves that solid student research that is shared outside the school walls can make a difference.