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Lost in Shangri-La

2011 non-fiction book by Mitchell Zuckoff

2011 non-fiction book by Mitchell Zuckoff

FieldValue
nameLost in Shangri-La
imageLostInShangriLa.jpg
captionFirst edition
authorMitchell Zuckoff
languageEnglish
subject[1945 New Guinea Gremlin Special rescue](1945-new-guinea-gremlin-special-rescue)
genreNonfiction
publisherHarperCollins
media_typePrint
isbn9780061988349
pub_dateApril 26, 2011

Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II is a 2011 non-fiction book by American author Mitchell Zuckoff about a US military airplane called "The Gremlin Special", which crashed on May 13, 1945 in Netherlands New Guinea, and the subsequent rescue of the survivors. Because it involved a female WAC Corporal lost in the jungle with "savages", the public became keenly interested in following the story. It was written about in the November 1945 issue of Reader's Digest magazine, and many other press channels. In 2011 Zuckoff published a modern retelling based on interviews with surviving Americans and New Guineans, and other previously unpublished information.

Background

The airplane started from Hollandia in Netherlands New Guinea (at the time part of Netherlands Indies, nowadays Indonesia) as a pleasure flight over a remote valley in New Guinea with 24 passengers, but only three people survived the crash: WAC corporal Margaret Hastings, sergeant Kenneth Decker and lieutenant John McCollom. They were later rescued by paratroopers who carried them out in gliders.

The name "Shangri-La" was given by the press, lifted from the 1933 novel Lost Horizon. The "Gremlin" in the plane's name was borrowed from the myth of Gremlins, which are often associated to mishaps and mechanical troubles of airplanes.

Awards and honors

Salon and Kirkus Reviews named Lost in Shangri-La one of the best nonfiction books of 2011.

YearAwardResultRef.
2011Goodreads Choice Award for Best History & BiographyNominee
2012Laurence L. & Thomas Winship/PEN New England Award for Nonfiction**Winner**author=date=March 13, 2012title=2012 Laurence L. & Thomas Winship /Pen New England Awards Announcedurl=https://www.jfklibrary.org/About-Us/News-and-Press/Press-Releases/2012-Laurence-L-Thomas-Winship-Pen-New-England-Awards-Announced.aspxurl-status=livearchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010100023/https://www.jfklibrary.org/About-Us/News-and-Press/Press-Releases/2012-Laurence-L-Thomas-Winship-Pen-New-England-Awards-Announced.aspxarchive-date=October 10, 2018accessdate=October 9, 2018website=JFK Librarypublisher=}}

Adaptation

In 2019, 3000 Pictures purchased the film rights to adapt Lost in Shangri-La into a film with the screenplay co-written by Zuckoff and Richard Abate.

References

References

  1. [[Mitchell Zuckoff]]. ''Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II'', Harper (April 26, 2011). {{ISBN. 978-0-06-198834-9
  2. Rapp, David. (2019-12-04). "Film Based on Lost In Shangri-La in Works".
  3. Miller, Laura. (2011-12-08). "The best nonfiction of 2011".
  4. "Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure…".
  5. (March 13, 2012). "2012 Laurence L. & Thomas Winship /Pen New England Awards Announced".
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1945-short-stories 2011-non-fiction-books harpercollins-books books-about-new-guinea lost-horizon
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