Lost in Shangri-La

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.[1] Because it involved a female WAC Corporal lost in the jungle with "savages", the public became keenly interested in following the story.[1] 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published a modern retelling based on interviews with surviving Americans and New Guineans, and other previously unpublished information.[1]

This article is about book. For event, see 1945 New Guinea Gremlin Special rescue.
Lost in Shangri-La
First edition
AuthorMitchell Zuckoff
LanguageEnglish
Subject1945 New Guinea Gremlin Special rescue
GenreNonfiction
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication date
April 26, 2011
Media typePrint
ISBN9780061988349

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.[2][3]

Awards for Lost in Shangri-La
Year Award Result Ref.
2011 Goodreads Choice Award for Best History & Biography Nominee [4]
2012 Laurence L. & Thomas Winship/PEN New England Award for Nonfiction Winner [5]

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.[2]

See also

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". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  3. Miller, Laura (2011-12-08). "The best nonfiction of 2011". Salon. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  4. "Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure…". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 2023-02-28. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  5. "2012 Laurence L. & Thomas Winship /Pen New England Awards Announced". JFK Library. March 13, 2012. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
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