Lost in Shangri-La

Author: Mitchell Zuckoff
Goodreads Rating: 3.75
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 384
Reviewed By: Nicole


I got this book last summer, as an ARC and then when I got asked to participate in the book tour for TLC tours. I found the history behind this little known fact thrilling. There are so many different aspects to World War Two that so many events that were a big deal simply got forgotten because it was such a broad spectrum or events.


Goodreads Synopses:


Award-winning former "Boston Globe" reporter Mitchell Zuckoff unleashes the exhilarating, untold story of an extraordinary World War II rescue mission, where a plane crash in the South Pacific plunged a trio of U.S. military personnel into a land that time forgot. Fans of Hampton Sides' "Ghost Soldiers," Marcus Luttrell's "Lone Survivor," and David Grann's "The Lost City of Z "will be captivated by Zuckoff's masterfully recounted, all-true story of danger, daring, determination, and discovery in jungle-clad New Guinea during the final days of WWII.


Follow the jump for my review!
By now we all know that I love history, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed this book. As far as non-fiction goes, I felt that this one did a good job of staying on task. Often, I find that non-fiction authors will go too much into a backstory to provide an adequate setting for the reader. While Zuckoff did do some of this I found that it wasn't as tedious as other books that I have read. 


There were a lot of new things that I learned from this book, among them was some of the role of women during the war efforts. When it came to World War Two I was always more interested in Europe than the Pacific fighting. In fact, its probably news to you that there was even a US Base in New Guinea. 


I liked meeting the cast of characters even the ones that perished in the plane crash. One thing that did bug me was how he would backtrack from the story to talk about the people that he was introducing. It was nice to know the history of so and so, but it did nothing for to help move the book closer to the end. 


I liked that we did get to learn a lot about those that crashed and survived particularly what we learned about them after the were rescued. I thought that it was cool to see how their crash impacted their lives and how they had new bonds that wouldn't have otherwise been there without the crash.


It was discussed how there were many tribes within Shangri-la that were self sustained and did their own thing before the island was taken over. I felt that it was important for Zuckoff to discuss what they were like and their culture (which he did). As I was reading about the after effects of these people being found, I kept thinking that they were happy before the missionaries and other explorers came in and changed their ways and customs. To me if felt like having someone come into your house and saying that you're going about your life all wrong, and then that person changing it even though you don't want it.


It was a good book with a lot of interesting information. I'm thinking of passing it on to my dad for him to read, so if you're looking for Father's day gift idea's now that Mother's day has passed, I would for sure check this out one for dad or grandpa if they are WWII history buffs. You can enter for a chance to win a copy under the Giveaway Tab!