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Title details for Sole Survivor by Ruthanne Lum McCunn - Available

Sole Survivor

The True Account of 133 Days Adrift

by Ruthanne Lum McCunn
Johanna Ward
Audiobook
3 of 3 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
3 of 3 copies available

On November 23, 1942, German U-Boats torpedoed the British ship Benlomond. It sank in the Atlantic in two minutes. The sole survivor was a second steward named Poon Lim who, with no knowledge of the sea, managed to stay alive for 133 days on a small wooden raft.

Based on three years of interviews, Sole Survivor reconstructs Poon's remarkable ordeal. We learn of a ship's crew that saw him but refused to pick him up; his ingenious ways of trapping water and catching fish (later used in US Navy training films); and his arrival at land, only to find it an impenetrable jungle. When he was finally rescued at the mouth of the Amazon River, Poon was hailed as the "World's Champion Survivor." He still holds the Guinness World Record for survival at sea. His story is an amazing tale of a young man's fortitude in the face of overwhelming odds.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 9, 2004

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781481561945
      • File size: 190732 KB
      • Duration: 06:37:21

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 1100
    • Text Difficulty: 7-9

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Poon Lim, a Chinese steward aboard a British merchant ship during WWII, survives for 133 days on a raft after his ship is sunk by a German torpedo. SOLE SURVIVOR was first released as fiction and later reissued as nonfiction. The epilogue explains why. The tale of Poon Lim's ordeal, including his thoughts and dreams, are told in Johanna Ward's soft, pleasant voice, as though she were reading a child's bedtime story. Her taciturn descriptions of the taste of fish eyes and the intestinal contents of sea birds are not for the squeamish and would be a good awakening for youngsters who won't eat their vegetables. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 1, 1985
      This is a fictionalized account of an actual event: 22-year-old Poon Lim's 133 days alone at sea following the WW II sinking in the South Atlantic of the British freighter on which this Chinese steward worked. Based on interviews with Poon, the reconstruction shows us a meek, dependent person who is suddenly thrown on his own resources to remain alive. Although he finds a lightly-stocked emergency raft in the debris of the sunken ship, he immediately encounters the first of many challenges: English-language labels on food cans, flares and other items. Through tortuous trial and error, Poon survives after the supplies run out. He learns to fish with a nail, to collect rainwater and to keep alert despite storms, blazing sun and nighttime cold. Five months later, when he washes ashore in Brazil, he is a matured man. Poon's experience makes for a dignified, uplifting adventure tale. Dolphin Book Club alternate. November

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:1100
  • Text Difficulty:7-9

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