About this item

From a mesmerizing storyteller, the gripping search for a missing World War II crew, their bomber plane, and their legacy.. In the fall of 1944, a massive American bomber carrying eleven men vanished over the Pacific islands of Palau, leaving a trail of mysteries. According to mission reports from the Army Air Forces, the plane crashed in shallow water - but when investigators went to find it, the wreckage wasnt there. Witnesses saw the crew parachute to safety, yet the airmen were never seen again. Some of their relatives whispered that they had returned to the United States in secret and lived in hiding. But they never explained why.. For sixty years, the U.S. government, the children of the missing airmen, and a maverick team of scientists and scuba divers searched the islands for clues. With every clue they found, the mystery only deepened.. Now, in a spellbinding narrative, Wil S. Hylton weaves together the true story of the missing men, their final mission, the families they left behind, and the real reason their disappearance remained shrouded in secrecy for so long. This is a story of love, loss, sacrifice, and faith - of the undying hope among the families of the missing, and the relentless determination of scientists, explorers, archaeologists, and deep-sea divers to solve one of the enduring mysteries of World War II.



About the Author

Wil S. Hylton

Wil S. Hylton is an author and essayist whose writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, The New Yorker, Esquire, GQ, Rolling Stone, and many other magazines. His work has been selected for numerous anthologies, including Best American Political Writing, Best Music Writing, Best Business Stories, and Next Wave: America's New Generation of Great Literary Journalists.

Hylton's first book, VANISHED, describes the mysterious disappearance of an American bomber during World War II and the unyielding effort by scientists and adventurers to locate its missing crew. More information about VANISHED can be seen at www.vanishedbook.com.

Hylton has been featured on The Diane Rehm Show, NPR Weekend Edition, Hardball with Chris Mathews, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, American History TV, and The News with Brian Williams. He is a visiting writer at Johns Hopkins University, and a recipient of the John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Journalism, granted by the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

More of his writing can be found at www.wilshylton.com.



Read Next Recommendation

Report incorrect product information.