September 2006    

Miracles on the Water: The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack Author: Tom Nagorski Publisher: Hyperion $24.95 Cloth (345 p.) ISBN: 1401301509 B&T         YBP Reviewed by Marcia Amidon Lusted, Statusing Some of the best lessons of history come not from the books about the large events of our times, but from those that look closely at individual experiences and the smaller events that may have slipped out of collective view and are remembered only by those who were directly involved. Tom Nagorski's book, Miracles on the Water, deals with one of these events. On September 17, 1940, a luxury liner named City of Benares, carrying among its passengers 90 British children, was torpedoed and ultimately sunk by a German submarine. These children were being evacuated from WWII wartime England, particularly to escape the bombings of the London Blitz, and were heading for a safer life in Canada. The sinking of the ship forced the children into lifeboats or the cold sea itself, and eventually only thirteen of these child evacuees would survive. Nagorski's book is one of those narratives that are impossible to put down. His own great-uncle was a passenger and survivor of the Benares, and the author draws on his recollections, as well as those of the surviving children, to create a compelling story of survival. He delves into the background of many of the child evacuees, as well as other passengers on the ship and the U-boat, then details the moments after the attack, the sinking of the ship, the loss of many children as they fell into the water, and later the desperate struggle to keep them alive in a storm as they floated in lifeboats, awaiting rescue. He also tells the harrowing story of Lifeboat Twelve, which became separated from the other lifeboats and was not rescued for eight days, by which time they were nearly out of water. Most of all, Nagorski tells of the extraordinary courage of the children on board the Benares and later, in the lifeboats. A naval officer later praised the children for having shown "courage beyond praise". They were survivors of wartime England and their courage continued no matter how dire their circumstances. The book also addresses the questions that were later raised about the lack of a continuous warship escort for the Benares, as well as the wisdom of trying to evacuate children by ship at a time when the Nazis were heavily patrolling the waters around Britain. It ends with a look at the survivors who are still alive today. This book earns my highest praise for being extremely readable and enthralling, as well as looking closely at an event that was truly horrific and yet not widely remembered today. It is a story that will stay with the reader long after the last page. Published by YBP Library Services 999 Maple St., Contoocook, NH 03229 USA v: 800.258.3774   f: 603.746.5628 w: www.ybp.com   e: academia@ybp.com All rights reserved.