Endurance at Sea

No food. No water. Sharks everywhere. In this excerpt from Laura Hillenbrand’s new book, "Unbroken," three U.S. airmen refuse to surrender.

ALL HE COULD see, in every direction, was water. It was June 23, 1943. Somewhere on the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Army Air Forces bombardier Louie Zamperini lay across a small raft, drifting westward. Beside him lay his tail gunner, Francis “Mac” McNamara. On a separate raft, tethered to the first, lay a third crewman, pilot Russell Phillips, known by the others as Phil. Their bodies, burned by the sun and stained yellow from the raft dye, had winnowed to skeletons. Sharks glided in lazy loops around them, dragging their backs along the rafts, waiting.

http://theweek.com/article/index/210432/the-last-word-endurance-at-sea