So Close to Home: A True Story of an American Family's Fight for Survival During World War II--by Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary

    

 










So Close to Home: A True Story of an American Family's Fight for Survival During World War II--by Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary 


A true story of men and women pitted against the sea during World War II―and an unforgettable portrait of the determination of the human spirit.

On May 19, 1942, a U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico stalked its prey fifty miles from New Orleans. Captained by twenty nine-year-old Iron Cross and King's Cross recipient Erich Wurdemann, the submarine set its sights on the freighter Heredia with sixty-two souls on board.

Most aboard were merchant seamen, but there were also a handful of civilians, including the Downs family: Ray and Ina, and their two children, eight-year-old Sonny and eleven-year-old Lucille. Fast asleep in their berths, the Downs family had no idea that two torpedoes were heading their way. When the ship exploded, chaos ensued―and each family member had to find their own path to survival.

Including original, unpublished material from Commander Wurdemann’s war diary, the story provides balance and perspective by chronicling the daring mission of the U-boat―and its commander’s decision-making―in the Gulf of Mexico.


An inspiring historical narrative, So Close to Home tells the story of the Downs family as they struggle against sharks, hypothermia, drowning, and dehydration in their effort to survive the aftermath of this deadly attack off the American coast.

Reviews

“Through their meticulous research, Tougias and O'Leary take you where few historians dare, into the dark sea where an American family is floundering to stay alive, and onto the steel-planked deck of the German U-boat that put them there. This is priceless history―two hundred pages of 'you-are-there.'” (Adam Makos, New York Times bestselling author of "A Higher Call")

“They don't come any better than Michael J. Tougias. His latest, So Close to Home, is a truly gripping, deeply affecting saga of undersea warfare and an extraordinary American family caught in the crosshairs of history.” (Alex Kershaw, New York Times best-selling author of "The Longest Winter" and "The Few")

“Gives a solid perspective of the hardships endured by ordinary people.” (Library Journal)

“Tougias (The Finest Hours), a writer who specializes in survival stories, and journalist O’Leary impressively render the grim early period of U.S. involvement in WWII.” (Publishers Weekly) 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael J. Tougias

Michael Tougias is the author and co-author of twenty-three non-fiction books, including several true survival-at-sea adventures, such as Rescue of the Bounty, Fatal Forecast, Overboard!, A Storm Too Soon, and The Finest Hours (soon to be a major motion picture by Disney). Ten Hours Until Dawn was selected as one of the American Library Association's "Best Books of the Year."

Alison O’Leary

Alison O’Leary is a former reporter for the Boston Globe, a magazine editor, and a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country.