Ship of Miracles [Hardcover]

Bill Gilbert (Author), Alexander M Haig (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Ship of Miracles is the incredible story of what has been called "the greatest rescue operation by a single ship in the history of mankind".

Against all odds, Captain Leonard La Rue and his crew on the twelve-man merchant ship Meredith Victory transported 14,000 Korean refugees fleeing the Chinese army to safety. They steered the ship through sea battle, a 30-mile web of sea mines, and enemy shelling.

At the fiftieth anniversary of this miraculous rescue, the story told in Ship of Miracles is as touching today as it was then.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books; First edition. edition (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572433663
• ISBN-13: 978-1572433663
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,247,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Story, Horribly Told., July 31, 2007

By 

T. Russ (California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ship of Miracles (Hardcover)

This is a truly wonderful story. Unfortunately, the presentation is truly awful. This was my choice for our book group, based on reading the obituary of the captain of the ship. After reading the book, I had to aplogize for selecting it. The story itself is quite interesting and compelling, but Gilbert really butchers the tale. The organization is disjointed, the attempts to blend in the wider story fail, and parts of the prose could be submitted to the Bulwer-Lytton contest. Here is the first sentence of Chapter 1:

"In bone-chilling tempertures and howling winds, with the imminent threat of enemy gunfire aimed at his ship from the beach and return fire from the USS Missouri, four destroyers, two heavy cruisers, and four rocket ships sailing over him back toward the shore, destiny was summoning a thirty-seven-year-old Merchant Marine captain from Philadelphia."

The book is very disjointed, with what seems to be a collection of independent articles joined together to form a collection. The best parts of the book are the sections where the author quotes other sources or the recollections and writings of the participants. This is a real shame, because the story of the rescue of the refugees, their terror and the eventual decision of Captain La Rue to give up the sea and join a monastery are a great story. But this book is a waste.

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading, February 21, 2011

By 

bee reads - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ship of Miracles (Hardcover)

In the foreword to this book, Alexander Haig wrote "(t)his book did not just deserve to be written - it needed to be written." I agree. It is a thorough and gripping account of a miraculous rescue which could have ended in disaster any number of times. The account is largely written through quotes from those who were involved in some way - crew members, the captain, Koreans who were rescued, and others. Once in a while the style of writing distracts from the content, but I give the book 5 stars anyway because the story is so engrossing and the reader is easily involved. I used this book in a presentation and the audience was fully engaged. It is an inspiring account of a truly miraculous rescue.