The sinking of the Dorchester in the icy waters off
Greenland shortly after midnight on February 3, 1942, was one of
the worst sea disasters of World War II. It was also the occasion
of an astounding feat of heroism—and faith.
As water gushed through a hole made by a German torpedo, four
chaplains—members of different faiths but linked by bonds of
friendship and devotion—moved quietly among the men onboard.
Preaching bravery, the chaplains distributed life jackets,
including their own. In the end, these four men went down with the
ship, their arms linked in spiritual solidarity, their voices
raised in prayer. In this spellbinding narrative, award-winning
author and journalist Dan Kurzman tells the story of these heroes
and the faith—in God and in country—that they shared.
They were about as different as four American clergymen could be.
George Lansing Fox Methodist, wounded and decorated in World War
I, loved his family and his Vermont congregation—yet he re-enlisted
as soon as he heard about Pearl Harbor. Rabbi Alex Goode was an
athlete, an intellectual, and an adoring new father—yet he too
knew, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, that he would serve. Clark
Poling Dutch Reformed, the son a famous radio evangelist, left
for war begging his father to pray that he would never be a coward.
Father John Washington Catholic, a scrappy Irish street fighter,
had dedicated himself to the church after a childhood brush with
death. Chance brought the chaplains together at a Massachusetts
training camp, but each was convinced that God had a reason for
placing them together aboard the Dorchester.
Drawing on extensive interviews with the chaplains’ families and
the crews of both the Dorchester and the German submarine
that fired the fatal torpedo, Kurzman re-creates the intimate
circumstances and great historic events that culminated in that
terrible night. The final hours unfold with the electrifying
clarity of nightmare—the chaplains taking charge of the dwindling
supply of life jackets, the panic of the crew, the overcrowded
lifeboats, the prayers that ring out over the chaos, and the tight
circle that the four chaplains form as the inevitable draws
near.
In No Greater Glory, Dan Kurzman tells how four
extraordinary men left their mark on a single night of war—and
forever changed the lives of those they saved. Riveting and
inspiring, this is a true story of heroism, of goodness in the face
of disaster, and of faith that transfigures even the horror of
war.
From the Hardcover edition.
關於作者:
DAN KURZMAN, a former foreign correspondent for
The Washington Post, is the author of fifteen previous books
and the winner of five major literary and journalistic awards. His
books include Fatal Voyage: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis;
Left to Die: The Tragedy of the USS Juneau; and Genesis
1948: The First Arab-Israeli War. He lives in North Bergen, New
Jersey.
From the Hardcover edition.