Shortly before Christmas in 1943, five Army aviators left Alaska's Ladd Field on a routine flight to test their hastily retrofitted B-24 Liberator in harsh winter conditions. The mission ended in a crash that claimed all but one—Leon Crane, a city kid from Philadelphia with no wilderness experience. With little more than a parachute for cover and an old Boy Scout knife in his pocket, Crane now found himself alone in subzero temperatures. Crane knew, as did the Ladd Field crews who searched unsuccessfully for the crash site, that his chance of survival dropped swiftly with each passing day. But Crane did find a way to stay alive in the grip of the Yukon winter for nearly twelve weeks and, amazingly, walked out of the ordeal intact. 81 Days Below Zero recounts, for the first time, the full story of Crane's remarkable saga. In a drama of staggering resolve and moments of phenomenal luck, Crane learned to survive in the Yukon's unforgiving wilds. His is a tale of the capacity to endure extreme conditions, intense loneliness, and flashes of raw terror—and emerge stronger than before.
Author
Brian Murphy is a Baby Boomer advocate and the founder and editor of BONZA (Baby Boomers of NZ and Australia) a Baby Boomer information website: www.bonza.com.au He strongly believes that governments and industries are failing to adequately address the needs of the Boomer generation and the impact their impending retirement from the workforce will have on the economy and society by not having mature age policies. Since 1998 he has addressed these issues with thousands of Baby Boomers across New Zealand through his organisation, Grey Skills, and Australia through BONZA, by presenting well-balanced information sessions to the community on the pitfalls of an ageing population and advising how Boomers can plan for the future by acquiring the knowledge and skills to do so meaningfully. Brian works to equip Boomers with the skills necessary to tackle the extension of their careers, re-entry into the workforce and to prepare financially and mentally for a longer than predicted retirement. He has had great success with thousands of Boomers, from general managers to drug addicts, assisting them to move forward with their lives no matter what their history is. “It’s all about the future,” he states, “and never giving up!” He wants Baby Boomers to participate economically and socially if nothing else and have a BONZA life.
