Hear a true WWII survival story at the Athol Public Library on April 26 at 6:00!
Author Alison O’Leary says her book, So Close to Home, will “challenge what you know about World War II.”
The public is invited to hear this true story of attack and survival at Athol Library, 6 p.m. Thursday, April 26, when O’Leary will discuss the book, the research involved, and the true story of an American family that was aboard a freighter ship in the Gulf of Mexico in May 1942 when a German U-boat torpedoed it, sending the parents and their two young children into the dark water. She co-authored the book with New York Times bestselling author Michael Tougias, who also wrote The Finest Hours.
“Many people we’ve met have no idea that German submarines were sinking ships along the East Coast in 1942, nor that the Germans had the technology to send submarines into the Gulf of Mexico,” says O’Leary, a former Boston Globe correspondent and magazine editor. “That part of the story is amazing enough but we also have a family on a ship that was torpedoed. One of the survivors approached us to tell his story.”
In addition, O’Leary and Tougias uncovered the German submarine commanders’ war diaries at the National Archives, allowing them to trace the paths of two U-boat aces and describe the conditions aboard the submarines. The book tells the story from both points of view.
The program is free and open to the public. O’Leary will have books to sell and sign following the program.
There will be a brief (5 minute) Friends of the Athol Public Library meeting at the start of this program
Generously funded by the Friends of the Athol Public Library.
Free and open to the Public
Registration is required. Please call (978) 249-9515 to secure your spot!
Posted: to Athol Library News on Wed, Apr 18, 2018
Updated: Thu, Apr 19, 2018