Book Review: The Raft by Robert Trumbull

The Raft

The plane sunk from below their feet into the depths of the deep blue abyss. Three naval airmen now find themselves floating alone in endless waves and ocean expanse. This is a gripping true story of their grueling adventure adrift at sea for 34 days in a rubber raft not much bigger than a bathtub.

Preparedness lessons learned from this book include:

  • No matter how bad it may get, it will never be as bad as these guys had it.
  • Resourcefulness – From next to nothing to absolutely nothing, they made use of their resources of tools, supplies, knowledge and experience.
  • Interesting study on the effects of dehydration and starvation.
  • Sometimes miracles only happen once we’ve arrived at the limits of Hades.

I read this book recently as a bedtime story for my 9 and 6 year old boys. It’s a quick, easy read that mixes adventure with preparedness lessons. The Raft had enough suspense, adventure, guns, sharks, storms and peril to keep my kids’ attention and wanting for “just one more chapter” each night. My wife was even hooked in for the last half of the book and kept joining us nightly until the end.

Don’t expect to come away from this book with a list of, “I’m going to do this, and this and this” as practical examples from this book. Instead you’ll come away with a stronger conviction that no matter how bad it gets, if God wants me to survive, I’ll stay alive and thrive. This is a story of courage and the indomitable human spirit that we should all acquire so that we can thrive through any challenge that the future might hold.

This is one of those “can’t put it down” adventure books that pulls you in from the start and won’t let you go until you reach The End. To read the first few chapters or pages online so that you can get hooked, go to Google Books ». And of course it’s available via Amazon: The Raft

16 Replies to “Book Review: The Raft by Robert Trumbull”

  1. Sounds a lot like “Adrift,” except adrift was one man and for twice the length of time. I think I remember a couple of curse words so I might not recommend it to 6-9 year olds, unless read by a parent who can “skip” over that stuff.
    Adrift is also, as you say, a book that you don’t read to get a “list” of things to do/acquire (unless you feel you’ll find yourself adrift in a life raft. It is a tribute to the indomitable spirit, much like another title, “We die alone.” After the first couple of chapters the story turns from the initial action//escape, to the long and lonely survival situation, highlighting the mental aspect of endurance.
    Someone had recommended Skeletons on the Zahara to me a while back, but I couldn’t finish it for all the descriptions of bodily functions of “living corpses.” (definitely not appropriate for children) Besides, the motive of “treasure hunting” laid a weak foundation for the survival situation presented–I found myself saying “you got what you deserved.” I suppose one could say the same about adrift and Shackleton, for that matter, but those stories were different somehow in my mind.

  2. Sounds a lot like “Adrift,” except adrift was one man and for twice the length of time. I think I remember a couple of curse words so I might not recommend it to 6-9 year olds, unless read by a parent who can “skip” over that stuff.
    Adrift is also, as you say, a book that you don’t read to get a “list” of things to do/acquire (unless you feel you’ll find yourself adrift in a life raft. It is a tribute to the indomitable spirit, much like another title, “We die alone.” After the first couple of chapters the story turns from the initial action//escape, to the long and lonely survival situation, highlighting the mental aspect of endurance.
    Someone had recommended Skeletons on the Zahara to me a while back, but I couldn’t finish it for all the descriptions of bodily functions of “living corpses.” (definitely not appropriate for children) Besides, the motive of “treasure hunting” laid a weak foundation for the survival situation presented–I found myself saying “you got what you deserved.” I suppose one could say the same about adrift and Shackleton, for that matter, but those stories were different somehow in my mind.

  3. I gonna read this book reason 1) is it sounds good and reason to is that my great unchle(sp?) is one of the main chara. In the book

  4. I gonna read this book reason 1) is it sounds good and reason to is that my great unchle(sp?) is one of the main chara. In the book

  5. I am a school teacher and have used this book in my classes for over twenty years. This is a story that will capture the most reluctant readers and transport them to the South Pacific of 1942 where, along with Harold Dixon, Gene Alrich, and Tony Pastula, they will fight for their lives in a seemingly hopeless situation: adrift at sea in a four by eight foot rubber life raft for thirty-four days and nights — an inspiring and memorable read!

  6. Gene Aldrich was my Uncle. As a your man he had many different interest in things. Later in his life he did not talk a great deal about what happen on the raft.

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