The Official Website of Doug Stanton

New Reporting.
New Questions.
New Answers.

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New Edition of Horse Soldiers now available.
IN HARM'S WAY

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6 months on the New York Times Best-Seller List

As seen on The Today Show, Morning Joe, CNN, Fox, Discovery, History, A&E, and NBC Nightly News

As featured in PBS’s “USS Indianapolis: The Final Chapter"

An Amazon and Barnes & Noble Notable/Best Book Of The Year

An Audible Award Winner— "Best History Book"

Best-seller lists— Publisher’s Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA TODAY, Christian Science Monitor, Entertainment Weekly, BookSense, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, New York Times
12 Strong

Based on the #1 New York Times bestseller, Horse Soldiers

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Chris Hemsworth (“Thor,” “The Avengers” films) and Oscar nominee
Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road,” “Nocturnal Animals”) star in
“12 Strong,” a powerful new war drama from Alcon Entertainment,
Black Label Media and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. Based on the best-selling
book Horse Soldiers, it is a story of heroism based on true events that
unfolded a world away in the aftermath of 9/11.
THE ODYSSEY

OF ECHO COMPANY

The 1968 Tet Offensive and the Epic Battle to Survive the Vietnam War

by Doug Stanton
Published by Scribner (S&S)

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“Stanton’s searing tale of war and homecoming will soon finds its place on the rarefied shelf among the classics of the Vietnam War.”
—Hampton Sides

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Now in paperback!

Military Times Best Book Of The Year

Best Nonfiction Book Award, Society of Midland Authors
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U.S.S. Indianapolis, Lost for 72 Years, Is Found

In July, 1945 the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Based on Doug’s reporting in his book In Harm’s Way, the ship sank in about 12 minutes, killing some 300 sailors, and sending some 900 adrift in a burning sea. In August 2017, the wreckage of the ship was found.
Read Doug's piece in Newsweek See Doug on CBS PBS's USS Indianapolis Live
12 Strong Movie
Tie-in edition,
out now wherever
books are sold

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A film starring Chris Hemsworth,
Michael Shannon and Michael Peña
about the U.S. Special Forces
sent to Afghanistan right after the
September 11 attacks., previously
published as Horse Soldiers.

Media

Doug Stanton is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, lecturer, screenwriter. His books include The Odyssey of Echo Company, In Harm’s Way, and Horse Soldiers. Horse Soldiers is the basis for a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced movie titled 12 Strong, starring Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon, released by Warner Bros. in 2018. Horse Soldiers is required reading by US Army Special Forces at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. In Harm’s Way, the definitive account of the sinking, rescue, and valor of the USS Indianapolis crew, spent more than six months on the New York Times bestseller list and became required reading on the U.S. Navy's reading list for officers. The unabridged audiobook edition of In Harm’s Way is the winner of the 2017 Audie Award in the History category. Horse Soldiers was featured on the front page of the Sunday New York Times Book Review, and is also a New York Times bestselling ebook and audiobook. The Odyssey of Echo Company is a Military Times Best Book Of The Year and recipient of the The Society of Midlands Authors Best NonFiction Book Award. He has lectured at libraries, civic and corporate groups, bookstores, universities, including the US Department of State and The Center for Strategic International Studies. He recently appeared, with Lynn Novick, co-producer of PBS’s "The Vietnam War,” on CSPAN’s "American History” to discuss the Vietnam War.

Doug Stanton has appeared as an USS Indianapolis historian on PBS’s 2017 “USS Indianapolis–From The Deep,” The Today Show, CNN, Fox, Morning Joe, NBC Nightly News, CBS This Morning, C-SPAN Book TV, History, A&E, Smithsonian Channel, Discovery, and in hundreds of national radio and print interviews.

In Harm’s Way spent more than six months on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated in multiple languages. In 2017, the unabridged audiobook edition was the winner of an Audie Award in the History category.The book is read in U.S. highs schools as part of History and English/Creative Writing coursework and is a popular choice of book clubs nationwide.

His writing about the USS Indianapolis has appeared in Naval History magazine and other national publications. In Harm’s Way was included in the U.S. Navy’s required reading list for naval officers.

In Harm’s Way was a Publisher’s Weekly “Notable Book," a Michigan Notable Book of the Year, a Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com Notable/Best Book of The Year, and appeared on multiple bestseller lists: The New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, Washington Post, USA TODAY, Christian Science Monitor, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher’s Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, The Sunday Times (London), and Book Sense.

As chronicled in In Harm’s Way, in July 2001, the Department of Navy, joining with the United States Congress, exonerated the ship’s court-martialed captain, Charles McVay. This historic reversal of fortune was preceded by a decades-long journey by USS Indianapolis survivors and families, friends, and interested parties from across the US, seeking justice for McVay and their ship’s legacy. As survivor Giles McCoy told Doug Stanton, he and his shipmates had promised McVay that they would “clear the skipper’s name.” McCoy, founder of the USS Indianapolis Survivors’ organization, and his shipmates made further good on this promise with the dedication of the USS Indianapolis National Memorial, in August, 1995.

After the publication of In Harm’s Way, Doug and Anne Stanton established “The USS Indianapolis Survivor’s Fund Scholarship Program,” administered by the Grand Traverse Regional Foundation, and later generously endowed, in memory of rescue pilot of Chuck Gwinn, as “The USS Indianapolis/Gwinn 'Angel' Scholarship Endowment” by the Gwinn family. Doug and Anne also provided the initial donation supporting publication of USS Indianapolis Survivors' oral histories. '

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IN HARM’S WAY

“Stanton not only offers a well-researched chronicle of what is widely regarded as the worst naval disaster in U.S. history, but also vividly renders the combatants’ hellish ordeal during the sinking, and the ensuing days at sea as well as attempts to cope with the traumatic aftermath. Stanton’s omniscient narrative shifts among the individual perspectives of several principal characters, a successful technique that contributes to the book’s absorbing, novelistic feel.”

–Publisher’s Weekly

IN HARM’S WAY

“A thoroughly researched, powerfully written account of a nightmare at sea, one of the most poignant tragedies and injustices of World War II. I was struck throughout by the extraordinary heroism of the marines and sailors who survived, all the more remarkable because they do not see it on themselves.”

– Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down and Hue 1968

IN HARM’S WAY

“[In Harm’s Way] fully deserves the acclaim it has received.”

–National Review

IN HARM’S WAY

“A haunting story of valor, iniquity, and young men in peril on the sea. Once the Indianapolis steams into the crosshairs of the Japanese submarine I-58, In Harm’s Way is impossible to put down. Doug Stanton’s account of the Indy’s sinking and the harrowing aftermath is as infuriating, mesmerizing, and heartbreaking as any tale yet told of the great war in the Pacific.“

– Rick Atkinson, author of The Long Gray Line and The Liberation Trilogy

IN HARM’S WAY

“When it comes to… sea tales, few are as riveting as that of the USS Indianapolis…”

–The Wall Street Journal

IN HARM’S WAY

“Stanton tensely tells how four days of shark attacks and hypothermia killed hundreds.”

–People magazine

IN HARM’S WAY

“In Harm’s Way is an important book.”

–New Orleans Times-Picayune

IN HARM’S WAY

“…A powerfully intimate story… Stanton’s book successfully paints a remarkable picture of…heroism, and the strength of the human spirit.”

–American History

IN HARM’S WAY

“Doug Stanton has done this country a service by bringing the incredible yet almost-forgotten story of the USS Indianapolis to heart-pounding life. Do yourself a favor. Read In Harm’s Way.”

–James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers

IN HARM’S WAY

“The secret to any good history book is for readers to be taught a history lesson without knowing it. In Harm’s Way does just that.”

–Chicago Tribune

IN HARM’S WAY

““Superbly crafted, [In Harm’s Way] . . . benefits from sympathetic research on the Indianapolis survivors, the horrors of their experiences, and their courage in surviving.”

–Booklist

IN HARM’S WAY

“Drawing on extensive interviews with survivors and rescuers and on government files that have only recently been opened to view, Doug Stanton has rendered a public service by providing the first complete account of the tragedy of Indianapolis. . . This is a grim, poignant story that needed to be told fully and honestly. With painstaking research and an unerring eye for detail, Stanton has set down a riveting, eloquent tale of great power.”

–World War II magazine

IN HARM’S WAY

“Stanton writes a riveting account of the USS Indianapolis, [and] weaves testimony from survivors with corroborating research… a harrowing story of what the survivors withstood until help arrived.”

–Christian Science Monitor

An incredible lineup of Summer Guests at the Traverse City National Writers Series. Wow.

Kevin Kwan.
Jodi Picoult.
Erik Larson.
Jane Smiley.
Peter Heller.

get tix at nationalwritersseries.org

I'll be sitting down with Erik Larson and Peter Heller. Other guest hosts are Chad Lindsey, the fabulous director at City Opera House; award-winning poet and memoirist Anne-Marie Oomen; and the amazing Rochelle Riley, author and Director of Arts and Culture in Detroit, and a former NWS board member. Thank you all for coming to the stage!

Doug W. Stanton ... See MoreSee Less

Traverse City National Writers Series

The National Writers Series supports area students pursuing writing careers by bringing to life great

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The sunset road leads to...?

Please give a read and subscribe. Having a lot of fun writing this tale of romance, love and humor, loosely inspired by my great-great grandfather, August Kroke, who sailed around the world before settling near Traverse City, Michigan and Benzie county, where I sit now typing this. ... See MoreSee Less

1862, Chapter 10

Mr. Waggoner has met his untimely death making love with Johanna in Room 5 up in the town’s hotel. August has crept through the window to confront Johanna about Wagoner. We pick them up there.

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YouTube kathrynpreston67

The Wide Wide Sea is that rare work of prose and history that unspools a world, snaps it into focus, and is filled nonetheless with surprises. This is going to be a great night talking with one of America's best non-fiction writers. Hampton travelled the world to report and write The Wide Wide Sea, and those stories alone are fascinating. Get your tix at

nationalwritersseries.org/hampton-sides-2/

Traverse City National Writers Series Anne Gertiser Stanton Hampton Sides Doubleday Publishers ... See MoreSee Less

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Hampton Sides | National Writers Series

(IN PERSON AT CITY OPERA HOUSE & LIVESTREAMED) On Wed. May 1, Hampton Sides joins the National Writers Series

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Congratulations, this is a huge honor and accomplishment borne of hard work and commitment to service to communities. We are lucky to have the White Pine Press and mentor, author, and journalist Jacob Wheeler and White Pine reporters in Traverse City. Pick up a copy of The White Pine Press at Traverse Area District Library or other places.

Traverse City National Writers Series Anne Gertiser StantonThe White Pine Press, the student-run newspaper at Northwestern Michigan College, won 15 awards (including 5 for first place) at the Michigan Community College Press Association 2024 conference on April 6. Visit WhitePinePressTC.com, or pick up your copy on campus or at retail locations throughout Traverse City, to read more. This newspaper represents 40 years of hard work, ink-stained hands, late nights writing, friendships formed, and devotion to cover important topics that affect our NMC community. Faculty adviser Marilyn Jaquish guided the resurrection of campus journalism, and the White Pine Press was born during the 1983-84 school year. The paper quickly became a standard campus feature, regularly winning awards at college journalism conferences. (Pictured here: Julia Belden and Emma Marion hold up awards the White Pine Press won at the MCCPA conference at Central Michigan University.) ... See MoreSee Less

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