Skip to content
Home/ Surviving the Lisbon Maru: The story of Japan's Ship from Hell, told by a survivor
Surviving the Lisbon Maru: The story of Japan's Ship from Hell, told by a survivor

Surviving the Lisbon Maru: The story of Japan's Ship from Hell, told by a survivor

by Salmon, Andrew
No customer reviews yet ISBN 9789888968152

A forgotten World War II atrocity. A remarkable survival story. A tribute to courage, endurance, and humanity.

In October 1942, the Japanese transport ship Lisbon Maru carrying 1,816 British prisoners of war from occupied Hong Kong toward forced labour camps in Japan was torpedoed off the coast of China by an American submarine. The POWs were trapped below deck in sealed holds and abandoned to their fate. Hundreds drowned, suffocated, or were machine-gunned as they tried to escape. It is one of the darkest and least-known tragedies of the Pacific War.

Among the survivors was Andrew Salmon - a Cockney boy who joined the British Army at fourteen, served in Hong Kong, and endured the horrors of Japanese POW camps, the sinking of the Lisbon Maru and the years in labour camps afterwards. Drawing on Andrew Salmon's diaries, letters, and unfinished manuscript, his son Ken Salmon reconstructs an extraordinary story of suffering, survival, comradeship, and resilience.

Surviving the Lisbon Maru is both a gripping personal memoir and an important historical record. It tells of the terror inside the sinking ship, the bravery of prisoners trying to save each other, and the courage of Chinese fishermen from the Zhoushan islands who risked their own lives to rescue survivors from the sea.

But this is also the story of what came after: years of slave labour in Japan, the emotional scars carried home by survivors, and one man's lifelong determination to ensure that the dead - and those who saved the living - would never be forgotten.

About the author

Product details

Pub dateJul 29, 2026
ISBN-109888968157
ISBN-139789888968152
LanguageEnglish
Last updated 2026-07-31 05:50
$16.56 $21.99 24% off
You save $5.43 · list price $21.99
In stock — ships in 24 hours with free tracking
Delivery by Monday, September 14, 2026
Qty
Sign in to Add to Saved list
Free delivery on orders over $35.
15-day returns. Any reason.
Secure checkout. We never store card details.

Readers who bought this also bought

More from History | Wars & Conflicts | World War II - Pacific Theater
See all
Burma Road: The Epic Story of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II
Webster, Donovan
$15.82
Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of W
Zuckoff, Mitchell
$14.16
Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of W
Zuckoff, Mitchell
$21.00
Rescue at Los Baños: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of World War II
Henderson, Bruce
$11.39
Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II
<p><strong>#1 <em>New York Times </em>bestseller!</strong></p><p><em>Frozen in Time</em> is a gripping true story of survival, bravery, and honor in the vast Arctic wilderness during World War II, from the author of <em>New York Times </em>bestseller <em>Lost in Shangri-La</em>.</p><p>On November 5, 1942, a US cargo plane slammed into the Greenland Ice Cap. Four days later, the B-17 assigned to the search-and-rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously, all nine men on board survived, and the US military launched a daring rescue operation. But after picking up one man, the Grumman Duck amphibious plane flew into a severe storm and vanished.</p><p><em>Frozen in Time </em>tells the story of these crashes and the fate of the survivors, bringing vividly to life their battle to endure 148 days of the brutal Arctic winter, until an expedition headed by famed Arctic explorer Bernt Balchen brought them to safety. Mitchell Zuckoff takes the reader deep into the most hostile environment on earth, through hurricane-force winds, vicious blizzards, and subzero temperatures.</p><p>Moving forward to today, he recounts the efforts of the Coast Guard and North South Polar Inc. - led by indefatigable dreamer Lou Sapienza - who worked for years to solve the mystery of the Duck's last flight and recover the remains of its crew.</p><p>A breathtaking blend of mystery and adventure Mitchell Zuckoff's <em>Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II </em>is also a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of our military personnel and a tribute to the everyday heroism of the US Coast Guard.</p>
$13.00
Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds
Sakamoto, Pamela Rotner
$14.16