Mitchell Zuckoff is an award-winning writer and professor of journalism at Boston University. He is the author of Lost in Shangri-La: The Epic True Story of a Plane Crash into the Stone Age (HarperCollins). His previous books are: Robert Altman: The Oral Biography, one of Amazon.com's "Best Books of 2009"; Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend, a New York Times Editors' Choice book; and Choosing Naia: A Family's Journey, which received the Christopher Award and was named a Massachusetts Honor Book. Zuckoff is co-author of Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders, which was a finalist for the Edgar Award. A sought after keynote speaker, he has spoken at more than two dozen universities during the past decade, at historical and business groups, and at veterans' organizations. Zuckoff's magazine work has appeared in The New Yorker, Fortune, and other national and regional publications. He is a former special projects reporter for The Boston Globe, where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for investigative reporting. He received the Distinguished Writing Award from the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Livingston Award for International Reporting, the Heywood Broun Award, and the Associated Press Managing Editors' Public Service Award, among other national honors. In his riveting Lost in Shangri-La talks, Zuckoff reveals one of the last untold stories of World War II, the extraordinary mission to rescue male and female survivors of a U.S. military plane crash in an isolated corner of the South Pacific, and the ancient indigenous tribe members who aided those stranded on the ground in this "Shangri-La." He illustrates his talks with an incredible short film shot during the episode (and showing the dramatic rescue) by Alexander Cann, a cameraman from the Netherlands Information Service who parachuted into the valley. Near the end of World War II, American airmen stationed in the South Pacific found a secluded tropical valley in Dutch New Guinea where Army maps showed only mountains. On a Sunday afternoon in May 1945, a sightseeing trip over the valley carried 15 Army officers and enlisted men and nine members of the Women's Army Corps. When the plane crashed into a jungle-covered mountain, 19 passengers were killed and two mortally wounded. But somehow three survived: John McCollom, a lieutenant whose twin brother died in the crash, Ken Decker, a sergeant who suffered terrible head wounds, and Margaret Hastings, a beautiful member of the WACs. Hurt, unarmed, and afraid, they prayed for deliverance - from their wounds, from the elements, and from the spear-carrying Dani tribesmen who roamed the mountains. For seven weeks, John, Ken, and Margaret experienced one remarkable adventure after another. Margaret chronicled it all in the detailed shorthand diary she kept during their time in the valley, an invaluable resource from which the author references and quotes directly. Throughout this time, the Army's Far East Command staff struggled to devise a rescue plan. The idea they eventually settled on could have been pulled from a comic book: A lightweight glider would be dropped on the floor of the valley, then with everyone onboard, an army plane would swoop down to hook a cable attached to the glider and pull it up above the jungle. The Dani chose to spare their lives and aided in their descent from the mountain into the lush region known as Hidden Valley but nicknamed "Shangri-La" and the rescue mission was a success. Zuckoff lives near Boston with his wife, Boston Globe photographer Suzanne Kreiter, and their two daughters.
What he presents:
Lost in Shangri-La: The True Story of a Plane Crash into a Hidden World
Ponzi Schemes: Financial Fraud, Old and New - From the Original Ponzi Scheme in 1920 to Madoff and His Ilk
Journalism and Its Future
The Life and Career of Director Robert Altman