Book excerpt: Acclaimed naval historian Don Keith tells one of the most inspiring sea stories of World War II: the Japanese attack on the American oiler USS Neosho and the crew’s struggle for survival as their slowly sinking ship drifted on the treacherous Coral Sea. May 1942: the United States closed in for the war’s first major clash with the Japanese Navy. The Neosho, a vitally important but minimally armed oil tanker was ordered away from the impending battle. But as the Battle of the Coral Sea raged two hundred miles away, the Neosho was attacked, setting the ship ablaze and leaving it listing badly. Scores of sailors were killed or wounded, while hundreds bobbed in shark-infested waters. Fires on board threatened to spark a fatal explosion, and each passing hour brought the ship closer to sinking. It was the beginning of a hellish four-day ordeal as the crew struggled to stay alive and keep their ship afloat. Only four of them would survive to be rescued after nine days. Working from eyewitness accounts and declassified documents, Keith offers up vivid portraits of Navy heroes in this tale of a ship as tough and resilient as its crew. The Ship That Wouldn’t Die captures the indomitable spirit of the American sailor—and finally brings to the surface one of the great untold sagas of the Pacific War.