Radar and the Raft: A True Story About a Scientific Marvel, the Lives it Saved, and the World it Changed

by Jeff Lantos, Alan Marks (illustrator)

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade, Survival, Science, Adventure

192 pages, Hardcover

Published September 24, 2024

Reviews

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oks so I wanted to hate this book. I am not a fan of the illustrations that were chosen for the cover or for the pictures inside. It made for a weird mix of real photos with this blurry painterly images and it just made for an “off” feeling.

I think I might have liked a more detailed history of radar and all the cool things that came from it, or maybe I didn’t think the two stories blended as seamlessly as they could have? As soon as the the Bells story got harrowing, boom- incredible long (possibly boring depending on the reader) chapter on science and scientists and experiments and repeatedly being like, “it almost didn’t happen!”

I see what the author is getting at though, throwing in the science to show its “cool” and the survival story is rather amazing. But for some reason it didn’t read as a middle school book, but it did? Ugh this is so hard to explain.

164 pages it wasn’t even that long, but it’s tiny type and boring block formatting with “fun facts” popping up in boxes that while interesting, didn’t really need to be there. I found them distracting, but I did like some of the fun facts, so I see why the author was trying to do, I think 😜👍

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radar and the Raft alternates chapters telling a riveting true WWII survival story with detailed scientific information about scientific discoveries related to the radar. The Bell family's voyage across the Atlantic to flee Europe becomes harrowing when a German U-boat torpedoes their ship, leaving them on the water in lifeboats and hoping for rescue. The retelling of their journey is interspersed with chapters introducing readers to the science and the scientists that played an instrumental role in the development of radar, The connections between science and history provides a unique and engaging angle to an already compelling piece of history.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing an eARC of the book with me.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

What better way to read about a book when it combines a harrowing sea and survival adventure intertwined with the invention and science of radar. It was so educational and the scientific part about electromagnetism was written in layman’s language that it was easily understood and interesting at the same time. And how the invention of radar and its subsequent refinements has changed our lives. But I’ll be remiss if I not mention the sinking of the ship and the survival of some of the passengers. A wonderful book overall and not too lengthy to finish it in a couple of days.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting nonfiction that reads like a survival-adventure novel about a group who survived for weeks on a raft in the Atlantic after their ship was torpedoed by a U-boat. The survival story is told in alternating chapters alongside the story of the development of radar which was used to locate the raft.

[Michele Knott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrative story was really interesting. The premise - the narrative story and information about the science behind portions of it, with the chapters taking turns - should have been interesting, but I found the scientific portions to be boring and the connections were often small and had way more information than needed to connect to the story.

[Sarah]

I liked this, but the physics part of it was a little much for me as an end-of-the-day read. The overall story was very interesting and we may return to it as a read aloud at some point, but the science is way too advanced for my kids now.

[Mary-Esther Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The survival chapters are suitably dramatic, while the science chapters are a bit dense.

[Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interwoven storylines link a triumphant technological advance with a harrowing tale of survival at sea.

[JANET · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the writing could have been better, but overall I love it! The technological advances are flabbergasting and the survival story worthy of a movie.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting, complex and exhaustively researched story of an American family trying to navigate the shifting allainces and dangers of WWII.

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, though the science parts were a little long (and I love science!) to hold most middle schoolers’ interest.

[Rikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the Raft parts of the story but the Radar parts were a bit long for me. Some were interesting and some just dragged on. Not sure that they were really tied together very well.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Charlesbridge for the digital arc.
The story unfolds through alternating chapters for two timelines, one detailing the escape of the Bell Family from WWII the Ivory Coast of Africa, and while the other traces the scientific development of radar. The Bell's escape was fraught with frustration, delays and uncertainty as they tried to reach the coast and secure a spot on a ship heading west. The ocean voyage over the Atlantic shipping lanes could turn deadly at any moment as they were targeted by the German U-boats. The Bell family boarded the cargo ship West Lashaway in September 1942 with the first week at sea providing a false sense of security, which would soon turn the adventure into a fight for survival. The second timeline traces the scientific discoveries needed to invent “radar” which ultimately led to the rescue of the lifeboat with the Bells. This is a multidisciplinary nonfiction book. Undeniably a survival , but with WW II history, the science of radar, and personal histories, it checks a lot of boxes and would have wide appeal. Photos, documents, end notes and a bibliography complete this title. Highly recommend for everyone from middle school through adult.

[Emma Filbrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my family, and we were all engrossed in the story. We found the scientific chapters quite interesting, but the chapters about the Bell family’s survival and eventual rescue on the raft were what really kept us reading. I liked the way the two stories were alternated; that broke up the slightly less-interesting scientific information (although even that was written in quite an engaging way!). We learned a lot about the discovery and development of electricity, batteries, radio waves and radar, and were enthralled with the story that tied the whole book together.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it. I liked it so well that I bought a copy.