The Indomitable Florence Finch cover art

The Indomitable Florence Finch

The Untold Story of a War Widow Turned Resistance Fighter and Savior of American POWs

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Indomitable Florence Finch

By: Robert J. Mrazek
Narrated by: Dan Woren
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The New York Times bestselling author of Fly Girls shares the riveting story of an unsung World War II hero who saved countless American lives in the Philippines.

When Florence Finch died at the age of 101, few of her Ithaca, NY neighbors knew that this unassuming Filipina native was a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, whose courage and sacrifice were unsurpassed in the Pacific War against Japan. Long accustomed to keeping her secrets close in service of the Allies, she waited fifty years to reveal the story of those dramatic and harrowing days to her own children.

Florence was an unlikely warrior. She relied on her own intelligence and fortitude to survive on her own from the age of seven, facing bigotry as a mixed-race mestiza with the dual heritage of her American serviceman father and Filipina mother.

As the war drew ever closer to the Philippines, Florence fell in love with a dashing American naval intelligence agent, Charles "Bing" Smith. In the wake of Bing's sudden death in battle, Florence transformed from a mild-mannered young wife into a fervent resistance fighter. She conceived a bold plan to divert tons of precious fuel from the Japanese army, which was then sold on the black market to provide desperately needed medicine and food for hundreds of American POWs. In constant peril of arrest and execution, Florence fought to save others, even as the Japanese police closed in.

With a wealth of original sources including taped interviews, personal journals, and unpublished memoirs, The Indomitable Florence Finch unfolds against the Bataan Death March, the fall of Corregidor, and the daily struggle to survive a brutal occupying force. Award-winning military historian and former Congressman Robert J. Mrazek brings to light this long-hidden American patriot. The Indomitable Florence Finch is the story of the transcendent bravery of a woman who belongs in America's pantheon of war heroes.

©2020 Robert J. Mrazek (P)2020 Hachette Audio
Military Women World War II Warrior War Pacific War
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

This Is Really War cover art
The Greatest Generation cover art
In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer cover art
Long Way Back to the River Kwai cover art
Rescue at Los Banos cover art
The Indigo Girl cover art
MacArthur's Spies cover art
The Greatest Escape cover art
The Paper Daughters of Chinatown cover art
Band of Sisters cover art
The Jersey Brothers cover art
Code Talker cover art
A Tomb Called Iwo Jima cover art
I Live Again cover art
Unknown Valor cover art
Captured by History cover art

Critic reviews

One of BookBub's 12 Best New Nonfiction Books This Summer!

One of Amazon's Best Books of July 2020!

"A riveting story of courage and sacrifice....Mrazek's book is a treasure, an eminently readable tribute to the wartime heroism of one brave woman."—The New York Times Book Review

"A monumental biography....Details of Finch's life are blended deftly with the chronology of the Philippines and the world at large....What is special about this biography is the fashion in which certain interesting and controversial topics come into view... historians have long debated whether or not America was really prepared for World War II....Robert Mrazek is to be praised for his serious research and superior writing style, both of which make this chronicle of Florence's real-life adventures an absorbing saga. Her receipt of the Medal of Freedom spotlighted her brave, fearless war effort, just as The Indomitable Florence Finch brings her life and service to our attention."—Washington Independent Review of Books

"This soul-stirring story of a true heroine of World War II brought tears to my eyes."—James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom

What listeners say about The Indomitable Florence Finch

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

moving and heroic

Little is written about individual experiences of WWII in the far east. This is a remarkable tale of courage and endurance of Florence and her aquaintances. Well read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!