disaster – Cannonball Read 17

Nightmare on the Rails

The High Girders: The True Story of the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster - the Victorian Dream that Ended in Tragedy by John Prebble

May 28, 2023 by ASKReviews Leave a Comment

Best for: People interested in engineering disasters. In a nutshell: In the 1870s, the first of its kind bridge was erected across the Tay river firth to Dundee, in Scotland. 18 months after it opened, it collapsed during a severe windstorm, taking a train with 75 passengers and crew down with it. Worth quoting: “It was the Victorian age, and life and death had Purpose. There could be no disaster without a moral.” Why I chose it: I think I might have a new book […]

Tonight on the Titanic

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

August 15, 2022 by Pooja 3 Comments

CBR 14 Bingo: Cold It’s cold out on the water, cold enough for icebergs – which is half the trouble. Lord recounts the last night of the Titanic, for the moment just before it hit the iceberg to how the rescued passengers were picked up by the Carpathia. I know about as much about the sinking of the Titanic as I’ve gleaned from the movie, but it was fascinating to see myths set straight and learn more in this short book. Lord meticulously gathered firsthand […]

Can Nature Heal Itself?

Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flyn

May 1, 2022 by ASKReviews Leave a Comment

Best for: Readers interested in climate change, abandonment, natural disasters, and nature. In a nutshell: Author Flyn explores a variety of places across the world where humans have left a space – either because of their own damage, or natural disaster, or change in the way of living – and looks at how the earth renews itself, sometimes coming back stronger than before. Worth quoting: “We weed out plants well suited to the ground and conditions, and insist on propping up expensive, ill-suited, ornamental ones. […]

So Much Risk

June 8, 2016 by ASKReviews Leave a Comment

In 2013, 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots died fighting a fire outside of Yarnell, Arizona. One, working as a lookout, survived. Many children – some not yet born – were left without fathers, parents lost their sons, and in the end, a town lost its brothers. I picked up this book thinking I’d learn a little bit more about what happened on that day, but in reality that day (despite the blurbs on the back) doesn’t seem to take up much of the […]

Yup, Hurricane Katrina Was Horrible

January 3, 2014 by ASKReviews Leave a Comment

CN: Talk of disaster and euthanasia If you’ve read my previous reviews, you might recall that I work in emergency preparedness. This book was on my radar for 2014, and was lent to me by a coworker before I left work on New Year’s Eve. I spent most of my day off yesterday reading it, and finished it up walking to work and on my lunch break today. The book is nearly 500 pages long, so that should tell you about the quality of the […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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