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The Girl On The Train, is a great book 
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Book addicts: any old favorites? ... Any fantastic new reads?
- Thread starter leashedForLife
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I read the whole GoT series by Martin some years B4 the TV-show, & b/c i have no access to premium channels, i have yet to see it. // Knowing they didn't stick to the original plots, i'm not too fussed about "missing" the series.
It might as well be a new concept, like a sci-fi story set in another author's "world" - as if someone set their own characters & setting onto Niven's RingWorld, following all the local rules for gravity, etc, but the plot, culture, & so on, is unique to the new writer.
I tend to prefer books to film, as U cannot get into a character's head in video the way U can in print, & the feel of a book is - to me - more immersive.
- t
.
I read the whole GoT series by Martin some years B4 the TV-show, & b/c i have no access to premium channels, i have yet to see it. // Knowing they didn't stick to the original plots, i'm not too fussed about "missing" the series.
It might as well be a new concept, like a sci-fi story set in another author's "world" - as if someone set their own characters & setting onto Niven's RingWorld, following all the local rules for gravity, etc, but the plot, culture, & so on, is unique to the new writer.
I tend to prefer books to film, as U cannot get into a character's head in video the way U can in print, & the feel of a book is - to me - more immersive.
- t
.
- Messages
- 1,791
- Reaction score
- 843
- Points
- 113
.
I do wonder how 12-YO to 20-somethings today, feel about books - having grown-up with electronic media, do books feel cumbersome, or just different?
I've noticed many 25- to 30-YO rarely READ anything in print that's longer than a news article, & many of them skim even those, which leaves me wondering if they can [or would] read a 300-page book of fiction -- & if they tried it, would they retain any of it, even if only while reading it?
They often seem almost allergic to print as a format - anyone else get this impression?
Maybe it's a Merikan thing - reading in the USA has come & gone in fashion many times, or maybe it's a change in schooling at that time-frame, when these young adults were 6 to 10-YO. I dunno.
Off the printed page, i also notice that many younger ppl can't *stand* silence - or just a lack of soundtrack to their lives; when they enter a quiet room, they turn on the TV - even if they don't intend to watch it, as background noise; or they flick on the radio, or an iPod on a speaker, or they're already wearing headphones...
Many wear headphones even while operating bikes, or when walking on the street - both are bl**dy dangerous, as U cannot hear traffic, auto-horns, a siren, & other environmental sounds.
I can walk into the woods, & feel relief that there's no elevator-music, mechanical noises, or chatter of monkey-brained humans - wind, birds, branches, the sound of water, even rain pattering is more welcome than the nonstop noise of human activity; i need a break from it.
Many younger folks seem addicted to it, as if human-made noises are necessary 24-7. Some sleep with the TV on.
I wonder if books will become collectible oddities, or will live in museums rather than the homes of ordinary folks.
Electronic things need software, which becomes rapidly outdated, & the text, photos, charts, & data on the OLD software are easily lost & irretrievable, b/c the new software iteration cannot translate the former entries into the new format.
Books are unchanging - they don't have a release 12.5, if U have light sufficient to make out the text, they are legible.
Most of the world's popn is poor - software & electronics are costly to purchase, relatively fragile, & require ongoing investments of money - new software, more RAM, models are retired... & electricity is not universally available.
Even if U cannot steal electrical power for the bare-bulb in the ceiling, if there's daylight, U can read a book, carry it with U, hand it to someone else.
3/4 of the world's popn is expected to live in slums, barrios, in the near-future.
The future of the world’s population in 4 charts
- terry
.
I do wonder how 12-YO to 20-somethings today, feel about books - having grown-up with electronic media, do books feel cumbersome, or just different?
I've noticed many 25- to 30-YO rarely READ anything in print that's longer than a news article, & many of them skim even those, which leaves me wondering if they can [or would] read a 300-page book of fiction -- & if they tried it, would they retain any of it, even if only while reading it?
They often seem almost allergic to print as a format - anyone else get this impression?
Maybe it's a Merikan thing - reading in the USA has come & gone in fashion many times, or maybe it's a change in schooling at that time-frame, when these young adults were 6 to 10-YO. I dunno.
Off the printed page, i also notice that many younger ppl can't *stand* silence - or just a lack of soundtrack to their lives; when they enter a quiet room, they turn on the TV - even if they don't intend to watch it, as background noise; or they flick on the radio, or an iPod on a speaker, or they're already wearing headphones...
Many wear headphones even while operating bikes, or when walking on the street - both are bl**dy dangerous, as U cannot hear traffic, auto-horns, a siren, & other environmental sounds.
I can walk into the woods, & feel relief that there's no elevator-music, mechanical noises, or chatter of monkey-brained humans - wind, birds, branches, the sound of water, even rain pattering is more welcome than the nonstop noise of human activity; i need a break from it.
Many younger folks seem addicted to it, as if human-made noises are necessary 24-7. Some sleep with the TV on.
I wonder if books will become collectible oddities, or will live in museums rather than the homes of ordinary folks.
Electronic things need software, which becomes rapidly outdated, & the text, photos, charts, & data on the OLD software are easily lost & irretrievable, b/c the new software iteration cannot translate the former entries into the new format.
Books are unchanging - they don't have a release 12.5, if U have light sufficient to make out the text, they are legible.
Most of the world's popn is poor - software & electronics are costly to purchase, relatively fragile, & require ongoing investments of money - new software, more RAM, models are retired... & electricity is not universally available.
Even if U cannot steal electrical power for the bare-bulb in the ceiling, if there's daylight, U can read a book, carry it with U, hand it to someone else.
3/4 of the world's popn is expected to live in slums, barrios, in the near-future.
The future of the world’s population in 4 charts
- terry
.
- Messages
- 7,614
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- 9,257
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- 113
I loved the Philip Pullman 'His Dark Materials' trilogy too. I also loved the Game of Thrones books - the TV series was a little gory for me, I'm a sensitive flower
Having said that, I'm not really a fantasy fan (though I loved the earlier Terry Pratchett Discworld books). I recently read David Aaronovich Rivers of London and thought it was very well written, but I don't feel the urge to read the rest of the series.
I love Andrew Taylor's books - he's most well known, I think, for The American Boy. I've just finished The Fire Court, his follow-up to Ashes of London and really enjoyed it. I get the impression there's going to be another one in the series
I'd also read anything by Tracy Chevalier & Sarah Waters. I loved Ann Cleeves Shetland books (not so much her other series), and Peter May's Hebrides series. Oh, and Ian Rankin's Rebus novels. I also enjoyed Martin Cruz Smith's novels set in Russia... I seem to like fiction set in cold, barren places.
Having said that, I'm not really a fantasy fan (though I loved the earlier Terry Pratchett Discworld books). I recently read David Aaronovich Rivers of London and thought it was very well written, but I don't feel the urge to read the rest of the series.
I love Andrew Taylor's books - he's most well known, I think, for The American Boy. I've just finished The Fire Court, his follow-up to Ashes of London and really enjoyed it. I get the impression there's going to be another one in the series
I'd also read anything by Tracy Chevalier & Sarah Waters. I loved Ann Cleeves Shetland books (not so much her other series), and Peter May's Hebrides series. Oh, and Ian Rankin's Rebus novels. I also enjoyed Martin Cruz Smith's novels set in Russia... I seem to like fiction set in cold, barren places.
- Messages
- 7,614
- Reaction score
- 9,257
- Points
- 113
Oh, I meant to mention Ken Follett - always great page-turners, and you never have to worry about losing track of the plot because everything is completely spelt out and explicit. You don't have to worry that you've missed out on some nuance or undercurrent of meaning or haven't picked up on the significance of what may have seemed like a minor point (unlike Martin Cruz Smith, whose writing is a lot more sparse, like a Turner painting where you have to work to see what it actually is).
I too prefer books to films. But I do have a Kindle, which I know some people feel are not real books..
I read the whole GoT series by Martin some years B4 the TV-show, & b/c i have no access to premium channels, i have yet to see it. // Knowing they didn't stick to the original plots, i'm not too fussed about "missing" the series.
It might as well be a new concept, like a sci-fi story set in another author's "world" - as if someone set their own characters & setting onto Niven's RingWorld, following all the local rules for gravity, etc, but the plot, culture, & so on, is unique to the new writer.
I tend to prefer books to film, as U cannot get into a character's head in video the way U can in print, & the feel of a book is - to me - more immersive.
- t
.
The Rivers of London books are really good. I enjoyed each and everyone of them. Dana Stabenow books are set in Alaska. There are something like thirteen of them.I loved the Philip Pullman 'His Dark Materials' trilogy too. I also loved the Game of Thrones books - the TV series was a little gory for me, I'm a sensitive flower
Having said that, I'm not really a fantasy fan (though I loved the earlier Terry Pratchett Discworld books). I recently read David Aaronovich Rivers of London and thought it was very well written, but I don't feel the urge to read the rest of the series.
I love Andrew Taylor's books - he's most well known, I think, for The American Boy. I've just finished The Fire Court, his follow-up to Ashes of London and really enjoyed it. I get the impression there's going to be another one in the series
I'd also read anything by Tracy Chevalier & Sarah Waters. I loved Ann Cleeves Shetland books (not so much her other series), and Peter May's Hebrides series. Oh, and Ian Rankin's Rebus novels. I also enjoyed Martin Cruz Smith's novels set in Russia... I seem to like fiction set in cold, barren places.
I will look at Andrew Taylors books. Not an author I was aware of.
Some young people do read books. My 23 year old grandaughter is a reader. Her thirteen year old sister also reads a lot..
I do wonder how 12-YO to 20-somethings today, feel about books - having grown-up with electronic media, do books feel cumbersome, or just different?
I've noticed many 25- to 30-YO rarely READ anything in print that's longer than a news article, & many of them skim even those, which leaves me wondering if they can [or would] read a 300-page book of fiction -- & if they tried it, would they retain any of it, even if only while reading it?
They often seem almost allergic to print as a format - anyone else get this impression?
Maybe it's a Merikan thing - reading in the USA has come & gone in fashion many times, or maybe it's a change in schooling at that time-frame, when these young adults were 6 to 10-YO. I dunno.
Off the printed page, i also notice that many younger ppl can't *stand* silence - or just a lack of soundtrack to their lives; when they enter a quiet room, they turn on the TV - even if they don't intend to watch it, as background noise; or they flick on the radio, or an iPod on a speaker, or they're already wearing headphones...
Many wear headphones even while operating bikes, or when walking on the street - both are bl**dy dangerous, as U cannot hear traffic, auto-horns, a siren, & other environmental sounds.
I can walk into the woods, & feel relief that there's no elevator-music, mechanical noises, or chatter of monkey-brained humans - wind, birds, branches, the sound of water, even rain pattering is more welcome than the nonstop noise of human activity; i need a break from it.
Many younger folks seem addicted to it, as if human-made noises are necessary 24-7. Some sleep with the TV on.
I wonder if books will become collectible oddities, or will live in museums rather than the homes of ordinary folks.
Electronic things need software, which becomes rapidly outdated, & the text, photos, charts, & data on the OLD software are easily lost & irretrievable, b/c the new software iteration cannot translate the former entries into the new format.
Books are unchanging - they don't have a release 12.5, if U have light sufficient to make out the text, they are legible.
Most of the world's popn is poor - software & electronics are costly to purchase, relatively fragile, & require ongoing investments of money - new software, more RAM, models are retired... & electricity is not universally available.
Even if U cannot steal electrical power for the bare-bulb in the ceiling, if there's daylight, U can read a book, carry it with U, hand it to someone else.
3/4 of the world's popn is expected to live in slums, barrios, in the near-future.
The future of the world’s population in 4 charts
- terry
.
- Messages
- 1,791
- Reaction score
- 843
- Points
- 113
.
my nephews can't be arsed to read - they love video, use laptops, tweet, FB, but books?... Ancient history.
They're 30 & 25, respectively.
.
my nephews can't be arsed to read - they love video, use laptops, tweet, FB, but books?... Ancient history.
They're 30 & 25, respectively.
.
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- 9,257
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Ooh, they could be just up my street! I've just downloaded the first in the series to my Kindle - thank you.
DS1 used to read avidly, though sadly as he has ME/CFS now he finds he hasn't got the concentration. DS2 was never a keen reader, particularly of novels - I'd encourage him to read comics, the back of cereal packs, anything, and then moved on to Horrible Histories type books, Guinness Book of Records, and got him a subscription to New Scientist. He did go through a phase of reading Vampire books. Now, though, he listens to audio books, both fiction non-fiction, and scientific podcasts.
- Messages
- 1,791
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.
this sounds really good -
Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier – review
Lanier is the computer-specialist who made "virtual reality" a meme in popular convo, & this book explores the fortunes being made by the use of personal data & our own input [including this forum], taken without any compensation, & turned into advertising fodder & sales.
Interesting premise - make Google, et al, pay for our data - we own it, they use it for a fee.
- terry
.
this sounds really good -
Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier – review
Lanier is the computer-specialist who made "virtual reality" a meme in popular convo, & this book explores the fortunes being made by the use of personal data & our own input [including this forum], taken without any compensation, & turned into advertising fodder & sales.
Interesting premise - make Google, et al, pay for our data - we own it, they use it for a fee.
- terry
.
- Messages
- 1,791
- Reaction score
- 843
- Points
- 113
.
finished a wonderful little hardcover, early sci-fi -
"Chocky".
Chocky - Wikipedia
the author, John Wyndham, also wrote 'Day of the Triffids', which became a cult-classic '50s film.
in 'Chocky', a happy little family of 2 kids & their parents is faced with a dilemma.
The elder child, a boy, was adopted; his younger sis is biologically theirs. Little sister had an imaginary friend for a good while who caused problems, constantly in danger of being sat upon, forgotten when leaving the house or left behind somewhere, not wanting certain foods, & so on. Thankfully, after a year or so of varied trials, she outgrows her 'friend' & leaves her behind at the beach-resort when they go back home.
Then later, elder brother Matthew, a rather serious & introspective child, begins to 'talk to himself' in an unusual way - U overhear only half of what sounds like a 2-way convo. He doesn't do this in the midst of the family, only when apart. Things come to a head, & there's a shock when they discover that 'Chocky' is not just another imaginary playmate.
I really enjoyed it - it's a simple but eerie tale, i found it both appealing & haunting.
.
finished a wonderful little hardcover, early sci-fi -
"Chocky".
Chocky - Wikipedia
the author, John Wyndham, also wrote 'Day of the Triffids', which became a cult-classic '50s film.
in 'Chocky', a happy little family of 2 kids & their parents is faced with a dilemma.
The elder child, a boy, was adopted; his younger sis is biologically theirs. Little sister had an imaginary friend for a good while who caused problems, constantly in danger of being sat upon, forgotten when leaving the house or left behind somewhere, not wanting certain foods, & so on. Thankfully, after a year or so of varied trials, she outgrows her 'friend' & leaves her behind at the beach-resort when they go back home.
Then later, elder brother Matthew, a rather serious & introspective child, begins to 'talk to himself' in an unusual way - U overhear only half of what sounds like a 2-way convo. He doesn't do this in the midst of the family, only when apart. Things come to a head, & there's a shock when they discover that 'Chocky' is not just another imaginary playmate.
I really enjoyed it - it's a simple but eerie tale, i found it both appealing & haunting.
.
- Messages
- 278
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- 272
- Points
- 63
I read an old book of my Mum's once about a similar thing. Supposedly true stories of young children who had imaginary friends that came with evidence they might exist, or said they spoke to relatives long-gone before they were born, remembered past lives and when the facts were checked they were true. Might have been a Reader's Digest.
I've just finished a light-hearted, easy-read series by Angela Roquet. It's a kind of fantasy series I guess, but not epic. Based in the after-lives, it follows the story of a reaper (of souls) called Lana Harvey and how she fights to save eternity. I liked the author's interpretation of the after-lives. First book is called Graveyard Shift and is free on Google Play, and I presume kindle etc.
I've just finished a light-hearted, easy-read series by Angela Roquet. It's a kind of fantasy series I guess, but not epic. Based in the after-lives, it follows the story of a reaper (of souls) called Lana Harvey and how she fights to save eternity. I liked the author's interpretation of the after-lives. First book is called Graveyard Shift and is free on Google Play, and I presume kindle etc.
- Messages
- 1,791
- Reaction score
- 843
- Points
- 113
.
reading "Cutting for Stone" - wonderful, set in Ethiopia.
Twins are born & their mother dies in the process; they are reared n the hospital compound by one of the doctors, & grow-up looking alike, but gradually diverting in behavior & feelings. Despite being orphaned, they have a multilingual patchwork-quilt of family & friends.
Living in the hospital compound, seeing patients come & go, families & friends come & go, death & suffering, trauma & repair, birth & gladness, they are not children for long. Born of a highly-skilled nurse & a doctor, raised by doctors, medicine & anatomy are in their blood.
The country is savagely divided by poverty & need on one hand, & wealth, power, & prestige on the other. Haile Selassie sits the throne; he is paranoid & will not delegate any authority - his word is not merely law, it is life or death.
This cannot last - something is going to break.
.
reading "Cutting for Stone" - wonderful, set in Ethiopia.
Twins are born & their mother dies in the process; they are reared n the hospital compound by one of the doctors, & grow-up looking alike, but gradually diverting in behavior & feelings. Despite being orphaned, they have a multilingual patchwork-quilt of family & friends.
Living in the hospital compound, seeing patients come & go, families & friends come & go, death & suffering, trauma & repair, birth & gladness, they are not children for long. Born of a highly-skilled nurse & a doctor, raised by doctors, medicine & anatomy are in their blood.
The country is savagely divided by poverty & need on one hand, & wealth, power, & prestige on the other. Haile Selassie sits the throne; he is paranoid & will not delegate any authority - his word is not merely law, it is life or death.
This cannot last - something is going to break.
.
- Messages
- 1,791
- Reaction score
- 843
- Points
- 113
.
This is not a book - it's an astonishing series of articles on the Rajneesh cult in Oregon, after they were expelled from India for, among other things, unnamed sexual liberties [prostitution? child procurement? sexual slavery? molestation of his devotees? - who knows], tax fraud, & smuggling.
Things only went from bad to worse during their time in the USA, with a bio-terrorist attack that sickened over 700 ppl, election fraud, attempted murder, assault, poisonings, arson, immigration fraud, the largest illegal wiretapping operation ever discovered, & conspiracy.
So much for "peaceful meditation" & lofty spiritual aims. It's stunning.
Part 1 of 5 -
25 years after Rajneeshee commune collapsed, truth spills out -- Part 1 of 5
There's a link to the next segment at the bottom of each page. Amazing reading - it's difficult to credit that this happened.
.
This is not a book - it's an astonishing series of articles on the Rajneesh cult in Oregon, after they were expelled from India for, among other things, unnamed sexual liberties [prostitution? child procurement? sexual slavery? molestation of his devotees? - who knows], tax fraud, & smuggling.
Things only went from bad to worse during their time in the USA, with a bio-terrorist attack that sickened over 700 ppl, election fraud, attempted murder, assault, poisonings, arson, immigration fraud, the largest illegal wiretapping operation ever discovered, & conspiracy.
So much for "peaceful meditation" & lofty spiritual aims. It's stunning.
Part 1 of 5 -
25 years after Rajneeshee commune collapsed, truth spills out -- Part 1 of 5
There's a link to the next segment at the bottom of each page. Amazing reading - it's difficult to credit that this happened.
.
- Messages
- 1,791
- Reaction score
- 843
- Points
- 113
.
found an old hardcover, a novel, & knew absolutely nothing about it.
EXCELLENT book -
Bread Upon the Waters
I found the 1981 Delacorte edition, & was sucked into it by the end of the 1st chapter - the main character is a high-school teacher in NYC, trying to infect kids with his excitement & show them that our present was formed by our history.
He's happily married, has nice kids, they live comfortable if not lavish lives - his wife teaches piano at home, & music 3 days a week in another school; he adores her, & thinks she's only improved with age. His daughters & his son are growing up, they still have family dinners, & while life is not thrilling, it's deeply satisfying.
Then one night, his athletic younger dotter is late for dinner; she arrives supporting a badly-battered man, bleeding heavily from an assault in Central Park - & their lives change.
.
found an old hardcover, a novel, & knew absolutely nothing about it.
EXCELLENT book -
Bread Upon the Waters
I found the 1981 Delacorte edition, & was sucked into it by the end of the 1st chapter - the main character is a high-school teacher in NYC, trying to infect kids with his excitement & show them that our present was formed by our history.
He's happily married, has nice kids, they live comfortable if not lavish lives - his wife teaches piano at home, & music 3 days a week in another school; he adores her, & thinks she's only improved with age. His daughters & his son are growing up, they still have family dinners, & while life is not thrilling, it's deeply satisfying.
Then one night, his athletic younger dotter is late for dinner; she arrives supporting a badly-battered man, bleeding heavily from an assault in Central Park - & their lives change.
.
- Messages
- 1,685
- Reaction score
- 1,683
- Points
- 113
oops did it again, just saw a comment about 'Farley Mowet' from bikerjohn then noticed it was from last year! It just reminded me of another book by him I think it was called 'A Whale for the Killing', read it as a teenager, proper sad, I have had it on my bookcase ever since and now I can't find it!?!
Another book I love is 'The Mists of Avalon' by Marion Bradley..
Another book I love is 'The Mists of Avalon' by Marion Bradley..
- Messages
- 1,685
- Reaction score
- 1,683
- Points
- 113
Also,not long ago I re read 'The World According to Garp'..
- Messages
- 961
- Reaction score
- 1,516
- Points
- 93
I rarely read fiction but having just discovered the Jack Reacher novels I'm busy working my way through them!
- Messages
- 1,791
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- 843
- Points
- 113
.
Just saw this on a shelf in the public library, & picked it up on a whim - Wow.
Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and ... - Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Women-Ground-Zero-Stories-Compassion/.../0028644220
by Susan Hagen, Mary Carouba -
Interviews with some of the many female 1st-responders who were there, & survived to tell what they did, what they saw, & who they helped.... or could't help.
.
Women at Ground Zero Project
www.womenatgroundzero.com/
'Ground Zero' began for Susan Hagen & Mary Carouba as the physical place they went to collect stories for their 9/11 book...
__________________________
Incredible stories of sheer luck, where turning left instead of right meant living, & of trying to save lives in the midst of horror, chaos, & sheer terror.
One woman, Sue Keane, a liaison officer with the Port Authority, had 13-years of military experience & 8 as a police officer; she survived 5 explosions, each time "having all the air sucked out of me" & being violently flung. She thinks 2 things saved her life - she was supposed to be on desk duty that day, & was NOT wearing her equipment belt, & her military training. All the officers who were wearing their belts in the same areas where she was, "got caught on things" & were badly injured or killed outright.
She still sleeps on a futon close to the front door, in her home - she can't make herself go upstairs to the bedroom, she has to know there's a ready escape route nearby.
She talked about the rain of body-parts & thump of falling bodies, as people leaped from windows above. Months later, her body was still expelling shrapnel - her skin, her eyes, out her nose.
A 24-YO EMT led hundreds of people out of Tower Two before it collapsed; a 42-YO firefighter with almost 20 years on the job talked about how incredibly frustrating it was to feel completely helpless, & to RUN AWAY from a fire - "We're trained professionals", she said, & here we are, "running for our lives - we never run from a fire!". Well, it's a good thing they did - they were still alive hours later, & helping the survivors.
Terrifying, heartbreaking, & inspiring - all at once.
About the AUTHORS -
The women who wrote this book, one a firefighter & EMT, the other an investigative social-worker, traveled clear across the U-S from Calif to NYC, because as 1st-responders themselves, they were angry that only men got media attention & credit - they knew there had to be women, as cops, medical personnel, fire-fighters, all kinds of jobs, who were in the thick of Ground Zero, & they were being ignored.
They were only sorry they couldn't include more women - many [male] bosses wouldn't allow the interviews.
- terry
.
Just saw this on a shelf in the public library, & picked it up on a whim - Wow.
Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage and ... - Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Women-Ground-Zero-Stories-Compassion/.../0028644220
by Susan Hagen, Mary Carouba -
Interviews with some of the many female 1st-responders who were there, & survived to tell what they did, what they saw, & who they helped.... or could't help.
.
Women at Ground Zero Project
www.womenatgroundzero.com/
'Ground Zero' began for Susan Hagen & Mary Carouba as the physical place they went to collect stories for their 9/11 book...
__________________________
Incredible stories of sheer luck, where turning left instead of right meant living, & of trying to save lives in the midst of horror, chaos, & sheer terror.
One woman, Sue Keane, a liaison officer with the Port Authority, had 13-years of military experience & 8 as a police officer; she survived 5 explosions, each time "having all the air sucked out of me" & being violently flung. She thinks 2 things saved her life - she was supposed to be on desk duty that day, & was NOT wearing her equipment belt, & her military training. All the officers who were wearing their belts in the same areas where she was, "got caught on things" & were badly injured or killed outright.
She still sleeps on a futon close to the front door, in her home - she can't make herself go upstairs to the bedroom, she has to know there's a ready escape route nearby.
She talked about the rain of body-parts & thump of falling bodies, as people leaped from windows above. Months later, her body was still expelling shrapnel - her skin, her eyes, out her nose.
A 24-YO EMT led hundreds of people out of Tower Two before it collapsed; a 42-YO firefighter with almost 20 years on the job talked about how incredibly frustrating it was to feel completely helpless, & to RUN AWAY from a fire - "We're trained professionals", she said, & here we are, "running for our lives - we never run from a fire!". Well, it's a good thing they did - they were still alive hours later, & helping the survivors.
Terrifying, heartbreaking, & inspiring - all at once.
About the AUTHORS -
The women who wrote this book, one a firefighter & EMT, the other an investigative social-worker, traveled clear across the U-S from Calif to NYC, because as 1st-responders themselves, they were angry that only men got media attention & credit - they knew there had to be women, as cops, medical personnel, fire-fighters, all kinds of jobs, who were in the thick of Ground Zero, & they were being ignored.
They were only sorry they couldn't include more women - many [male] bosses wouldn't allow the interviews.
- terry
.
