Susy Flory

If you know about my no-crying rule for books, then you're probably wondering why I chose this book. I wondered the same thing. Fortunately, it was nothing like I expected. The focus of the story isn't on his escape from the burning tower, but on how he got to that point in the first place. A small part of each chapter tells us about his experience on 9/11, but most of the book is a flashback of Micheal's life. And an amazing life it is. We find out how he used to drive the neighbors crazy riding his bike all over town, and how he likes to mess with people by driving through his college campus.

I learned many things in this book that changed my perception of those with blindness. It reminded me of how I felt that everyone should read John Elder Robison's Be Different in order to get a perspective on how it feels to live with Asperger's.

This is a book about trust and courage on 9/11, but it's also a book about humor, love, and perseverance in life.

I got this book for free from the BookSneeze review program.… (mais)

As the title says, Thunder Dog is the story of a blind man and his guide dog surviving the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 by taking the stairs down from the 78th floor after the first plane hit. Michael and Roselle's tale is an amazing one. I just wish it had been given more page time. Each chapter starts with some of the story from 9/11 and then segues over to another aspect of Michael's life before eventually coming back to the title premise. It's not a bad memoir. I just had mismatched expectations for the book.… (mais)

As an ex-mountaineeer and a lover of space & space travel I found this to be an engaging and compelling read. The narrative covers the full spectrum from his youth to the present, presenting both highs & lows. You get some insight into the workings of NASA and the bonds of friendship that form between astronauts and ground support personnel and just how much teamwork is needed. As the astronaut at the "tip of the spear" in repairing the solar array on the ISS Scott vividly details the event, distributing the narrative along the involvement of the team. The descriptions of his two attempts on Everest are as adventure filled as his exploits in space. I highly recommend this book, especially, to young people who have aspirations and dreams. Normally this book would not have taken this long for me to finish but other things were going on.… (mais)