Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Saturday, September 28, 2013
How to write a love letter...
...
" OK, OK. I confess. This book is not really about 'how to write a love letter'. I am just shamelessly throwing myself at the web search engine spiders.
Perhaps my sticky net caught you also my dear reader. If it did perhaps you are searching for the perfect words to reveal your heart's anguished desire to claim that of another. If you are on such a mission ...I envy you.
I envy you that feeling of your bursting heart that has so muddled your thoughts that you are having trouble embellishing 'I love you..!!' When perhaps that is all your desired one really needs to read ...and to hear. "
The above is the intro to a review of Other People's Love Letters: 150 Letters You Were Never Meant to See I wrote more than five years ago and then published at Epinions dot com.
With some eight hundred-plus reviews and essays published at the site . . .it is perhaps not unthinkable I would have forgotten I had already reviewed this book.
Interestingly ...I found my reaction to the book as I reread it recently almost exactly as I described it way back when. It is reassuring, I suppose, to find my gut reaction essentially unchanged.
Check the review, and the book, out. You may find a few tips and phrases that might serve you well today. He/she need never know you stole them from another's heart..!!
...tom...
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Quarterback Abstract
...
I am a fan of books that list or compile or compare ...places to visit, best books, words to know, etc.. When you start comparing 'this' to 'that' ...in a heartbeat 'my guy is better than your guy' breaks out and soon David is slinging a stone at Goliath. Fast forward several thousand years, mix in competitive sports ...and the 'Manning vs Brady vs Favre' discussion/argument is on.
"The quarterback has been the pivotal position in football since the 1940s ... Since 1950, 339 men have started at least 10 games at the position. Quarterback Abstract has gathered them all, along with 27 notable pre-1950 QBs."
--Back cover blurb, Quarterback Abstract
John Maxymuk, librarian and author, has published eight books about professional football. Quarterback Abstracts demonstrates he knows how to collect data, crunch numbers, express opinions, and have fun as a 'sports writer'. All resulting in a 'very helpful' pro football resource book ...one that is fun to read.
Please check out the rest of my review of Quarterback Abstract on Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
I am a fan of books that list or compile or compare ...places to visit, best books, words to know, etc.. When you start comparing 'this' to 'that' ...in a heartbeat 'my guy is better than your guy' breaks out and soon David is slinging a stone at Goliath. Fast forward several thousand years, mix in competitive sports ...and the 'Manning vs Brady vs Favre' discussion/argument is on.
"The quarterback has been the pivotal position in football since the 1940s ... Since 1950, 339 men have started at least 10 games at the position. Quarterback Abstract has gathered them all, along with 27 notable pre-1950 QBs."
--Back cover blurb, Quarterback Abstract
Photo credit: bk-robat at flickr dot com
John Maxymuk, librarian and author, has published eight books about professional football. Quarterback Abstracts demonstrates he knows how to collect data, crunch numbers, express opinions, and have fun as a 'sports writer'. All resulting in a 'very helpful' pro football resource book ...one that is fun to read.
Please check out the rest of my review of Quarterback Abstract on Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Gentle Willow...
...
"Gentle Willow is a book for children who may not survive their illness. This comforting story ... will also help all children with the death of friends, family members, or even pets."
Pretty heavy task for a kid's book. But too often the specter of death intrudes into a family and into a child's life.
Gentle Willow is a thin, full-size children's storybook written by Joyce C. Mills, a marriage and family therapist. We meet Gentle Willow, a beautiful tree as sweet and friendly as her name suggests. Across the pond lives her friend Little Tree. Cavorting through the branches of Gentle Willow is her friend Amanda, the happiest, care-free squirrel you could ever imagine.
Life is good. Amanda likes to "chase the big yellow butterflies who (dance) within Gentle Willow's long and graceful branches."
One day Amanda noticed her friend "looked different. Her bark was lumpy and bumpy. Her leaves were turning brown, and her branches were turning droopy."
Read the rest of the review at my review page at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
"Gentle Willow is a book for children who may not survive their illness. This comforting story ... will also help all children with the death of friends, family members, or even pets."
Pretty heavy task for a kid's book. But too often the specter of death intrudes into a family and into a child's life.
Gentle Willow is a thin, full-size children's storybook written by Joyce C. Mills, a marriage and family therapist. We meet Gentle Willow, a beautiful tree as sweet and friendly as her name suggests. Across the pond lives her friend Little Tree. Cavorting through the branches of Gentle Willow is her friend Amanda, the happiest, care-free squirrel you could ever imagine.
Photo credit: Amazon dot com product page
Life is good. Amanda likes to "chase the big yellow butterflies who (dance) within Gentle Willow's long and graceful branches."
One day Amanda noticed her friend "looked different. Her bark was lumpy and bumpy. Her leaves were turning brown, and her branches were turning droopy."
Read the rest of the review at my review page at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Bird ... Power, grace, beauty...
...
It is said that if birds knew what they were doing ...they would fall from the sky like rocks. That they do not is a tribute to the efficiency of intelligent design or evolution ...take your pick.
...
Continuing in the vein of 'capturing nature' comes Andrew Zuckerman with his signature white backgrounds, and his skill in capturing the beauty and essence of his subjects. While Audubon seemed to want to educate his viewers about lands and animals previously unseen, Zuckerman seems to want to wow today's jaded viewer with the power and beauty of the animals alone.
Bird is a coffee-table book featuring his artistic photographs of dozens of bird species. While Zuckerman has tackled other subjects in other books, his topic here is the beauty and diversity of birds.
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com. (...and trust me, you will find no 'rubber duckies' in this excellent coffee-table book..!!)
...tom...
It is said that if birds knew what they were doing ...they would fall from the sky like rocks. That they do not is a tribute to the efficiency of intelligent design or evolution ...take your pick.
Photo credit: gaetanlee via Wikimedia Commons
...
Continuing in the vein of 'capturing nature' comes Andrew Zuckerman with his signature white backgrounds, and his skill in capturing the beauty and essence of his subjects. While Audubon seemed to want to educate his viewers about lands and animals previously unseen, Zuckerman seems to want to wow today's jaded viewer with the power and beauty of the animals alone.
Bird is a coffee-table book featuring his artistic photographs of dozens of bird species. While Zuckerman has tackled other subjects in other books, his topic here is the beauty and diversity of birds.
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com. (...and trust me, you will find no 'rubber duckies' in this excellent coffee-table book..!!)
...tom...
Monday, July 5, 2010
Earth Abides
...
A recent post by a blogger I consider an online-friend made me think to share my thoughts about the novel Earth Abides by George R. Stewart.
Earth Abides is an old novel. Written in 1949 it is one of the first post-apocalyptic novels. Fresh on the heels of WW II and at the beginning of the Cold War, Earth Abides addresses the idea of a pandemic wiping mankind from the earth as easily as sweeping ants off a picnic table.
The copy of Earth Abides (penned in 1949 by George R. Stewart) that I am reading must be thirty years old, if a day. The pages are definitely not acid-free. Yellowing, browning at the edges, corners flaking, many are loosely held in the book. Large sections are broken away from the spine. Great care must be taken to keep it all together, all in order. To maintain it as a 'readable' book.
A quick estimate suggests a total word count of perhaps a hundred thousand words for Earth Abides. Losing one page from my worn copy would make it worthless for resell. Losing ten pages would make it useless even for someone very familiar with the story.
Now imagine every word gone, but one. What value would this book have now? Imagine the book on your nightstand. Every word gone. Save one. What value would that lone word still retain?
...
Earth Abides is a story that rings very plausible. It is the story of a small group of survivors pushing back the darkness that threatens their small community. It teases us with the hope for a rebirth of 'civilization' and all the monumental achievements of man that represent that civilization. But it leaves us with the thought that civilization might simply be the caring and bonding of individuals together in common effort to preserve the human family.
.
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
A recent post by a blogger I consider an online-friend made me think to share my thoughts about the novel Earth Abides by George R. Stewart.
Earth Abides is an old novel. Written in 1949 it is one of the first post-apocalyptic novels. Fresh on the heels of WW II and at the beginning of the Cold War, Earth Abides addresses the idea of a pandemic wiping mankind from the earth as easily as sweeping ants off a picnic table.
The copy of Earth Abides (penned in 1949 by George R. Stewart) that I am reading must be thirty years old, if a day. The pages are definitely not acid-free. Yellowing, browning at the edges, corners flaking, many are loosely held in the book. Large sections are broken away from the spine. Great care must be taken to keep it all together, all in order. To maintain it as a 'readable' book.
A quick estimate suggests a total word count of perhaps a hundred thousand words for Earth Abides. Losing one page from my worn copy would make it worthless for resell. Losing ten pages would make it useless even for someone very familiar with the story.
Now imagine every word gone, but one. What value would this book have now? Imagine the book on your nightstand. Every word gone. Save one. What value would that lone word still retain?
...
Earth Abides is a story that rings very plausible. It is the story of a small group of survivors pushing back the darkness that threatens their small community. It teases us with the hope for a rebirth of 'civilization' and all the monumental achievements of man that represent that civilization. But it leaves us with the thought that civilization might simply be the caring and bonding of individuals together in common effort to preserve the human family.
.
Read the rest of my review at Epinions dot com.
...tom...
.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Snowman
...
Like a carefully arranged photo album, the pictures of The Snowman share one special day, and night, of one little boy. We know nothing about him, neither his name nor where he lives. We only know this special day is cold and snowy.
Told without words, dozens of smaller and larger pictures tell the story of the creation of 'the snowman' and his interactions with the young boy as he comes to life. The previous reviewer described the artwork as "crayon-brushed" while I might describe them as chalk-drawn. Regardless, they are soft, warm, and inviting and easily flow together to tell the story.
Our young man wakens to a fresh and still falling snowstorm and hurries outside to build a snowman. Rather than a typical '3-ball' snowman, this snowman is piled high with arms carved into his sides. The obligatory pieces of coal, scarf and hat, and other household items complete his form.
That evening the young boy awakens from his sleep (or is he dreaming..??) and goes outside to find his snowman doffing his cap and shaking the boy's hand. His arms work..!! He has legs..!!
Our new friends proceed to explore the house, the world, of the little boy. A pet cat, TV, lights, stairs, clothes, hot water, the flames of a stove, a skateboard and many more household items are all shared with the snowman. The joy of the snowman climbing into a deep chest freezer in the garage is a favorite pic of mine. What could be more natural for a snowman..?!?
As if to repay the boy for sharing the delights of his human world, the snowman takes the boy flying into the winter sky. Yes, a snowman can fly ...you did not know this..??
Read the rest of my review of The Snowman at the review page at Epinions.com.
.
Like a carefully arranged photo album, the pictures of The Snowman share one special day, and night, of one little boy. We know nothing about him, neither his name nor where he lives. We only know this special day is cold and snowy.
Told without words, dozens of smaller and larger pictures tell the story of the creation of 'the snowman' and his interactions with the young boy as he comes to life. The previous reviewer described the artwork as "crayon-brushed" while I might describe them as chalk-drawn. Regardless, they are soft, warm, and inviting and easily flow together to tell the story.
Our young man wakens to a fresh and still falling snowstorm and hurries outside to build a snowman. Rather than a typical '3-ball' snowman, this snowman is piled high with arms carved into his sides. The obligatory pieces of coal, scarf and hat, and other household items complete his form.
That evening the young boy awakens from his sleep (or is he dreaming..??) and goes outside to find his snowman doffing his cap and shaking the boy's hand. His arms work..!! He has legs..!!
Our new friends proceed to explore the house, the world, of the little boy. A pet cat, TV, lights, stairs, clothes, hot water, the flames of a stove, a skateboard and many more household items are all shared with the snowman. The joy of the snowman climbing into a deep chest freezer in the garage is a favorite pic of mine. What could be more natural for a snowman..?!?
As if to repay the boy for sharing the delights of his human world, the snowman takes the boy flying into the winter sky. Yes, a snowman can fly ...you did not know this..??
Read the rest of my review of The Snowman at the review page at Epinions.com.
.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Lovely Bones
...
No. Not a review of the recently released film. But my thoughts about the novel on which the film is based.
The Lovely Bones does not waste your time. Seventeen words into the story you learn of the ultimate horror:
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie.
I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."
By the end of this first chapter Susie Salmon is dead and you know the murderer.
I can tell you this 'spoiler', author Alice Sebold can write this 'spoiler', because The Lovely Bones is so much more about the loss of a loved daughter, sister, friend than it is about 'who-done-it'. So much more about everyday moments of grief that erode the strong foundations of a family, moments of grief that break the strong bond between husband and wife, moments of grief that fracture the the strong love of a mother for her children. The Lovely Bones is so much more about budding youth and innocence lost than it is about police, chase, clues, law-and-order.
Lured, raped, murdered, dismembered, hidden . . .perhaps never to be found, Susie narrates this tale from the safe, comforting confines of her heaven. Did you know everyone has their own 'personal' heaven? Susie's heaven is the imagined environs of a High School campus that the earth-bound—the murdered—Susie will never know. She shares her heaven with others, their heavenly desires intersecting with hers. Music, playful dogs, peppermint ice cream, glorious sunsets fill her heaven. From the gazebo of her heaven ("our neighbors, the O'Dwyers, had had a gazebo. I had grown up jealous for one") she watches the earthly world she will never walk again.
Read the rest of my review of The Lovely Bones at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
No. Not a review of the recently released film. But my thoughts about the novel on which the film is based.
The Lovely Bones does not waste your time. Seventeen words into the story you learn of the ultimate horror:
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie.
I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."
By the end of this first chapter Susie Salmon is dead and you know the murderer.
I can tell you this 'spoiler', author Alice Sebold can write this 'spoiler', because The Lovely Bones is so much more about the loss of a loved daughter, sister, friend than it is about 'who-done-it'. So much more about everyday moments of grief that erode the strong foundations of a family, moments of grief that break the strong bond between husband and wife, moments of grief that fracture the the strong love of a mother for her children. The Lovely Bones is so much more about budding youth and innocence lost than it is about police, chase, clues, law-and-order.
Lured, raped, murdered, dismembered, hidden . . .perhaps never to be found, Susie narrates this tale from the safe, comforting confines of her heaven. Did you know everyone has their own 'personal' heaven? Susie's heaven is the imagined environs of a High School campus that the earth-bound—the murdered—Susie will never know. She shares her heaven with others, their heavenly desires intersecting with hers. Music, playful dogs, peppermint ice cream, glorious sunsets fill her heaven. From the gazebo of her heaven ("our neighbors, the O'Dwyers, had had a gazebo. I had grown up jealous for one") she watches the earthly world she will never walk again.
Read the rest of my review of The Lovely Bones at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Do the Right Thing...
...
They are the hot topics of today: the economy, health care, the war on terror, energy, taxes. They were hot topics in the last presidential election cycle; Nostradamus is not needed to predict they will remain hot topics for many years, and many elections, to come.
Mike Huckabee, former Baptist pastor and Republican Governor of the Democrat-controlled state of Arkansas, shares his thoughts on these topics and more in Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America. As the book is subtitled, he shares his view from inside the movement and from his perspective as a past candidate for the highest office in the land.
There have been other calls for 'common sense' in government: the seminal call of Thomas Paine in 1776 in his pamphlet Common Sense,
... the liberal views of Dr. John Ekerd found in A Return to Common Sense, and the conservative rantings of Glenn Beck in his Common Sense: ... book.
The thing about common sense is ...it is not so common, a thought attributed to many over the years, Sun Tzu, Euripedes, and Voltaire among them. This tasks the reader of any tome calling for 'common sense' to measure the validity of the author's plea and motivation.
Mike Huckabee roots his call to "do the right thing" in his experiences during the 2008 Republican presidential primary campaign. In a long and winding tale that is at times biographical, at times a travelogue, at times a 'psychology 101' tome, and at times history lesson he never leaves his reader lost or bored.
...
Read the rest of my review of Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
They are the hot topics of today: the economy, health care, the war on terror, energy, taxes. They were hot topics in the last presidential election cycle; Nostradamus is not needed to predict they will remain hot topics for many years, and many elections, to come.
Mike Huckabee, former Baptist pastor and Republican Governor of the Democrat-controlled state of Arkansas, shares his thoughts on these topics and more in Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America. As the book is subtitled, he shares his view from inside the movement and from his perspective as a past candidate for the highest office in the land.
There have been other calls for 'common sense' in government: the seminal call of Thomas Paine in 1776 in his pamphlet Common Sense,
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
... the liberal views of Dr. John Ekerd found in A Return to Common Sense, and the conservative rantings of Glenn Beck in his Common Sense: ... book.
The thing about common sense is ...it is not so common, a thought attributed to many over the years, Sun Tzu, Euripedes, and Voltaire among them. This tasks the reader of any tome calling for 'common sense' to measure the validity of the author's plea and motivation.
Mike Huckabee roots his call to "do the right thing" in his experiences during the 2008 Republican presidential primary campaign. In a long and winding tale that is at times biographical, at times a travelogue, at times a 'psychology 101' tome, and at times history lesson he never leaves his reader lost or bored.
...
Read the rest of my review of Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America at my review page at Epinions.com.
...tom...
.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Ink, Paper, Holiday gift ideas...
...
One of the earliest Christmas presents I remember receiving as a child was a set of Hardy Boys mystery books. One in particular, about a lost gold mine, really caught my imagination. I have never been able to pin that early memory down to one specific book but the imagined world of the Hardy boys swallowed me up. Frank and Joe were my BFF.
From that gift, and probably others before it and many since, has grown a love of books, their words, and their images, both on the page and in the mind. That so many writers are able to create and 'bring alive' both fiction and reality is a wonder to me.
It is no coincidence that decades later I found myself writing a silly review of another book--a tale I had loved forever--and posting it as my first review ... on Epinions.
Since that pitiful start years ago I have kept the focus of my 'Epinions time' on writing book reviews and reading the reviews of others.
In that time I have found myself reading so many wonderful reviews of books that I just knew I had to read . . .but sadly, most remain unread.
Regardless, these reviews were gifts to me. As a pointer to this book or that one, as a brief moment enjoying the thoughts of another Epinions member about a favorite or not-so-favorite book. Any 'book lover' loves to hear the thoughts of others about their favorite books ...and books they have never heard of before. Those shared thoughts are true gifts any day of the year. Those are gifts I find every day here on Epinions for all to enjoy.
In that spirit I will share some links to reviews of books that I have loved discovering and reading here. These are links to reviews and 'bottom lines' from some of the most helpful book reviews I have found on this site. I guarantee that if you click on one or ten you will find a gift suitable for some member of your extended 'gift-giving tree'.
Who would not love a charming book for Christmas..??
Always a mix of sweetness and sorrow
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
review by befus
The Bottom Line: A wonderful book to read and to savor, and to enjoy with a young person you love.
Tori Amos Inspired This Female Empowerment Poetry...Written by a Man
Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman
review by smiles33
The Bottom Line: Beautifully illustrated, this poem celebrates young girls becoming strong and independent women. It would be a unique gift for pregnant moms and likely to captivate older girls.
Letters of Love to Christopher Reeve ~ Care Packages
... by Dana Reeve
review by Jev04again
The Bottom Line: This book has it all – touching moments, humor, surprise, spirit, and above all else – abiding love.
--snip--
Make sure to read the rest of my book gift idea essay:
Paper, ink . . .and the journey of a lifetime..!!
. . .at Epinions dot com
--snip--
The Bottom Line
So there ya go. A 'baker's dozen' of the fifty-some book reviews that I have rated 'Most Helpful' here on Epinions.
Click one, click 'em all ...and read. If none of them inspires you to click a shopping link to consider the possibility of gifting one of your loved ones . . .then I have failed my task here miserably. My task in this essay and my task on Epinions for the last 9-plus years.
But not to worry ...I guarantee you will find at least one to be just the right book for someone on your gift list . . .or even for yourself.
Enjoy.
One of the earliest Christmas presents I remember receiving as a child was a set of Hardy Boys mystery books. One in particular, about a lost gold mine, really caught my imagination. I have never been able to pin that early memory down to one specific book but the imagined world of the Hardy boys swallowed me up. Frank and Joe were my BFF.
From that gift, and probably others before it and many since, has grown a love of books, their words, and their images, both on the page and in the mind. That so many writers are able to create and 'bring alive' both fiction and reality is a wonder to me.
It is no coincidence that decades later I found myself writing a silly review of another book--a tale I had loved forever--and posting it as my first review ... on Epinions.
Since that pitiful start years ago I have kept the focus of my 'Epinions time' on writing book reviews and reading the reviews of others.
In that time I have found myself reading so many wonderful reviews of books that I just knew I had to read . . .but sadly, most remain unread.
Regardless, these reviews were gifts to me. As a pointer to this book or that one, as a brief moment enjoying the thoughts of another Epinions member about a favorite or not-so-favorite book. Any 'book lover' loves to hear the thoughts of others about their favorite books ...and books they have never heard of before. Those shared thoughts are true gifts any day of the year. Those are gifts I find every day here on Epinions for all to enjoy.
Image courtesy of jurvetson at flickr.com
In that spirit I will share some links to reviews of books that I have loved discovering and reading here. These are links to reviews and 'bottom lines' from some of the most helpful book reviews I have found on this site. I guarantee that if you click on one or ten you will find a gift suitable for some member of your extended 'gift-giving tree'.
Who would not love a charming book for Christmas..??
Always a mix of sweetness and sorrow
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
review by befus
The Bottom Line: A wonderful book to read and to savor, and to enjoy with a young person you love.
Tori Amos Inspired This Female Empowerment Poetry...Written by a Man
Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman
review by smiles33
The Bottom Line: Beautifully illustrated, this poem celebrates young girls becoming strong and independent women. It would be a unique gift for pregnant moms and likely to captivate older girls.
Letters of Love to Christopher Reeve ~ Care Packages
... by Dana Reeve
review by Jev04again
The Bottom Line: This book has it all – touching moments, humor, surprise, spirit, and above all else – abiding love.
--snip--
Make sure to read the rest of my book gift idea essay:
Paper, ink . . .and the journey of a lifetime..!!
. . .at Epinions dot com
--snip--
The Bottom Line
So there ya go. A 'baker's dozen' of the fifty-some book reviews that I have rated 'Most Helpful' here on Epinions.
Click one, click 'em all ...and read. If none of them inspires you to click a shopping link to consider the possibility of gifting one of your loved ones . . .then I have failed my task here miserably. My task in this essay and my task on Epinions for the last 9-plus years.
But not to worry ...I guarantee you will find at least one to be just the right book for someone on your gift list . . .or even for yourself.
Enjoy.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
"Last Man Down" ...Last job done.
.....September 11, 2001: 9:59 A.M.
"It came as if from nowhere.
There were about two dozen of us by the bank of elevators on the thirty-fifth floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.
We were firefighters mostly, and we were in various stages of exhaustion...
And then the noise started, and the building began to tremble, and we all froze. Dead solid still... No one spoke. There wasn't time to turn thoughts into words, even though there was time to think.
For me anyway there was time to think, too much time to think..."
"Last Man Down" is the sobering personal tale of one New York City fireman's experience surviving a hellish event that the world could never have imagined. His tale is not one of personal heroism while battling flames or pulling innocent victims from the clutches of Death. His tale is one of uncertainty, of not knowing what is happening, of having to be responsible and logical, of having to lead in a situation antithetical to reasoned response, calculated logic and effective leadership.
This is the story of New York City Fire Department Battalion Commander Richard Picciotto and his survival of the collapse of the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Last Man Down opens with a quiet moment of reflection. The author recounts the New York Fire Department's (FDNY) custom of sounding a sequence of five bells, four times in a row, over the FDNY internal bell system when a firefighter is lost in the line of duty. While the communications system has changed "the call of 'four fives,' from one firefighter to another, will always signal the loss of a brother." The author deplores the ugly fact that on September 11, 2001 there was no time for 'four fives'. "There was no time to ring the bells for (our fallen brothers) and too few of us left to hear the ringing."
What follows is his dedication of his story to those firefighters who "gave their lives on that tragic day." What follows are black words set on white paper: rank / surname / given name / unit assignment. Page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page of names...343 firefighters strong--as officially recorded by the FDNY--all gone. A roll call as hauntingly obscene as it is beautifully evocative of all that was lost.
"May their spirits soar, and their legacies linger, and may their mention here stand for the bells that never rang in their honor."
.
.
.
Read the rest of the review at Epinions dot com.
Originally published May 2, 2002
"It came as if from nowhere.
There were about two dozen of us by the bank of elevators on the thirty-fifth floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.
We were firefighters mostly, and we were in various stages of exhaustion...
And then the noise started, and the building began to tremble, and we all froze. Dead solid still... No one spoke. There wasn't time to turn thoughts into words, even though there was time to think.
For me anyway there was time to think, too much time to think..."
"Last Man Down" is the sobering personal tale of one New York City fireman's experience surviving a hellish event that the world could never have imagined. His tale is not one of personal heroism while battling flames or pulling innocent victims from the clutches of Death. His tale is one of uncertainty, of not knowing what is happening, of having to be responsible and logical, of having to lead in a situation antithetical to reasoned response, calculated logic and effective leadership.
This is the story of New York City Fire Department Battalion Commander Richard Picciotto and his survival of the collapse of the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Last Man Down opens with a quiet moment of reflection. The author recounts the New York Fire Department's (FDNY) custom of sounding a sequence of five bells, four times in a row, over the FDNY internal bell system when a firefighter is lost in the line of duty. While the communications system has changed "the call of 'four fives,' from one firefighter to another, will always signal the loss of a brother." The author deplores the ugly fact that on September 11, 2001 there was no time for 'four fives'. "There was no time to ring the bells for (our fallen brothers) and too few of us left to hear the ringing."
What follows is his dedication of his story to those firefighters who "gave their lives on that tragic day." What follows are black words set on white paper: rank / surname / given name / unit assignment. Page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page after page of names...343 firefighters strong--as officially recorded by the FDNY--all gone. A roll call as hauntingly obscene as it is beautifully evocative of all that was lost.
"May their spirits soar, and their legacies linger, and may their mention here stand for the bells that never rang in their honor."
.
.
.
Read the rest of the review at Epinions dot com.
Originally published May 2, 2002
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