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ryner's review
4.0
I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
David Long has collected 23 amazing stories of human survival in overwhelmingly desperate, hopeless conditions. Whether trapped in a sunken submarine, blasted by Mount St. Helens, trapped or lost in the desert, stuck in quicksand or dangling precariously from a mountainside, these courageous men and women demonstrate incredible perseverance and will to live. Each thrilling tale is just 6-10 pages long, so reading can be broken down into many small easily digestible portions.
Since its target audience is children, I intended initially to share this inspiring book with my 7-year-old. However, after we read the first two stories together I started to feel doubtful that some of these potentially frightening situations were appropriate for bedtime. The narratives are not unnecessarily graphic, but neither are uncomfortable details glossed over. Parents should be aware of and prepared to discuss topics such as witnessing friends/family dying, killing/eating dogs for survival, attempted suicide, plane crashes, hypothermia and starvation. I opted to complete the rest of the book on my own and, while I found these personal stories uplifting, I plan to wait another year or two to share with my daughter.
David Long has collected 23 amazing stories of human survival in overwhelmingly desperate, hopeless conditions. Whether trapped in a sunken submarine, blasted by Mount St. Helens, trapped or lost in the desert, stuck in quicksand or dangling precariously from a mountainside, these courageous men and women demonstrate incredible perseverance and will to live. Each thrilling tale is just 6-10 pages long, so reading can be broken down into many small easily digestible portions.
Since its target audience is children, I intended initially to share this inspiring book with my 7-year-old. However, after we read the first two stories together I started to feel doubtful that some of these potentially frightening situations were appropriate for bedtime. The narratives are not unnecessarily graphic, but neither are uncomfortable details glossed over. Parents should be aware of and prepared to discuss topics such as witnessing friends/family dying, killing/eating dogs for survival, attempted suicide, plane crashes, hypothermia and starvation. I opted to complete the rest of the book on my own and, while I found these personal stories uplifting, I plan to wait another year or two to share with my daughter.
ellielabbett's review
4.0
Quite often I find myself really struggling to engage with non-fiction books, but this was not the case for this epic collection of real-life survival stories. Each brush with death is thrillingly retold, and I was repeatedly astonished by the determination demonstrated by these courageous people. Very inspirational tales that would be extremely exciting for children and adults to retell.
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