Occupying an island, as we do, the community has a certain fascination with nautical disaster. People in Kansas might have liked watching The Perfect Storm in the theater, but there was an element of familiarity that left the audience in Ketchikan very quiet when I went to go see the movie. We have a new book that ties in with that interest - Near Death on the High Seas: true stories of disaster and survival, edited by Cecil Kuhne. Shipwrecks, stormy seas, life rafts, solo journeys and dogged determination fill up the pages of this book. Some of the stories might be familiar to readers: Thor Heyerdahl's account of his voyage in the Kon-Tiki, Sir Francis Chichester's trip in the Gipsy Moth, and Steve Callahan's harrowing description of being adrift in the ocean for 76 days. This is good armchair reading that is sure to get the adrenalin flowing (and send you to make sure your survival suit is still aboard). If this book gives you a taste for more nautical stories, then check out our booklist on our website: http://www.firstcitylibraries.org/Booklists/seafaring_stories.html
These fiction and nonfiction tales will keep you on the edge of your seat.
(I wonder...perhaps people in Kansas don't find the tornado scene The Wizard of Oz as fun to watch as I do).
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