Sadly, this opening epigraph was the ONLY good thing about this book.
5 likes
Sadly, this opening epigraph was the ONLY good thing about this book.
bailedIt's been a while since I've read a book that was so terrible that it actually made me angry. This was one of those books. It's a 389-page book that's supposed to be about the Union Carbide disaster that struck India in 1984, but the authors decided to wait until page 294 before they got to it. I'm not joking. It's as if they wanted to write about everything BUT the disaster. 😡😡😡 #2025Book4
so-so3.5⭐
I wanted to like this book more than I did. The narrator for the #audiobook had an incredibly soothing and easy to listen to voice. The firsthand accounts of the loss, devastation, resiliency, and strength were powerful. The book just felt too drawn out. If the author had condensed things a bit, which I fully believe he could have done without sacrificing the integrity of his work, then I think this would have easily been a 4-4.5 star read.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What started as an article for Outside Magazine turned into the deadliest day on Everest (at that point), and a totally different experience ensued. The article expanded into this incredible memoir, perhaps as an act of catharsis. I first read this 14 years ago and loved it just as much now. Harrowing, sad, and incredible.
Highly recommend all of Krakauer‘s books! His “Under the Banner of Heaven” is what got me interested in cults.
pickThis was an emotional read for me! I was in 4th grade in Florida when it happened. My class stepped outside to watch so I saw the explosion live in the sky. And in hindsight there were so many reasons to not launch that day 😔 The story was well told by the author.
By the time the design was complete...engineers... still believed they were employing a tried-and-tested joint for their new rocket: they had avoided any potentially dangerous innovation. But this was a convenient delusion.... in creating a man-rated, fail-safe joint they had also modified it so extensively that what they produced was, in effect, a quite new and experimental design.
----
Cue the ominous soundtrack...
Day 11 of #12Booksof2024 is my favorite nonfiction read of the year
@Andrew65
pickA re-read for me, but perfectly timed for when it‘s cold and the wind is howling. This is the book that started my love affair with high altitude climbing stories and it still holds up almost 30 years after publication.
pickOverall I liked this historical fiction from the point of view of a girl who stows away on the Titanic, but there were a few issues for me as a reader. Hazel sneaks onto the ship and then makes herself way too visible, including spending time in the first class areas. She asks specific questions that provide lots of clear information about the flaws/mistakes that led to the catastrophe, and of course it all works out well for her in the end.
