Amazon.com
Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Laila Lalami's poetic debut, begins with the illegal journey of four Moroccans across the Strait of Gibraltar. Moments away from the shores of Spain, the boat capsizes and the passengers are forced to swim for their lives, and their freedom. What follows is an exploration of the pasts that led to this passage, and the futures that emerge from this voyage.
Less a novel than a series of biographical sketches, the book seems at times like a tease; Lalami does such a beautiful job creating her characters that readers will undoubtedly be left wanting more. Still, each portrait gives us a chance to not only engage with the character, but to gain an understanding of the religious, socio-economic, and emotional circumstances that compel each person to leave Morocco. Faten, a student who dons the hijab, is forced to flee when her religious beliefs start threatening the lives of influential educators. Murad, a serious, educated young man chances the crossing in search of a better life, where he doesn't have to hustle tourists to make a living. In each scene, Lalami bring Moroccan culture to life, from the tree-lined suburbs of Rabat to the Douar Lhajja slum, "where couscous pots were used as satellite dishes."
With Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Lalami creates a world that is both modern and traditional, hopeful and desperate, mournful and joyous. Readers can look forward to much more from this talented new voice. --Gisele Toueg
Book Description
In her exciting debut, Laila Lalami evokes the grit and enduring grace that is modern Morocco and offers an authentic look at the Muslim immigrant experience today.
The book begins as four Moroccans illegally cross the Strait of Gibraltar in an inflatable boat headed for Spain. There’s Murad, a gentle, educated man who’s been reduced to hustling tourists around Tangier; Halima, who’s fleeing her drunken husband and the slums of Casablanca; Aziz, who must leave behind his devoted wife to find work in Spain; and Faten, a student and religious fanatic whose faith is at odds with an influential man determined to destroy her future.
What has driven these men and women to risk their lives? And will the rewards prove to be worth the danger? Sensitively written with beauty and boldness, this is a gripping book about people in search of a better future.
Customer Reviews:
Lovely debut.......2007-08-01
I've just finished this lovely, poetic novel, debut by Laila Lalami about how hope is making us in move and about how much we are willing to sacrifice to make it happened.
First I'm very pleasantly surprised with the structure of the novel ("novel" in some lovely weird way). Namely it starts from the middle of the story, somewhere in the middle of the road between survival and life (or should I say 'hope'?), in the middle of the night, between two continents: Africa and Europe; in the middle of the path which separates "not just two countries but two universes."; in the boat made for eight people but which bears thirty passengers right now.
All those passengers have in common hope, their dream about life they couldn't have in their motherland - Morocco.
They are approaching Spanish coast with fear in their stomach and hope in their eyes and ... (I'll avoid spoilers) ... after page or two we are reaching the spot where story starts to branch (it's like a reverse delta). Or maybe it's even better to say that we are reaching narrowest spot on the 'sandglass'.
Sandglass is turned over and now we are following lives of the main characters prior their journey and here the novel becomes sort of collection of short stories. And these stories are very detailed and very personal portraits of persons with different characters, professions, education, etc. which are living in the same (mainly) political/economical pot which will transform them in immigrants.
It is a very colorful picture of nowadays Morocco and clash of its traditional and modern faces. Land filled with tourists seeking for roots of Paul Bowles's inspiration, or hashish, or some other sort of exotic adventure while muezzins are calling for prayer from minarets, with streets with girls covered with scarves and gay couples fearless sitting in the bars. We are introduced with some Islamic customs, especially in the marriage; with two completely different ways of interpretation of Qur'an: traditional as if there are no changes from the time of the Prophet and the modern one which is adapted with the current civilization level. And of course cuisine: you could feel the smell while passing through the pages mouth-watering.
However accent is on the horrifying economic situation with huge unemployment population (sometime regardless their education), extremely (and quite openly) corrupted system, from university via any sort of bureaucracy 'till the judicial system. Indeed you have a sensation of hermetic-incurable-never-ending-no-way-out, sensation so strong that you can feel it in your throat. Sensation that is boosted with descriptions of their homes, streets, furniture, etc so that you are wondering "How on Earth they're surviving at all?" and naturally when you're looking with their eyes immigrate in Spain is best (if not only) solution.
Then again sandglass is turned over and now we can see how immigrants live in their new country. Of course those kinds of dreams are often nightmares but it is incredible how people can find consolation and be satisfied. I guess when you manage to leave enormous misery behind, new misery doesn't look so unbearable. You just have to remember the ones who weren't that lucky and who would instantly exchange their place with yours.
Naturally new life will change them but while some changes are expectable (no one would gladly accept to leave horse and ride donkey again) some changes are so drastic that I had to double check if that is the same person.
I should say that 'sandglass' will be turned over more than once: to let us know why would anyone leave its own people, family, friends, customs and go in unknown land among strangers, become stranger himself (even among compatriots); to let us know how the ones who survived the trip but have not succeed in their intention are reestablish their lives in the country they wanted to leave; and to let us know about the ones whose lives have torn from the roots and are thrown on the other soil.
This is a story about their hope which helps them to stay alive.
A compelling first novel.......2007-04-29
Laila Lalami's novel is structured in three parts. The first one is called The Trip in which the reader gets acquainted with different characters attempting to reach in secret the Spanish coastline via the Strait of Gibraltar in a six-meter Zodiac. There is Faten, Aziz, Murad, Mouna and Halima.
In the second part of the novel called Before the reader learns what motivates these characters to wish to escape from Morocco
In the third part of the book called After we discover what happens to Faten, Aziz, Murad, Mouna and Halima once they reach the coast of Spain.
In a prose both spare and observant, the author follows her characters' varying fates. Men and women adrift and caught between the stagnation of Morocco and the hope of a better life in Spain. Laila Lalami is a sharp observer of the human condition and their characters are infused with universal emotions so that we can find part of ourselves in each of them. And it is also a vivid picture of the customs of modern-day Morocco.
Wow. Great book!.......2007-04-25
I think this was my favorite book for 2006. The fiction is well written, the plots are solid, and the cultural sense is solid. I am impressed at the author's ability to make me feel what her characters are feeling, understand what they are thinking, and end up having a complete empathy for their actions, even when I disagree with them.
Buy this book. Read it. Study it.
If I am ever able to write this well, I will be overjoyed.
Culture and Warmth.......2007-03-27
Laila Lalami's "Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits" is a brilliant and accessible collection of stories that takes a closer look at the lives of four of the thirty people embarking on a fourteen kilometer journey through the Straight of Gibraltar. An inflatable boat, that was only meant to accommodate eight, lands (though I use this term loosely) the Moroccans illegally in Spain.
"Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits" is cleverly crafted into two parts: "Before" and "After." "Before," of course, tells what compels Lalami's characters to immigrate to Spain. Aziz hopes to make money to set up himself and his new bride. Educated and bookish Murad also dreams of a better job. Halima wants to save herself and her three children from an abusive husband, whom she fears won't grant her a divorce. Faten's story is told through the eyes of her best friend's father. He condemns her headscarf and conservative views and isn't opposed to using his high connections at Faten's university to keep her away from his daughter.
"After" is a follow-up, letting us glimpse into the reconstructed lives of those who made it and those who didn't. Aziz finds himself distanced from his family. Murad discovers a new livelihood. Halima's son becomes the local prophet, and Faten converts to the antipode of everything she once believed in.
"Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits" is not only a socially conscious pursuit full of culture and warmth, it's a great read.
Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits.......2006-09-08
* Plot in a nutshell: From separate walks of life, four Moroccan main characters' stories are linked in their desperation to illegally immigrate to Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar to find better employment and better conditions for themselves and their families. The book opens with the treacherous journey in a raft, and focuses on Faten, Noura, Halima and Aziz, then moves backwards to the events that brought them there.
The story follows their lives as they struggle to make their way in a strange land combating prejudice and squalor. As usual, when trying to escape one's problems, other problems are created.
* Sample of prose: "Larbi Amrani didn't consider himself a superstitious man, but when the prayer beads that hung on his rearview mirror broke, he found himself worrying that this could be an omen. His mother had given him the sandalwood beads on his college graduation, shortly before her death, advising him to use them often and well. At first Larbi had carried the beads in his pocket, fingered them after every prayer, but as the years went by he'd used them with decreasing regularity, until one day they ended up as decoration in his car. Now they lay scattered, amber dots on the black floor mats."
* Author reminds me of: T. C. Boyle in his wonderful book The Tortilla Curtain, in the way he was able to capture the plight and desperation of illegal immigrants, allowing readers inside their heads and lives.
* Best reason to read: This well-written "journal" is a reminder that, in spite of religious and cultural differences, we all have the same wants and needs under the skin - a timely topic in this age when the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina have taken center stage.
Amazon.com
Fire on the Beach is a wonderful book on a forgotten piece of history: The story of an all-black unit of the U.S. Life-Saving Service on North Carolina's "beautiful and unforgiving" Outer Banks. Stationed on Pea Island, near the hazardous "Graveyard of the Atlantic," the men of the segregated Station 17 showed that African Americans were just as capable as their white peers when it came to saving the lives of sailors and passengers whose ships foundered on deadly shoals. Their leader was Richard Etheridge, an inspiring figure born into slavery. He fought during the Civil War and later entered the LSS. Much of the book is a reconstruction of his life, and Civil War buffs will appreciate the extensive treatment given to his military service.
Yet Fire on the Beach is not a mere biography. It's a fascinating portrait of 19th-century Outer Banks culture, long before these isolated little towns became tourist destinations. Authors David Wright and David Zoby, for instance, describe "wreckers" whose main occupation--a surprisingly profitable one--was combing the beach for the detritus of shipwrecks. The town of Nags Head apparently derives its odd name from this weird heritage: "Many claim that the name Nags Head originated in an era when malicious wreckers would tie a lantern around an old horse's neck and lead it up and down the dunes. From the sea, the rising and falling light would give the impression of a ship safely moored in a harbor, taunting unsuspecting ship captains to sail to their destructions." Even without these manmade deceptions, the seas off the coast of North Carolina were plenty treacherous, giving Etheridge and his men lots of rescue work. Race is a necessary and fundamental theme of the book, and Etheridge knew he would have to defy white skeptics by proving his abilities over and over: "There was no room for error. The continuation of the black station could be compromised by any slipup, no matter how slight. Misjudgment or poor performance could result in his or one of his crewmen's dismissal. Inadequacies, no matter how slight, could lead to the reinstatement of a white keeper and crew. They had to excel if they were to maintain their station." Fire on the Beach ultimately rises above the parochialism of race: It is a gripping story about "a man among the men" and his harrowing exploits. When Wright and Zoby describe Etheridge's role in saving the crew of the schooner E.S. Newman in hurricane conditions, the skin color of Etheridge and his men does not matter at all. Fans of The Perfect Storm and Isaac's Storm--books that mix thrilling sea stories with calamitous weather--are sure to enjoy Fire on the Beach. --John Miller
Book Description
FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, THIS IS THE TRUE-LIFE STORY OF THE ORIGINAL COAST GUARD AND ONE CREW OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HEROES WHO FOUGHT STORMS AND SAVED LIVES OFF NORTH CAROLINA'S OUTER BANKS.
Fire on the Beach recovers a lost gem of American history. It tells the story of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, formed in 1871 to assure the safe passage of American and international shipping and to save lives and salvage cargo. A century ago, the adventures of the now-forgotten "surfmen" who, in crews of seven, bore the brunt of this dangerous but vital duty filled the pages of popular reading material, from Harper's to the Baltimore Sun and New York Herald. Station 17, located on the desolate beaches of Pea Island, North Carolina, housed one such unit, and Richard Etheridge -- the only black man to lead a lifesaving crew -- was its captain.
A former slave and Civil War veteran, Etheridge recruited and trained a crew of African- Americans, forming the only all-black station in the nation. Although civilian attitudes toward Etheridge and his men ranged from curiosity to outrage, they figured among the most courageous surfmen in the service, performing many daring rescues. From 1880 to the closing of the station in 1947, the Pea Island crew saved scores of men, women, and children who, under other circumstances, would have considered the hands of those reaching out to help them to be of the wrong race. In 1896, when the three-masted schooner E. S. Newman beached during a hurricane, Etheridge and his men accomplished one of the most daring rescues in the annals of the Life-Saving Service. The violent conditions had rendered their equipment useless. Undaunted, the surfmen swam out to the wreck, making nine trips in all, and saved the entire crew. This incredible feat went unrecognized until 1996, when the Coast Guard posthumously awarded the crew the Gold Life-Saving Medal.
The authors depict the lives of Etheridge and his crew against the backdrop of late-nineteenth-century America -- the horrors of the Civil War, the hopefulness of Reconstruction, and the long slide toward Plessy v. Ferguson that followed. Full of exploits and heroics, Fire on the Beach, like the movie Glory, illustrates yet another example of the little-known but outstanding contributions of a remarkable group of African-Americans to our country's history.
Download Description
Fire on the Beach brings a previously undiscovered chapter of American history and maritime adventure to light. It tells the story of the U.S. Life-Saving Service (forerunner of today's Coast Guard) and its "surfmen" who, in crews of seven, shouldered the dangerous work of saving lives along America's coasts. In the 1880s, the men of Pea Island, North Carolina, were one such unit, and Richard Etheridge -- the only black man to lead a lifesaving crew -- was their captain. A former slave and Civil War veteran, Etheridge recruited and trained a crew of African Americans, forming the only all-black station in the organization. Among civilians, attitudes towards Etheridge and his men ranged from curiosity to outrage, but they were some of the most courageous surfmen in the service, leading many sea rescues. When a hurricane hit the coast in the late 1890s, Etheridge and his men managed to save the entire crew of the wrecked E. S. Newman. This incredible feat went unrecognized for a century until 1996 when the Coast Guard posthumously awarded the crew the Gold Life-Saving Medal. Full of exploits and heroics, Fire on the Beach, like the movie Glory before it, depicts yet another example of the outstanding contributions of a remarkable group of African Americans to our country's history.
Customer Reviews:
Great story - not a great book.......2004-09-15
The story of Richard Etheridge is fascinating and inspiring. It is unfortunate that its telling here is tedious and uneven.
A gripping tale of courage and bravery........2003-09-23
Faced with several days of enforced inactivity as Hurricane Isabel bore down upon Baltimore, what I needed was a good book with which to pass the hours. There on my shelf was Fire on the Beach, purchased several months ago but set aside for just such a circumstance. As the wind howled around my apartment and rain slashed at my windows, I settled in to read.
Authors Wright and Zoby have written a thrilling account about the American Life Saving Service (ALSS), predecessor to the U.S. Coast Guard. Their focus is on the life of Richard Etheridge, born into slavery, a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War, and later, leader of a courageous crew of lifesavers at Pea Island's Station 17 on the Outer Banks.
Richard Etheridge, probably the son of a white "Banker," raised and educated as part of his family, obtained his freedom fighting with the North Carolina Colored Volunteers (NCCV), under infamous Colonel Edward A. Wild. After the war, the scandel-ridden ALSS was reorganized and Etheridge was appointed Keeper of the station at Pea Island; the only black man to command a station up to that point. Etheridge was, indeed, a "man among men," risking his life time and again, driving his 6-member crew of surfmen to rescue sailors and passengers off unfortunate ships driven ashore by storms at least as furious as the one threatening Maryland on this day.
Here is a tale of daring exploits during an obscure time in American history; of courageous men of color fighting steep breakers and raging surf over shallow shoals while saving stranded survivors of doomed vessels before the deadly sea could claim them.
A fascinating account. Some might say it's black history. But it's more than that. It's about raw courage; about bravery against a treacherous enemy - the sea at its worst. Etheridge and his crew were black, but first and foremost, they were real men who willingly risked their lives daily for others.
I heartily recommend this work as an eye-opening account of a time along the Outer Banks before storms were tracked with high-tech equipment, and as a gripping tale guaranteed to hold your interest.
suberbly written, well researched.......2002-10-03
This history of the Pea Island Lifesavers is beautifully written so that the story captivates from start to finish. In fact, I wasn't sure that this was my kind of book, but the early, vivid description of the dangerous coast and the duties of the men who walked the Outer Banks looking for shipwrecks hour after hour convinced me that I had to read the whole book. Clearly well researched, this book taught me a great deal about the Civil War and U.S. maritime history but, more importantly, explored the humanity in our country's history. It takes saavy authors to recognize that the real beginning of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station begins not with its inception but with the lives of the men, namely Richard Etheridge, who served there. Because of the emphasis on people and place, the book reads quite like a novel and, therefore, can be appreciated by a wide audience. Fire on the Beach deserves to be read, for it demonstrates that history must be revealed and retold with all its contradictions, complications, and individuals.
Should be" Wild's African Brigade Revised".......2002-07-20
The book purports to tell the story of Richard Etheridge but the first third is about "Wilds African Brigade," a black brigade that committed murder, arson, looting and the hostage taking of white women in Tidewater North Carolina and Virginia in October and December 1863.
On its return to base in Portsmouth Virginia Brigadier General Wild was relieved of command and the brigade disbanded.
Entertaining History!.......2002-01-07
I am admittedly not a history buff. I do however treasure the three years I was lucky enough to live on North Carolina's Outer Banks. "Fire on the Beach" was recommended to me & now I would like to pass that gift on to anyone who reads these reviews. This book tells a fantastic tale of a man & a period of time that are both truly inspiring. It does not read like a "historical text", but more like a well plotted out novel. If you have any interest in Post Civil War South, Turn of the century maritime history, North Carolina's Outer Banks, or the US Coast Guard, do not pass this book up!
Book Description
This the first book on the distinguished past, hazardous present, and uncertain future of an organization whose roots extend back nearly 200 years. Each year, the Coast Guard's powerful motorized lifeboats and other small water craft respond to over 37,000 calls for assistance and help in saving more than 4,000 people in imminent danger. Despite the fact that the small boat stations are the very symbol of rescue upon the water, the public knows little about what takes place in them and about the professionals who put their own lives at risk in this way every day.
A retired member of the Coast Guard, Dennis Noble traveled from unit to unit capturing the stories of their brave crews, riding the waves with the lifeboat sailors who accepted him as one of their own. Movingly he tells of witnessing the tragic deaths of three Coast Guardsmen on a rescue mission - deaths he believes did not have to occur. Lifeboat Sailors bears witness to the courage of a unique breed of seaman and sounds an alarm for the rescue of a cherished American institution.
Customer Reviews:
Life savers, how is was, how it is and how is should be........2007-03-05
Lifeboat Sailors by Dennis Noble, a retired Coast Guard Senior Chief, is reading life as it is in the Coast Guard's world of Search and Rescue. I was stationed in Port Angeles for over 10 years and visited the Small boat Stations he talks about. As an Enlisted man with over 15 years, I have many friends at those stations and Dr. Noble tells it like it is. Of course this book was written pre-911 but still with all the growth for the Coast Guard and larger focus on Homeland Security, the Small Boat stations have had little change or given any more assets, but definitely have more patrol requirements. Dr. Noble's ideas and problems still remain. Search and Rescue has again taken back seat, this time to Homeland Security instead of Law Enforcement of the 80's. His prologue and epilogue tell the story of the tragic events of February 12 of 1997, when the 44 foot Motor Life Boat 44363 rolled and lost 3 of its four person crew. Dr. Noble happened to be a Station Quillayute River that night and provides us a first hand account of the events. It is a sobering tale surrounding his plight of the Lifeboat sailors in this excellent book. A must for Coasties new and old.
Been there done that.................2004-06-29
I was stationed at Station Willapa Bay , Washington from 1974 to 1977. The first time out on a 44ft MLB we had 25ft breakers to play with. What a ride. Spent time at the MLB School at Cape Disappoinment. Had the time of my life with the small boats.
Great book. A must read if you what to know about the Coast Guard search and rescue. All of Dennis books are great..........
A Rare Insight to a Mysterious World.......2003-08-06
This book offered a rare and informative insight into the world of US Coast Guard lifeboat stations and the sailors that man them. It gave great first hand insights into the day to day operations of a lifeboat station and a very informative history of the stations from the early days of the lifesaving service to the modern lifeboat station. A great read and a must for anyone in or wanting to be in the US Coast Guard!!!!!!
Easy-reading, but very eye-opening and inspiring.......2002-03-13
Although the book was a nice, easy read, I was involved to the point where I couldn't put it down and wanted to know more about the Coast Guard. These men and women of the small lifeboat stations are true heroes. Thanks to Dennis Noble for telling their history and story. I was inspired so much by the desire to become a part of such an amazing tradition and responsibility that I visited my Coast Guard recruiter to join.
Lifeboat Sailors.......2001-09-04
I was very impressed at this very well written book. Mr. Noble is retired from the Coast Guard and is very knowledgeable about the traditions and history of the finest life saving service in the world.
Mr. Noble is able to show both sides, good and bad, of the Coast Guard small boat stations.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Coast Guard history as well as someone wanting to join the Coast Guard.
Book Description
"More than a horrifying tale... also a penetrating examination of causes."
-Denis Wood, author,The Power of Maps
Seventy-one years before the Titanic, a ship loaded with Irish immigrants struck an iceberg and plunged to the ocean floor. The ship's crew stepped into two lifeboats, leaving more than half the passengers behind. Fearing for their lives, one overburdened boat's crew threw 14 men and women overboard. And the story of The Wreck of the William Brown had only begun.
This chronicle of one of the 19th century's most infamous sea disasters and the uproar that followed presents a portrait of a forgotten time, re-creates a defining maritime trial, and tells of back room legal shenanigans. Newspaper readership was exploding in the 1840s, and journalists jumped on this sensational story. The resulting investigations and trial gave us the concept of "lifeboat ethics."
Customer Reviews:
From Catastrophe To Courtoom.......2006-12-23
The sinking of the "William Brown" could be an interesting story. Unfortunately, we may never really know, because it does not turn out thusly in this volume. You know how the movie "Titanic" had two hours of mediocre buildup to the "good part", at which point you were treated to a full-blown special effects extravaganza and an astonishing rendition of disaster and drama? Here, the good part--the sinking--gets out of the way right at the outset, and then we get to the rest: all the gripping intrigue and high suspense of a tedious courtroom trial.
Koch disposes of the actual maritime disaster comparatively quickly and then gets to what really seized his attention: the trial of the designated scapegoat. So we get to witness the testimonies of quite a few witnesses and all of the fun that comes from parsing their statements and picking them apart for errors, lies, and discrepancies. Enjoyable for the legal enthusiast, perhaps...drudgery for most. Even here, primary materials on most of the major participants are scarce, so the author has few means to give us full psychological portraits of the various parties, with the result that he contents himself for the most part with a great deal of snark and eye-rolling.
Ultimately, this turns out to be a rather slight tale, not in its significance for legal precedence, but simply because there's not enough narrative meat, so Koch has to digress into endless asides to pad out his story, and his side jaunts are often exceptionally tangential. Additionally, there's rather too much preachy editorializing and faux outrage for my tastes.
Not recommended unless you enjoy reading court transcripts from stenography tapes.
Fascinating and compelling, but too much editorializing.......2005-11-26
On a cold April night, a ship full of passengers crossing the Atlantic from England to America struck an iceberg and sank. It was almost exactly 71 years before the sinking of the Titanic, and at almost the exact same spot. But, there were great differences in what happened in the sinking of these two ships.
After the sailing ship William Brown began to go down, the crew rushed to the two small boats the ship carried (lifeboats weren't even invented yet), and tried to leave with as few of the passengers as possible. The captain, aboard the smaller gig sailed off leaving the bulk of the crew and all but one of the passengers behind in a damaged longboat. And when the people aboard the overfilled longboat began to fear for their own survival, the crew began to lighten the load - by throwing passengers overboard to their deaths! A cause celebre at the time, one crewman was brought to trial for the events of that horrifying cruise, one man was offered up as a scapegoat.
I must admit that I have never heard of the sinking of the William Brown before I read this book. The author does an excellent job of collecting what information is known about what happened, and presenting it in an informative and compelling manner. My one complaint about this book is that the author does spend too much time in editorializing - on the 19th century immigration movement and racism, and even on the state of modern healthcare!
But, if you ignore the digressions and editorializations, you will be rewarded with a fascinating and compelling story of a little known disaster. I loved this book, and highly recommend it!
Average customer rating:
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Survival at Sea: The Lifeboat and Liferaft
C.H. Wright
Manufacturer: Ferguson Brown & Son
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0851745407 |
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The skills and tools necessary for safety of life at sea. Essential reading for all seamen.
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More Than Housing: Lifeboats for Women and Children
Joan Forrester Sprague
Manufacturer: Butterworth Architecture
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0750691468 |
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Today, 40 percent of the homeless are single mothers and children; their numbers are increasing. More Than Housing is the first book focusing on a new housing type that responds to this growing emergency. The innovative models are called 'lifeboats' because they rescue and transform lives. Lifeboat architecture and communities of support help single mothers move out of poverty, dependence, abuse, and homelessness.
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Lifeboat
Lynda La Plante
Manufacturer: William Heinemann Ltd
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ASIN: 0434000655 |
Book Description
When ships were in trouble off the treacherous coast of North Carolinas Outer Banks, the courageous black lifesavers at Pea Island Station were first on the sceneand in the water. Through raging storms, pitch-black nights, and hurricanes, these surfmen performed amazing, death-defying rescues. For over seven decades, the intrepid crews battled fierce waves and racial prejudice. Ultimately, they received the recognition they richly deservedin 1996, more than a century after they broke the color barrier. Sink or Swim: African-American Lifesavers of the Outer Banks is the story of their heroism, their struggle, and their triumph.
With dozens of historic prints and photographs, this documentary history is the first book about the U.S. Lifesaving Services only all-black crew. Spanning slavery times, the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era, Sink or Swim recalls this little-known chapter in American and North Carolinian history. Mixing adventure and social discord, the informative, action-packed narrative will enhance young readers understanding of coastal conditions and how slavery and other racial barriers affected African Americans lives. Readers witness violent storms, courageous rescues, tragic losses, and the lifesavers ultimate victory over prejudice. Their story is both powerful and empowering; in fact, it was said that Alex Haleys next project, had he lived, would have been to tell the Pea Island surfmens tale.
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Lifeboat
John R. Stilgoe
Manufacturer: University of Virginia Press
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ASIN: 0813922216 |
Book Description
The fire extinguisher; the airline safety card; the lifeboat. Until September 11, 2001, most Americans paid homage to these appurtenances of disaster with a sidelong glance, if at all. But John Stilgoe has been thinking about lifeboats ever since he listened with his father as the kitchen radio announced that the liner Lakonia had caught fire and sunk in the Atlantic. It was Christmas 1963, and airline travel and Cold War paranoia had made the images of an ocean liner's distress--the air force dropping supplies in the dark, a freighter collecting survivors from lifeboats--seem like echoes of a bygone era.
But Stilgoe, already a passionate reader and an aficionado of small-boat navigation, began to delve into accounts of other disasters at sea. What he found was a trunkful of hair-raising stories--of shipwreck, salvation, seamanship brilliant and inept, noble sacrifice, insanity, cannibalism, courage and cravenness, even scandal. In nonfiction accounts and in the works of Conrad, Melville, and Tomlinson, fear and survival animate and degrade human nature, in the microcosm of an open boat as in society at large.
How lifeboats are made, rigged, and captained, Stilgoe discovered, and how accounts of their use or misuse are put down, says much about the culture and circumstances from which they are launched. In the hands of a skillful historian such as Stilgoe, the lifeboat becomes a symbol of human optimism, of engineering ingenuity, of bureaucratic regulation, of fear and frailty. Woven through Lifeboat are good old-fashioned yarns, thrilling tales of adventure that will quicken the pulse of readers who have enjoyed the novels of Patrick O'Brian, or works of nonfiction such as The Perfect Storm and In the Heart of the Sea. But Stilgoe, whose other works have plumbed suburban culture, locomotives, and the shore, is ultimately after bigger fish. Through the humble, much-ignored lifeboat, its design and navigation and the throes of its ultimate purpose, he has found a peculiar lens on roughly the past two centuries of human history, particularly the war-tossed, technology-driven history of man and the sea.
Customer Reviews:
Seeing for the first time.......2003-10-18
Lifeboat, like anything by John Stilgoe, will make you re-examine your views of the past, present, and perhaps even everyday sights and sites you pass routinely without regard.
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