Book Description
When Peter DeLeo set out one Sunday morning on a sightseeing and photography trip over the central Sierra Nevada mountains in California, he had no idea that he would soon be fighting for his life with the odds stacked very much against him. DeLeo's single-engine plane encountered turbulence, and he and his two passengers crashed in the mountains. All three survived the accident but sustained multiple injuries. DeLeo had broken ribs, a shattered ankle, and a badly damaged shoulder. After assessing their situation, they decided that the passengers should remain with the plane while DeLeo would hike out to bring back help. It was already winter; he left the limited emergency supplies with the plane's passengers; and he was hampered by his injuries, but DeLeo was determined to get help. He found or improvised shelter at night, carefully warmed himself during the daytime, drank from small pools of melted snow and ice, and slowly but steadily made his way toward civilization. Suffering from exhaustion and on the verge of collapse, he found a hot spring that provided him with temporary warmth and insects to eat. Injuries, dehydration, malnutrition, and a two-day blizzard slowed him, and a rockslide nearly killed him just as he glimpsed the valley and highway that he so desperately sought, but DeLeo's courage saw him through.
Meanwhile, Civil Air Patrol planes searched fruitlessly for the lost plane and for survivors; twice, DeLeo frantically tried to signal the search planes, but to no avail. When DeLeo finally reached a highway, he found it almost impossible to convince the authorities that he was the lost pilot who had been all but given up for dead. His astonishing survival, one of the most remarkable feats of endurance on record, made national and even international news.
Now, for the first time, Peter DeLeo tells his remarkable story in gripping detail. His amazing saga is destined to become a classic.
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"When Peter DeLeo set out one Sunday morning on a sightseeing and photography trip over the central Sierra Nevada mountains in California, he had no idea that he would soon be fighting for his life with the odds stacked very much against him. DeLeo's single-engine plane encountered turbulence, and he and his two passengers crashed in the mountains. All three survived the accident but sustained multiple injuries. DeLeo had broken ribs, a shattered ankle, and a badly damaged shoulder. After assessing their situation, they decided that the passengers should remain with the plane while DeLeo would hike out to bring back help. It was already winter; he left the limited emergency supplies with the plane's passengers; and he was hampered by his injuries, but DeLeo was determined to get help. He found or improvised shelter at night, carefully warmed himself during the daytime, drank from small pools of melted snow and ice, and slowly but steadily made his way toward civilization. Suffering from exhaustion and on the verge of collapse, he found a hot spring that provided him with temporary warmth and insects to eat. Injuries, dehydration, malnutrition, and a two-day blizzard slowed him, and a rockslide nearly killed him just as he glimpsed the valley and highway that he so desperately sought, but DeLeo's courage saw him through. Meanwhile, Civil Air Patrol planes searched fruitlessly for the lost plane and for survivors; twice, DeLeo frantically tried to signal the search planes, but to no avail. When DeLeo finally reached a highway, he found it almost impossible to convince the authorities that he was the lost pilot who had been all but given up for dead. His astonishing survival, one of the most remarkable feats of endurance on record, made national and even international news. Now, for the first time, Peter DeLeo tells his remarkable story in gripping detail. His amazing saga is destined to become a classic. "
Customer Reviews:
be better if it was true.......2007-10-09
I am a pilot and this story was great until I really started to think about it. First off, the crash didn't sound very likely. Turns out it did NOT happen that way at all.
Then after the crash some things just didn't add up. The pilot, with 16 broken bones and NO FOOD, does a 2 week long hike in the middle of winter over terrain and in weather that would likely kill most people in good health that did have adequate supplies. He repeatedly does things that sound beyond impossible for someone with so many injuries and starved as well.
Why did he take off on this hike and leave an UNINJURED man behind? Wouldn't it have made more sense for the guy with no injuries to be the hiker? Why didn't they have adequate supplies for flying in this kind of remote terrain. A handheld radio would have had them out in a day or two. Two close enocunters with aircraft are described where it sounds like the pilot could almost have hit them with a stick and no one saw him with a red coat against white snow? The "rescue mission" by his brother riding a motorcycle on closed icy mountain roads sounds stupendously idiotic. Why not take a Jeep? This guy was very lucky not to be SAR mission #2 himself. Then at the end of the story he finally gets to a hospital with 16 broken bones and nearly dead from starvation and they put a cast on his ankle and SEND HIM HOME? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, as the saying goes.
Gratuitous and Self Serving.......2007-02-18
It's nice to see that other readers of this book share my skepticism of the story. I was first struck by his strange obsession with crash landing a plane in the mountains. In fact, he seems to have chosen this type of plane (a Maule) specifically because it could fly low and slow, giving the pilot a greater chance for a controlled crash landing. When in the air with his friends, he mentioned that he would often look for small patches of land in the mountains in which to crash land the plane. Honestly, I think he wanted to crash and be a hero- his "friends" be damned. The best chance for his and Wave's survival would obviously have been to first wait a few days near the wreckage (especially if the EPIRB was working as he implied). Then, the obvious choice would have been to have Wave try to hike out and bring back help, or to take Wave along with him. Frankly, had he taken his FAR less injured friend with him, they would probably both be alive today. I dont for one minute believe he ran into any black bear or mountain lion because his descriptions of the encounters were totally over the top. I dont believe he slid over any cliff and wound up hanging by a forearm. I dont believe he climbed any trees and I dont believe he found "donuts" of bear scat and used them to insulate his fort or to use as a "pillow". Total nonsense. A total jerk that, rather than thank his sister and girlfriend for their TLC, scolded them by saying "Dont touch me, if you touch me you will hurt me".
survival fairy tale.......2006-06-30
other reviewers have pointed out that the author of this book lied about the reason for the crash and provided government website links to prove it. i am not a pilot, but i have to bring up other points that just do not make sense. keep in mind, the author tries to portray himself as having some knowledge of survival and even states that his friends described him as a survivalist.
shortly after crashing the author decides that their only chance to be rescued is if someone sets off on foot to look for help. one passenger is trapped in the plane. one has, according to the author, one bruise on his forhead. peter, the author, has seven broken ribs, a shatterd left ankle, a broken shoulder and this is how his friend describes his head: "...your eyelid is torn, and your face and head are starting to swell real bad. you've got cuts and gashes on your face and head, too." he also says he no longer has the full use of his fingers or hands. the obvious question is, why was peter the one to set off on foot? the author never gives us any insight as to the decision making process.
the author tells us what supplies they had: 2 large camping tarps, 20 feet of rope, 3 flares, a lighter, a knife, 2 flashlights, assorted tools, a loaf of fruit bread, a jug of water, a jug of juice, and a couple of apples. feeling that their survival may depend on him succeeding, the author chooses...nothing!
during his trek through the wilderness he encounters a black bear, which he says average 300 to 400 pounds. i almost laughed when he said he could feel the ground tremble when the bear took a step! we have a lot of people in this country that weigh that much, and the ground never trembles when they walk past! i am sure anyone that has been to the circus and gotten close to elephants that are walking will tell you that something as small as a black bear will not make the ground tremble! but, i guess peter's goal was to tell an exciting tale, not an accurate one.
after being rescued, and suffering the pain of all those broken bones along with fingers and toes that are black from frostbite, the author decides to go home for a night or so and get some good reast before going to a hospital for treatment. is this supposed to convince us how tough he is, or how stupid?
other reviewers have already pointed out that his passengers did not survive, so i need to touch on this point. the one passenger that was not trapped in the plane had plenty of supplies to make shelter with, to make fire with, and enough food to have survived on, yet he died due to exposure to the elements.
there are many things in this book that simply do not make sense, and the author makes no attempt to explain any of it.
is the book at least exciting to read? from a fictional standpoint, maybe. but if you have ever read real survival stories, or if you have some common sense, the complete lack of believability will keep you from enjoying this.
Amazing!!!.......2006-05-22
The fact that Peter Deleo survived the 1994 small plane crash in the Sierra Nevadas is incredible enough, but to struggle day by day, walking toward what you hope is civilization despite painful injuries is mind boggling! Through a series of intelligent decisions, determination and perhaps a bit of luck, one man's journey through a wilderness in winter in an attempt to bring back help to his two seriously injured companions is an amazing story from start to finish. Told in heart-wrenching detail, this survival story isn't one that just 'limps along'.
Chrissy K. McVay
author of 'Souls of the North Wind'
Keith's review.......2006-05-02
I enjoyed this book a lot! I probably would not have read this book if I not know the author, Peter Deleo, who is also the survivor. But I'm glad I took his advice and at least read the first ten pages. Because after that I could not put the book down. This story is a true story. It is a book that my that my father's and uncle's friend wrote. It is a story about when Peter crashed a single engine plane in the Sierra Nevadas. He hiked many snow covered mountains for thirteen days with sixteen broken bones to save his life and the the lives of his two fellow passengers, Lloyd and Wave. I don't really want to give away too much information, but I will tell you that Peter never gave up. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and excitement. But I feel that anyone can read this book and enjoy it. I also think that any person can read this book and be deeply moved by Peter's incredible journey through the Sierra Nevadas.
Customer Reviews:
very informative.......2003-06-22
very easy to read book. gives a lot of understanding of why the bluebird needs help.
Great reference book for bluebird watchers........1998-08-24
This is the first and foremost book on bluebirds that I know of. It has been my reference for building a bluebird box, watching the adults build a nest, laying eggs, young birds hatching and finally looking in the box and finding only an empty nest. We have 3 boxes on our acre of land with at least 5-10 young birds being hatched each year. Mr. Zeleny's book is a wealth of knowledge for anyone wanting to help save the bluebird.
Customer Reviews:
5 star read.......2005-05-17
This book had a big meening for me because I knew the crew of the Pride very well.I was on the tall ship Te Vega with Jennifer who was my watch officer. Our crew spent alot of time getting to know the Pride crew.It hit our crew very hard when we heard the Bad news.This book is a must read.
Victims of Nostalgia.......2004-12-22
The Baltimore clipper schooners, famous for their speed, pestered the British in the War of 1812. They were slender and fast, low in the water but with two extremely tall, swept-back masts. The city fathers of Baltimore in the 1970s figured the city needed something to be proud of. It had lost its football team, crime was up, and the docks were in decay. To boost civic pride, a replica Baltimore clipper was proposed, and eagerly funded, built, staffed and sailed. _The Pride of Baltimore_ was a gorgeous ship, looking smart in any display of the beloved Tall Ships. In fact, it was first proposed to be a dockside museum, but it eventually became a seagoing craft, spreading the good name of Baltimore (and business interest in it) to Europe. The plan to resurrect the Baltimore clipper was a resounding success. Unfortunately, lots of the clippers had sunk two centuries ago, largely due to their top-heaviness, and _The Pride_ did so, too, in 1986, in an unexpected storm as she was returning to Baltimore from the Virgin Islands. Four of the crew of twelve perished. In _Pride of the Sea: Courage, Disaster, and a Fight for Survival_ (Citadel Press) Tom Waldron has given the story of the ship and the disaster, a story which ought to please true-life adventure fans. He also comes to some sensible conclusions about how the accident happened, beyond the simple explanation "freak storm."
When the proposal for a new Baltimore clipper was made, one of the first naval architects to consider the job wrote, "... an exact replica of an old sailing vessel is unlikely to meet Coast Guard requirements." Indeed, the civic boosters and the architect who got the job made a conscious decision not to have _The Pride_ certified by the Coast Guard. It was risky to sail on her, but it was authentic, and it appealed to those who loved ships with sails. There was a crew of both old salts and rookies, none of whom were over thirty. Six of them were newcomers to the boat. A violent, unexpected squall of sixty knots simply pushed over _The Pride_; there had been a risky maneuver to bring the ship under better control, but the risk had not paid off. The ship rapidly took on water, and with no compartmentalization, sank quickly. The rafts failed to work properly; only one could be inflated, so that the eight survivors had to make do on a raft that would have been crowded with its recommended crew of six. Waldron expertly describes the chaos of the sinking and the hellish five days on the raft afterwards. Time after time, ships passing near enough to see them did not see them, until a Norwegian supertanker picked them up. The only lightness in the raft comes from a couple who had fallen in love on the boat. The young woman said matter-of-factly, "I don't want to go through life without being proposed to." Her boyfriend, taken aback, issued one of the strangest proposals ever: "Sure, Leslie, if we survive, we'll get married." And so they did, after funerals and investigations and recriminations, all recounted here.
_The Pride_ and its four lost crewmen were sacrificed to nostalgia, a dream of the romantic days of sail without recalling the nightmares the sea can bring. Nothing symbolizes this as much as the hand-held radio beacons that would have sent signals to satellites when the ship was in danger. Both beacon devices were available to anyone who could grab one, but they were inaccessible, mounted on the inside of the doomed vessel. The reason? They were too modern to be kept out on deck and detracted from the vessel's historic aspect. Waldron's terrific account of the loss of _The Pride_ recounts many such lapses. _Pride of Baltimore II_ has been built, and to modern standards this time. But as a survivor reminds us, the most modern of boats are going down, too: "When you go out to sea, it's a big place out there and the sea has all the power."
Sad Memory, Wonderful Tribute.......2004-06-07
Having lived in Maryland until just a couple of years ago, I clearly remember the Pride and when she sank. I was at Martin's Airport with a friend the day the survivors returned, and it was a moving experience. I cried seeing these people, whom I had never met, yet knowing what they'd been through and seeing the sadness on their faces. It's one of those moments in time that you know you'll always remember, but life goes on and it fades into the background. But seeing this book at our local book store brought it all back to me in vivid color. I shared the experience with my husband, told him about this beautiful beloved ship that we were all so proud of and the pain every Marylander felt when we heard the news that she was lost, and that some of its crew were lost with her. This book is a moving, loving tribute to our beloved Pride and her crew and I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates the sea.
A great read.......2004-06-07
Having grown up on the Atlantic Ocean, this story was captivating to me. It is almost unbelieveable how dangerous the ocean can become in a matter of minutes; the author, Tom Waldron, did a great job of describing the fury of the ocean at it's most violent.
Waldron put the story together in a logical, readable format. He included a lot of interesting information about how the ship was built, the history of sailing ships, especially clipper ships, and even included numerous pictures, so one is able to attach faces with names in the narrative.
Interesting to me was the description of the life on board the Pride -- lack of space below, lack of showers, etc. A very primitive existance. The vivid descriptions of the storms were captivating -- made the book hard to put down.
Finally, the section about the aftermath was most compelling. Waldron described in detail the suffering and emotional roller coaster the survivors went through until their rescue. I recommend this book highly.
A true life adventure rivaling fictional sea stories.......2004-05-22
This book is a page turner. Very well written, with both historical information regarding this type of ship, and this ship in particular. Those parts of the book discussing the sailing characteristics of the Pride were highly interesting from a technical standpoint, and when applied to the storm situations described, made pretty exciting reading.
I found the backround information on the ship's crew, the story of how the ship was built, and the aftermath of the sinking, added greatly to the books interest. The story of the crews stuggle to survive after the Pride sank rates with any survival-at-sea saga that I have ever read. The details provided are just amazing, and make you feel like you were right in the raft.
This book is as good a read as you will find in current literature.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful eye opener of mental institution treatment.......1998-03-06
I read this book many years ago and have not been able to forget it nor what this man went through. This is a true story of how Mr. Thomas was misdiagnosed and abusively treated in the mental institution. A must, must read for those involved in the care of the emotionally disturbed.
Average customer rating:
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Waccamaw Legacy: Contemporary Indians Fight for Survival (Contemporary American Indians)
Patricia Lerch
Manufacturer: University Alabama Press
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ASIN: 0817351248 |
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Buying time: An established business fights for survival
Kim Bartlett
Manufacturer: Little, Brown
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ASIN: 0316082767 |
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- A tragic end to a promising young fellow
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To Fight the Wild
Rod Ansell , and
Rachel Percy
Manufacturer: Harcourt
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ASIN: 0152890688 |
Customer Reviews:
A tragic end to a promising young fellow.......2006-06-12
After recently hearing the tragic news of Rod Ansell's suicidal attack on a police roadbloack in outback WA (horribly enough, claiming the life of innocent police officer Sgt. Glen Huitson before himself dying), I found he'd written this book way back when his life still looked promising.
Written with the naivete of a young country bloke, and yet with a simple wisdom way beyond his years, this is a gripping and poignant tale of an independant and self-confident young man in love with the bush. He doesn't beat around it, calls a spade a spade and doesn't talk himself up - he just relates his 2 months lost in the torturous Australian desert in a matter-of-fact way that seems lost to this day and age.
The story begins when his boat mysteriously overturns in the strong current of the Victoria River in the Northern Territory. Ansell relates his time, variously almost succumbing to dehydration, starvation and heat exhaustion before settling down with his knife, his rifle, his 2 dogs and 20 rounds of ammunition to form his little camp by the Fitzmaurice River in the middle of nowhere. He lives off his knowledge of bushcraft and wild cattle, before finally being rescued by a party of the Aboriginal station owners.
His relation of the skill of bull-catching is worth reading alone. That job seems damned scary!
Essentially, this is a good introduction to life in the Australian bush as it was done in the recent past, a generation or so ago, when the riding of horses was just about completing its loss of favour to trucks and helicopters. It's aimed at children and teenagers, and contains the odd swear word to maintain authenticity, but remains intructive in its uncomplicated lack of modern world sophistication, and its reverence for the environment that is ahead of it's time.
Unfortunately, the rest of Ansell's life is also instructive in demonstrating how a lack of modern world sophistication can lead to financial failure, depression, drug addiction and ultimate psychosis.
An easy read, slightly awe-inspiring, and sad.
Oh by the way, this is the feller that the Crocodile Dundee character was based on. He never wrestled a crocodile though, that really would be suicidal!
Book Description
With information on more than 400 golf courses in Ireland, the guide includes a directory of clubs and how to get there, a description of each course and its facilities, catering, green fees and hotel accommodation, making it an essential companion for golfing in Ireland.
Customer Reviews:
It's a Book!!! And a Valuable One at That!.......2006-09-25
It's hardly fair to downgrade this useful book because the info is also available on the internet. The book is unpretentious, comprehensive, clear and useful. And it's all between two covers that you can carry around and peruse at your leisure, without having an internet connection.
Overpriced.......2006-08-30
I recently planned a golf trip to Ireland using only the Internet. I sought out Vic Robbie's book because at $35, I thought it would be a coffee table book with nice photos. Maybe it could fill in some holes. In actuality, there is little in it that cannot be found on the Web sites of the various Irish golf courses. Many of the photos are poor replications of those found online. It is mainly a lot of numbers and addresses--phone numbers, Web addresses, yardage, greens fees, etc. But again, most of it is available online. I suppose its value is that it contains all the particulars for all of Ireland's golf courses between two covers. But it should have been packaged as a cheap paperback instead of a glossy hardcover. If you really want to learn about the soul of Ireland's courses, read James Finegan's "Emerald Fairways and Foam-Flecked Seas." Finegan's book has no photos, but a Finegan word is worth a thousand pictures.
Book Description
In this thoroughly revised third edition, Rob Armstrong profiles the best golf courses Ireland has to offer, revisiting old courses that have undergone revision or expansion and uncovering the best of Ireland_s new courses. In his crisp, irreverent style, he also points out those courses that have not stood up, those that have been poorly maintained or managed, and those that have simply proved disappointing.
Customer Reviews:
Useful resource in planning a golf trip to Ireland.......2000-11-16
I found this book to be a very useful resource in planning my golf vacation to Ireland. He covers courses by county - my one criticism of the book is that there is no map to help you plan your itinerary. I had to buy a more general guidebook for Ireland with a map to plan our itinerary. Other than that, Rob Armstrong is very familiar with Ireland and the golf courses covered. His descriptions of the courses are thorough and enticing. I like the fact that he covers all of the major/well known courses, but many lesser known, excellent courses that you wouldn't ordinarily hear about. This book is well worth investing in.
Excellent book--slightly quirky.......2000-06-01
Very personal acoount of the author's favorite Irish golf courses. I bought the book to help plan my Irish golf vacation. Just about everything he said about the courses, I agreed with. He rants about shabby treatment towards Americans & women at some courses that we did not experience. Some of the phone numbers are now out of date and the book could really use a map of Ireland with the location of the golf courses. Excellent reference book, but not the bible of Irish golf.
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