From the Director's Desk
East Longmeadow Library Offers Free Mass. Parks Pass
The East Longmeadow Public Library is pleased to announce its participation once again in the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) “Use Nature as Your Library” program. As
part of this program, the library has available for borrowing a Massachusetts “ParksPass” which can be used to park free at over 50 day-use facilities in the state parks system through December 31, 2010. In order to borrow the “ParksPass”, you must have a valid library card either from our library or another CW/Mars library. You also must show your library card when you pick up the pass. In these times of finding ways to economize, why not use your free library card to visit a state park for free?
The pass is valid for one vehicle only and must be returned to the library within 3 days. More information on how to borrow the “ParksPass” is available by either visiting or calling the library (413-525-5400 x1511). The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) provides more information about this program on their website at www.mass.gov/dcr.
The library also has a great selection of Massachusetts travel guides. While you’re picking up your “ParksPass”, consider purchasing our Friends of the Library cloth tote bag to carry all your snacks and reading materials for a day’s outing. Make plans this summer to explore over 449,000 acres of parks, forests, mountains and beaches right in your own back yard. By participating in this program, your local public library would like to help you make the most of your visit!
MAKING TRACKS THROUGH THE STACKS - SUMMER
“Alone, alone, all, all alone,
Alone on a wide wide sea!
And never a saint took pity on
My soul in agony.The many men, so beautiful!
And they all dead did lie:
And a thousand thousand slimy things
Lived on; and so did I.”
From: “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)You guessed it—the name of the game is survival. Given the popularity of current television series such as “Survivor”, “I Shouldn’t Be Alive”, and “I’m Alive”, it’s not surprising that there exists a plethora of books based on true-life survival stories. Many incidents come readily to mind—the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, well-chronicled in books and film; the extraordinary survival of the crew on Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to Antarctica; the 1972 Uruguayan plane crash in the Andes recounted in the book and film “Alive”, and the ill-fated 1996 Everest Expedition as told by Krakauer in his “Into Thin Air”, are just a few of many accounts that still capture the heart and imagination of the reader to this day.
As I was making my way through the stacks recently, I came across some books that you may enjoy reading before you set out on your next extreme adventure, even if it’s only from the comfort of your backyard lounge chair.
Here is my selection listed alphabetically by author:
Callahan, Steven. Adrift: seventy-six days lost at sea. Houghton Mifflin, 1986. The author recalls his seventy-six-day ordeal adrift in the Atlantic Ocean in a five-foot inflatable raft after the sinking of his sailboat, recounting his problems surviving the weather, shark attacks, a leaking raft, and, above all, the lack of food and water.
Geiger, John. The Third Man Factor: surviving the impossible. Weinstein Books, 2009. An extraordinary account of how people at the very edge of death experience the sense of an unseen presence beside them who encourages them to make one final effort to survive. This incorporeal being offered them a feeling of hope, protection, and guidance, and left the person convinced he or she was not alone. There is a name for this phenomenon: It's called the Third Man Factor. Bestselling and award-winning author John Geiger completed six years of physiological, psychological, and historical research before writing The Third Man. He blends his analysis with compelling human stories such as Ron diFrancesco, the last survivor out of the World Trade Center on 9/11; Sir Ernest Shackleton, the legendary explorer whose account of the “Third Man” inspired T.S. Eliot to write of it in “The Wasteland” , and Jerry Linenger, a NASA astronaut who experienced the phenomenon while aboard the Mir space station. Fascinating for any reader, The Third Man Factor at last explains this secret to survival, a “Third Man” who-in the words of famed climber Reinhold Messner--"leads you out of the impossible."
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival: who lives, who dies and why; true stories of miraculous endurance and sudden death. Norton, 2003. In this analysis of the science and psychology of wilderness survival the author examines case stories of people who have survived against the odds--or failed to survive, despite comparatively better resources. The author evaluates the conditions on a snowy mountaintop, in the ocean, in the jungle, deserts, and more. Fascinating reading!
King, Dean. Skeletons on the Zahara: a true story of survival. Little, Brown, 2004. Chronicles the hardships encountered by twelve American sailors who, in 1815, were shipwrecked on the coast of North Africa, captured, sold into slavery, and sent on a difficult 800-mile odyssey through the perilous heart of the Sahara. Harrowing reading!
Miles, Jonathan. The Wreck of the Medusa. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2007. Historian Miles delivers a spellbinding account of the ill-fated voyage of the most famous shipwreck before the Titanic-- the events that inspired Theodore Géricault’s magnificent painting The Raft of the Medusa. In June 1816, the flagship of a French expedition to repossess a colony in Senegal from the British, set sail. She never arrived at her destination. When the incompetent captain ran the ship aground on a treacherous sand bar, the privileged few claimed the lifeboats and one hundred and forty six men and one woman were herded aboard a makeshift raft, abandoned and sent adrift. Without a compass or many provisions, hit by a vicious storm the first night and exposed to sweltering heat during the following days, the group set upon each other: mayhem, mutiny, and murder ensued. Meanwhile, those in the boats who made it to shore, undertook a dangerous two hundred mile slog through the desert. Miles’s astonishing story, full of action, adventure, catastrophe, and art literally takes the reader’s breath away.
Near Death in the Desert: true stories of disaster and survival. Kuhne, Cecil, ed. Vintage Books, 2009. The author’s latest anthology of survival against all odds gathers the best adventure stories from the world's most barren landscapes. From nineteenth-century explorers to modern-day journalists, these desert trekkers deal with everything from deserting men, corrupt armed soldiers, and Nigerian bush taxis, to suspicious natives, stubborn camels, and debilitating sunburn. While not only suspenseful, the 12 tales in this collection also show how life can survive in the most punishing climates.
Ollestad, Norman. Crazy for the Storm: a memoir of survival. Ecco Press, 2009. The author’s personal account set against a backdrop of southern California's surf culture in the late 1970s describes his struggles with constant fear in the face of his father's thrill-seeking personality, his forced participation in dangerous ski and surf sports, and his efforts to survive a plane crash that killed his father and stranded him in the Gabriel Mountains.
Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea: the tragedy of the whaleship Essex. Viking, 2000. The author recounts the story of the 1820 wreck of the whaleship Essex, which inspired Melville's classic tale Moby Dick. He describes the doomed crew's ninety-day attempt to survive whale attacks and other life-threatening elements on three tiny lifeboats.
Sabbag, Robert. Down around Midnight: a plane crash and its aftermath. Viking, 2009. Around midnight on June 17, 1979, Air New England flight 248 crashed into the woods on Cape Cod. The pilot died but the copilot and eight passengers survived with trauma both physical and emotional. Robert Sabbag, at the height of his fame for his bestselling book Snowblind, was among them. This is Sabbag’s gripping account of what exactly happened on that foggy night and his candid attempt to come to terms with the emotional ramifications of the crash. He reconnects with the other survivors and their rescuers for the first time in thirty years, weaving the narrative between past and present to create a thrilling and affecting story of survival and recovery.
Schuyler, Nick. Not without Hope. Morrow, 2010. A former college football star shares the harrowing story of the headline-making boating accident that left three of his friends dead, including two NFL players, a tragedy that he was only able to survive by clinging to the boat's propeller. More than a story of survival, it is an inspiring story of friendship, resolve, and courage.
Sherwood, Ben. The Survivor’s Club: the secrets and science that could save your life. Grand Central Publishing, 2009. The author draws on inspirational stories about survivors of accidents, crime, and serious illness to investigate why some people succumb to life-threatening hardships while others rally. In a report that includes coverage of the higher survival rates of right-handed people, the science of luck, and emergency room probability rates. You’d be surprised at some of the findings he relates.
Sweeney, Michael S. Complete Survival Manual. National Geographic, 2008. The definitive handbook for those times when life takes a sudden turn for the worse. National Geographic’s Complete Survival Manual is the most comprehensive, authoritative, and user-friendly reference of its kind—and the only one with firsthand advice from the experts at National Geographic and four of the top organizations of emergency preparedness. Beginning with the basics of survival, the book then focuses on how to survive in six of the world’s most hazardous environments—from building a snow fort if you’re lost in a blizzard, to surviving a rattlesnake bite in the desert, to navigating safely through the dense rainforest. The manual also offers essential instructions for weathering eight different natural disasters, from hurricanes and tornadoes to earthquakes and forest fires, including an entire chapter on home-based survival. Plus, ten National Geographic explorers, photographers, and scientists, candidly share their own near-death stories and how they lived to tell them.
“Around the Rotary” ELCAT Program, March, 2009
with guest, Susan M. Peterson, Library Director.Last spring I was invited to appear on the ELCAT series “Around the Rotary”, hosted by East Longmeadow Selectman, Jack Villamaino. It contains a wealth of current information about your library.
Click here to watch this 30 -minute locally televised program.
(Requires Windows Media Player)
The Adult Book Discussion Group will meet again in the Fall. Stay tuned for more details.
Library Community Calendar Form
The East Longmeadow Public Library has added a calendar to its web page and would like to encourage community groups (municipal, civic and other non-commercial organizations) to post their events.
Please submit information about your event one week in advance.
We are interested in hearing your comments and ideas about our services. Please take a moment to suggest ways in which we can better serve your needs. Thank you.
Library Suggestion Box Form
Updated 07/08/10
East Longmeadow Public Library, 60 Center Square, East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Tel. (413)525-5400 ext.1508
