On October 13, 1972, Nando Parrado was a twenty-two year old rugby player with the Old Christians from Montevideo, Uruguay. The team was en route to Santiago Chile for an annual match against a rival team. As their Fairchild 227 flew north through the Andes following a navigational error by the plane’s pilots, it clipped the top of a mountain peak as the crew struggled to force the aircraft to climb over the deadly terrain. The initial crash killed several passengers and by the time the survivors were rescued in December, 1972, only sixteen remained. Their story was told by author Piers Paul Read in the 1974 book Alive and a film of the same title was released in 1993, starring Ethan Hawke and John Malkovich. In 2010, the History Channel released a documentary called I Am Alive: Surviving the Andes Plane Crash. In the documentary, Parrado is main narrator sitting in front the camera as viewers relive the nightmare. The film, book and documentary are accurate portrayals of the events that took place but are told by others who are relaying the stories of the survivors. This is Nando Parrado’s story and the will to survive that led him and co-survivor Roberto Canessa to walk for ten days in the hope of finding another human being and help for the other passengers left behind.
In the film Alive, Parrado is played by Ethan Hawke and despite the lack of Uruguayan Spanish in the film, Hawke provides a convincing portrayal. However for all of the Hollywood’s special effects and production etiquette, the film still fails to fully convey the nightmare that was their ordeal. Perhaps producers did not have enough time or felt that audiences would have revolted at all of the details. What is clear from Parrado’s account is that the horror that existed on the mountain slope was more than anyone could have imagined. Brutal, tragic and even macabre, it is a story that no filmmaker could write, such events happen by circumstance, albeit tragic. The survivors of the crash would never be the same again and according to Nando, a couple of them struggled later in life. But their story continues to amaze and inspire and is a prime example of the tenacity of the human will to live.
The beauty of this book is that these are Nando’s words as told by him. And what we see is a young man who through fate, rises to the occasion through sheer determination to live or in the alternative meet his death while trying. I have been to Montevideo and Punta Del Este, two important cities both in Uruguay today and in Parrado’s story. I have also been to Argentina and what I found interesting was the rugby aspect of his account. Football is without question the national sport throughout Latin America. But as we learn from Nando, Christian missionaries who traveled to Uruguay from Ireland insisted that the students at Stella Maris learn the United Kingdom pastime of rugby. And it was this game that served as the basis for their fatal flight. As their situation unfolds, the teachings and team spirit kicks in as they lean on each other in the struggle for survival.
The accusations of cannibalism that they faced is addressed by Parrado and he explains how and why they reached the decision to consume the only food they had left; the deceased. I cannot imagine what it was like mentally for them to even consider such an act let alone execute it. But in desperate times, we often rely on desperate measures. Readers will assuredly be divided on the issue but what we can all agree on is that had we been in that situation, we honestly do not know what we would have done until we were left with no other choices.
Although this is Parrado’s story, we also learn a great deal about the other players whom he becomes closer to as the ordeal goes on. By the end of the book, it is obvious that he and Canessa have become extremely close and are still friends to this day. They are bonded by their love of rugby and their shared experience on an isolated mountain in the Andes. The other survivors all play a role in the story and Parrado does not neglect their contributions and importance. I believe it is imperative to remember that many of the players were under twenty-five years of age. In fact, Carlos Páez Rodríguez turned nineteen as they face possible death. At that age, I could have never fathomed being in such a situation and the courage, tenacity and creativity displayed by the survivors is incredible.
I enjoyed this book so much that I read it one sitting while home on a dreary Saturday afternoon. But as I looked outside my window, I reminded myself that no matter how bad the weather is, it does compare to what Parrado, Canessa and the other survivors were forced to endure. The book is called Miracle in the Andes for good reason, it truly was a miracle that anyone made it off that mountain alive. Today at the age of sixty-eight, I am sure Nando Parrado remembers everything as if it happened yesterday. And until the day they leave here, Parrado, Canessa, Páez and the others will always look back at the time they came face to face with death in the Andes mountains. Now a husband and father of two adult daughters, Parrado is still a revered figure, known as an Andes survivor. A former race car driver who raced in Europe, he is long retired from the sport but his passion for all things in life is contagious and it is easy to see why he refused to give up his fight to live. This truly is a miraculous story and a great read.
ISBN-10: 140009769X
ISBN-13: 978-1400097692
Can you imagine several thousand years of world history compressed into three hundred four pages? Before reading this book, I certainly did not and I believe the same applies to many others. However, that is exactly what Ernst Han Josef Gombrich (1909-2001) has done in this history book that came into existence as a result of challenge issued to the author to write a better history book than the one he was editing at the time. The book was written in 1935 and subsequently re-published bringing it up to date with modern history events. Gombrich never intended for the book to replace all of the history textbooks in use by teachers and professors. However, the book does serve as a complement to dozens of study aids used by students across the globe. Interestingly, the book is geared towards the ages of seven to nine years but I think that readers of all ages will find it to be quite informative.
When I think back on the history classes I attended in elementary school, high school and then college, I remember that it seemed as if it took forever to go through any topic. And that says a lot for someone like myself who has always loved the subject and still does. For most people, history is beyond mind-numbing and often revisits events in the past to which most people do not give a second thought. But as we are often reminded through history, we need to know our past in order to reach our future. In comparison to the history of Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, the United States is a very young nation that has been in existence less than three hundred years. Incredibly, in that short amount of time on the world stage, some of the most memorable events in modern history have taken place in North America and had reverberating effects across the planet. If we were to study American in its entirety, that would be a course that would last a couple of years at least. But what happens when you cram that history into a book that is three hundred nine pages long?
It is not often that a former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation writes a book. In fact, it is almost unprecedented. In all fairness, there have been books written by former members of the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. intelligence apparatus. When James Comey published this book, news outlets were eagerly waiting to get a copy of one of the most anticipated book releases in history. The political climate of the United States is unlike anything most of us have ever seen. There are a number of adjectives that come to mind, any of which could be rightfully applied to Washington, D.C. Time will tell what will happen in the oval office. The firing of James Comey through the media left many of us shocked, confused and even angry. For some, it was just one more act by a vindictive and childish commander-in-chief. Others believed that it was the right call as they believed the FBI was out of control. I watched broadcasts that day and found myself astonished at the day’s events and wondering if this was just the start of a regrettable trend developing in the United States government.
The title of this book is enough to cause a range of emotions in deist, agnostics and atheist. Next to politics, religion is a subject which unites or divides, sometimes through the use of extreme violence. Today, when we think of religious fundamentalism, images of Islamic radicals readily come to mind causing us to forget that extremism exist is nearly every religion known to man. In the United States, most deists are followers of monotheistic faiths. Others are followers of polytheistic faiths and the remainder could be classified as agnostic, spiritual or even atheist. Those who are atheist remain firm in their belief that God does not exist. But for deists, God does exist and is present all around us at all times. But what if is there is no such thing as God? Believers will find the mere mention of such a concept preposterous. But in all fairness, no one has ever come back from the dead to tell humanity what really happens when we die. Furthermore, non-believers point to the world’s many ills as proof that an all-loving God is nothing more than make-believe. Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) wrote at least thirty books, some of which like this, addressed religious faith. Here, he takes on God and puts forth his argument that religion itself is the cause of many of the world’s ills. One look at the cover will cause some to claim blasphemy and write Hitchens off as doomed and demented soul who surely found out when he died, that God does in fact exist. Regardless of what side of the fence you are on, the book is a good discussion on the effect religion truly has on our lives.
But who was the real Freddie Mercury? His death on November 24, 1991 came just hours after he released a statement informing the world that he had developed AIDS after being diagnosed as HIV positive several years earlier. Those close to him were not surprised at the announcement. The press was relentless is following Mercury around London attempting to get a glimpse of the star who was rumored to be on his deathbed. I remember when Mercury died and the news broadcasts that flashed across several networks. The music world had lost one of its greats. However, like all musicians, much of his life was subject to speculation and misinformation. In fact, to this day there is much about him many people may not know. But here in Somebody to Lovem we have a complete picture of the life of the late Freddie Mercury.
Nearly twenty-six years ago, New York City Police Officer Michael Dowd was arrested by the Suffolk County Police Department in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for the possession and distribution on narcotics. His arrest, trial before Judge Kimba Wood of the Southern District of New York and testimony before the Mollen Commission solidified Dowd’s reputation as the dirtiest cop in NYPD history. Arrested with him were other officers, drug dealers and other participants. Ken Eurell was retired at the time of his arrest but during his active tenure, he patrolled the streets of the Seventh-Fifth precinct with Dowd and embarked on a path of corruption that is still unbelievable to this day. The duo recounted their life of crime in the 2015 documentary The Seven Five. Undoubtedly, Dowd is the main focus and his recollections are backed up by Eurell and the other former officers. This is the story from Eurell’s point of view about how and why he found himself more deeply immersed in crime with Dowd.
Ross was never a “in-ring talent” and spent most of his days commentating or behind a microphone and a result, he possesses an invaluable insight into the promotional side of the business and how stars and heels are created and then sold to the public. Contained within the pages of this book is a story that every pro wrestling fan should read. Some readers may be tempted to think that because he was not a “superstar” in the sense that most people used to, he does not have an amazing story to tell. I would like point out that they would be highly mistaken. In fact, Ross’ story is just as crazy as others that have been told. The reason is that not only did he know the best but partied and traveled with them as well. Like a sponge soaking up everything in its vicinity, he observed and learned over four decades what it takes to survive in the crazy world of what my father used to call “rassling”.
The murder of John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) continues to maintain its place among the greatest crimes in American history. The official story as published by the Warren Commission is that former Marine Lee Harvey Oswald (1939-1963) fired three shots in six seconds from the sixty floor of the Texas School Book Depository, fatally wounding Kennedy and severely wounding Texas Governor John Connally (1917-1993). To many, including the author of this book, David Lifton, the government version seemed to be the best and final explanation. But over time Lifton came to doubt the official story and after obtaining a set of the twenty-six volumes that composed the Commission’s investigation, his doubt turned into disbelief and lead him down the path that culminated with this national bestseller.
FREETHINKING BIBLIOPHILE 
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