The Greatest Search and Rescue Stories Ever Told: Twenty Gripping Tales of Heroism and Bravery

by Joseph Cummins (Editor)

Twenty-five amazing stories of rescue chronicle a series of true adventure stories, from mountain rescues in the Colorado rockies to the action depicted in Black Hawk Down.

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

Joseph Cummins is the author of numerous books, including Anything for a Vote: Dirty Tricks, Cheap Shots and October Surprises in U.S. Presidential Elections; A Bloody History of the World, which won the 2010 Our History Project Gold Medal Award; and the forthcoming Ten Tea Parties: Patriotic Protests That History Forgot. He lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Nani Rump]

Some of the stories were so technical and in a language I wasn't helped to understand. Also it kept chopping and changing without context. I can only clearly remember about two rescues that I found readable.. the rest I trudged through.

[Matthew Eargle]

To be honest, most of the stories read like technical manuals or incident reports. There is little character development to keep me interested or even engaged in the subjects. The 9/11/01 account from Der Spiegel was probably the most interesting, as it was actually written with a strong narrative in mind. As a primer on the world of SAR, it's good I suppose--but for light reading, I would just as soon pass.

[Kellie]

Maybe I’m just not a short story person. There were some interesting stories in here. Especially the ones about mountain rescue. However, I started to lose interest when I got to the water rescue session. Some of the stories just did not keep my interest and I found myself skimming. I thought some of the stories lacked something in the writing style. Maybe because I was expecting more development. I keep having to remind myself these are short stories which might explain it. The most memorable story for me was the 1962 Grand Tenton rescue, written by Hamish MacInnes. I thought this was a well written account of the rescue. There are also some good accounts of 9/11 rescue. One that was published in a German Magazine and one that was published in The Daily News. I guess I have just had enough of this topic for now. Maybe I’ll pick it up again and finish another time. But at this point, I need to move on.

[Carole]

excellent