ISSUE #74 - June 28th, 2019

ONE

ADRIFT: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea by: Steven Callahan  I had this book on my radar for a while and bought it to tackle this summer. It is a true story and first-person account of suffering, loneliness, genius, courage, will and a flat out refusal to die from a man stranded on a life raft at sea, by himself, for over two months. The book is riveting, fast-paced and will have you thinking about it long after you finish (especially the next time you think you're "starving" or "hot" or "uncomfortable").  Here's the official description: On the night of January 29, 1982, Steven Callahan set sail in his small sloop from the Canary Islands bound for the Caribbean. Thus began one of the most remarkable sea adventures of all time. Six days out, the sloop sank, and Callahan found himself adrift in the Atlantic in a five-and-a-half-foot inflatable raft with only three pounds of food and eight pints of water. He would drift for seventy-six days over eighteen hundred miles of ocean before he reached land and rescue.  Buy it here.

TWO

 The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by: David McCullough  At this point, every book that Pulitzer Prize-winner McCullough puts out is an event and this one is right in his wheelhouse. Newly discovered journals... adventure... US history... This is tried and true McCullough territory and he delivers, as always. Especially cool is the guest appearances of George Washington, Ben Franklin and other luminaries and presidents who played a role in the mass expansion of the United States.  Buy it here.

THREE

West with the Night: A Memoir by: Beryl Markham  You've likely never heard of Beryl Markham and I hadn't either. She was the first person to fly solo non-stop from Europe to America in a prop plane that needed its fuel tanks totally emptied before she could change them out (meaning, the plane was shut off, coasting in mid-air while she made the change). In addition to being an elite aviator, she grew up in Africa, trained horses and zebras and also, yes, is a tremendous writer...a compliment given not by me, but by Ernest Hemingway. The book is written in a totally unique voice with self deprecating humor and enough insane stories to fill ten lifetimes.  Buy it here.

FOUR

Duma Key: A Novel By: Stephen King  Longtime readers of the FF5 know that I try to read a Stephen King book every summer and this novel, set on a small Florida Island called Duma Key, is perfect. You've got paranormal paintings, vivid characters, clever scene setting and a slow-building suspense that, like most of King's books, leaves you uneasy but also unable to stop reading.  Buy it here.

FIVE

In the KIngdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Voyage of the USS Jeannette By: Hampton Sides  I discovered this book while doing some research after reading Adrift and I figured since I'd already read through a hellish experience on a raft in the tropics, I might as well swap temperatures and read about an equally insane story of survival in another brutal place: 1,000 miles north of Siberia, where a marooned submarine crew faced starvation, madness, polar bears and a trek that seems impossible to comprehend even as you're reading it. The book makes for an interesting pairing with Adrift and if you're up for it, I'd recommend doing it. You'll never complain about your A/C not working or your heat coming on too slow ever again.  Buy it here.