True Disasters

In this Third Edition of our Preparedness Guide, we aim to give the everyday urbanite/suburbanite a starting point to build a buffer of safety and security in the face of a disaster situation. We firmly believe resilience is built through knowledge and preparation. Disaster preparedness is only as complicated as you make it, therefore there is little reason why anyone living in urban environments (including apartments and condos) cannot implement effective measures to mitigate localized disasters.

On the morning of May 9, 1980, harbor pilot John Lerro was guiding a 600-foot freighter, the Summit Venture, into Tampa Bay. Directly in the ship's path was the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Suddenly, a violent weather cell reduced visibility to zero at the precise moment when Lerro attempted to direct the 20,000-ton vessel underneath the bridge. Unable to stop or see where he was going, Lerro drove the ship into a support pier.

A century of the industrial age saw unprecedented leaps in technology and engineering, from the first flight of an airplane to the first flight of humans to the moon. But alongside these awe-inspiring achievements were horrible disasters caused by faulty engineering or careless judgement. Catastrophes and Heroes explores eight such disasters and recognizes the unheralded heroes who stepped up to save others in times of great danger.

Amid the constant rain of German bombs and the escalating violence of World War II, British parents by the thousands chose to send their children out of the country: the wealthy, independently; the poor, through a government relocation program called CORB. In September 1940, passenger liner SS City of Benares set out in a convoy of 19 ships sailing for Canada. On board were 90 CORB children, chaperones, and crew, along with paying passengers. When the war ships escorting the Benares to safe waters peeled off, a German submarine attacked and torpedoed the Benares.

In the winter of 1959, a group of nine young and experienced hikers embarked on a journey into the Ural Mountains of Russia. Although they had previously undertaken cold-weather trips, this particular expedition would tragically be their last. During their trek, the hikers encountered something unexpected in the supposedly desolate region, resulting in the demise of the entire group. The exact events of that fateful night remain unknown, but the incident has since become one of the world's most perplexing mysteries.

In Charlie Mike, Joe Klein tells the dramatic story of Eric Greitens and Jake Wood, larger-than-life war heroes who come home and use their military discipline and values to help others. This is a story that hasn't been told before, one of the most hopeful to emerge from Iraq and Afghanistan - a saga of lives saved, not wasted.

Angie Orth should have had at least 2.5 kids by now—everyone else back home did. Despite a successful PR career in New York, Angie was failing at the roles she was born to play—those of submissive wife and grandchild incubator. Without a potential husband in sight or the hope of a photogenic brood to show off, she was beginning to wonder if God forgot about her.

They said it was the world’s deepest and most dangerous coal mine. That claim was probably correct. What is certain is that in October 1958, the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation’s No. 2 colliery at Springhill, Nova Scotia, was a leading candidate for both those dubious distinctions. The mine was the proverbial “disaster waiting to happen.” And it did.

An explosion at a chemical plant and sixteen men lose their lives. Eight year old Michael will never see his father again. Inspired by true events, this is one man’s deeply moving journey into the past as he uncovers the truth about his father’s death and his mother’s life. Inspired by and based on the 1974 UK Flixborough Disaster, Britain’s largest peacetime explosion until Buncefield in 2005. Told from both an adult and child’s eye view, it is a deeply moving account of how the death of a parent can alter the course of a child’s life. Whilst it is not an anti-corporate story, ...

His mission was top secret: deliver mysterious components of some superweapon that would end this awful war to the island of Tinian, then return to the fleet to prepare for the invasion of Japan. Little did Captain Charles McVay III know that he would survive his ship's sinking, shark attacks, starvation, and five days adrift in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued. Discover this untold story of Captain McVay and his amazing men of courage: the crew of the USS Indianapolis.

Whether it's being lost in a cave or caught in a collapsed mine, being trapped underground can be terrifying. You may be cold, wet, hungry, and stuck in absolute darkness. Even worse is not knowing if anyone will ever find you. Find out how people survived their ordeal in these true stories of those who were trapped underground in this book from the Fighting to Survive series.

Forty million people in the US have tried Internet dating, which means 40 million people have probably gone on some pretty crappy dates. Not a Match: My True Tales of Online Dating Disasters is about one guy who experienced more than his fair share. Brian Donovan, a writer and comedian whose work has appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, NPR, and Chapelle's Show, has been on over 100 Internet dates in a genuine search for love and happiness.

Discover the true tales of daring people who survived through bitter cold, deadly storms, and other dangers with little food or other resources in this book from the Fighting to Survive series.

Liverpool 1940. Alice King stands on the deck of SS Carlisle, waiting to escort a group of children to Canada as overseas evacuees. She is finally doing her bit for the war. In London, as the Blitz bombs rain down and the threat of German invasion looms, Lily Nicholls anxiously counts the days for news of her son and daughter’s safe arrival.

A secret preview into the treacherous journey of a man thrown from a successful life in Silicon Valley into the dark asphyxiating prison of San Quentin, with murders, serial killers, rats, and COVID around every corner. This true story is told by an inmate who was inside, living and breathing in the system of incarceration for nearly two years. He paints a masterpiece of detail by challenging the stigma that prisoners are less than people, that law enforcement is superior, and that the system of incarceration in the United States is still functioning.

Rife with captivating details of survival in an icy wilderness, this reimagining of the famous 1910 expedition to the South Pole, told in Cherry's voice, is an unforgettable tale of courage and camaraderie.

Brittany and Ladarius had been together their whole lives and got married shortly after their high school graduation. She was willing to go to the ends of the earth for her man but he wasn't willing to do the same. Ladarius left Brittany for another woman and her world came tumbling down. They say when trouble comes, it comes in threes and they couldn't have been more right. One devastating event after another sends Brittany spiraling out of control. Will she straighten up and fly right or self-destruct?

What would you do if disaster struck? Would you be a hero...or a coward? These are the true stories of people involved in many different kinds of disaster, and how they behaved in life-or-death situations. Hear about a single act of revenge that sacrificed hundreds of lives; how a tragic disaster at sea turned one man into a hero; the train crash that should never have happened and other real-life dramas.

Whether you are new to the dating scene or you have had your share of first dates, you'll take comfort in knowing it could be worse after this terrible but true story. You will laugh, you will cringe, and you will laugh some more at this funny and relatable tale. Just 30 minutes from start to finish, The Worst First Date Ever is the perfect short story to make you smile while waiting for an oil change, making the commute to work, or basking on the beach.

Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than 24 hours. But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape - barely - but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats. On the run, Nax and his fellow failures plan to pull off a dangerous heist to spread the truth.