Don't Miss Lists and Other Reading Resources

Unnatural Disasters

Although they are admittedly macabre, Disaster Stories can offer a rich and compelling narrative. Disaster Stories often illustrate technical examinations that shed light on what happened, often in the interest of preventing a future accident or mishap; but they also give an exciting minute-by-minute account of bravery and cool-headedness in the face of disaster. And of course, one cannot overlook the underlying sense of mortality that these stories offer- reading a few pages about a tragedy gives any reader true appreciation of his or her own daily existence.

 

Adult Non-Fiction

Aircraft Accidents

• The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation by Sid Jacobson. 2006.
• Miracle in the Andes: 72 days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home by Nando Parrado. 2006.
• The Black Box: All-New Cockpit Voice Recorder Accounts of In-Flight Accidents by Malcom MacPherson. 1998.
• Where Hell Freezes Over: A Story of Amazing Bravery and Survival by David A. Kearns. 2005.
• Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds: The Tragedy and Triumph of ASA Flight 529 by Gary M. Pomerantz. 2001.

Spacecraft Accidents

• Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell. 1994.
• Shuttle Challenger by David Shayler. 1987.

Shipping Accidents

• The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale by Thomas Nickerson. 2000.
• All Brave Sailors: The Sinking of the Anglo-Saxon, August 21, 1940 by J. Revell Carr. 2004.
• A Furnace Afloat: The Wreck of the Hornet and Harrowing 4,300-Mile Voyage of Its Survivors by Joe Jackson. 2003.
• Titanic Survivor: The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop, Who Survived Both the Titanic and Britannic Disasters by Violet Jessop. 1997.
• The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor: Who Drifted on a Life Raft for Ten Days Without Food or Water, Was Proclaimed a National Hero, Kissed by Beauty Queens, Made Rich through Publicity, and then Spurned by the Government and Forgotten for All Time by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 1986.

Building Collapses

• Construction Disasters: Design Failures, Causes, and Prevention by Steven S. Ross. 1984.
• Why Buildings Fall Down: How Structures Fail by Matthys Levy. 1992.

Automobile Accidents

• Reckless Disregard: Corporate Greed, Government Indifference, and the Kentucky School Bus Crash by James S. Kunen. 1994.

 

Fiction

• The Terror: A Novel by Dan Simmons. 2007.
• Afterlands: A Novel by Steven Heighton. 2007.
• Comfort & Joy: A Novel by Kristin Hannah. 2005.
• Icebergs: A Novel by Rebecca Johns. 2005.
• The Sweet Hereafter: A Novel by Russell Banks. 1991.

 

Children's Books

• Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Margaret K. Wetterer. 1990.
• Hatchet by Gary Paulson. 1987.
• Hunter by Joy Cowley. 2004.
• Survival by Gordan Korman. 2001.

 

Video

• Secrets of the Dead. What Happened to Hindenburg? PBS Home Video. 2006.
• Lost, the Complete First Season, Episodes 1-4. Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 2005.
• Flight of the Phoenix. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. 2005.
• The Perfect Storm. Warner Home Video. 2000.
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Criterion Collection. 1964.

 

Web Sites

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Columbia Accident Investigation Board report. Vol. 1

 

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