Survivors!: True Death-Defying Escapes

Marie St. Onge-Davidson is president of the Essential English Centre in
Ottawa.

Larry Verstraete is the author of Extreme Science, Accidental
Discoveries, Mysteries of Time, and Whose Bright Idea Was It? In
Survivors!, he presents 29 riveting real-life stories of people (both
adults and children) who beat the odds and survived great danger,
whether natural or man-made. The close encounters with death recounted
in the book include Terry Howlett’s near-burial in quicksand, Tony
Buillimore’s 89–hour ordeal while trapped in his slowly sinking
boat, Bram Shaffer’s grizzly bear attack, Andy Carter’s shark
attack, and Stanley Praimnath’s 81st-floor terror in the World Trade
Center Tower Two on September 11.

Survivors! is divided into five chapters—“Overpowered,”
“Attacked,” “Stranded,” “Trapped,” and “Injured”—each
of which lists interesting survival tips relating to the specific
stories. An epilogue reviews the important details that contributed to
the survival of these amazing people. More photos would have made this
book even more appealing. Highly recommended.