Non Fiction Books About Train, Plane Or Boat Disasters

[utepoot]

Hi, My hubby's birthday is coming up, I want to get him a little supplementary gift to go with the others. He only reads non-fiction, and likes disaster accounts. He likes plane, train and air crash accounts and things like nuclear meltdowns, etc. Has anyone got some suggestions for good books I can get him in these subject ranges? One of the books I have gotten him in the past, for example, is Fire in the Night: The Piper Alpha Disaster by Stephen
McGinty, which he enjoyed. Any suggestions will be very much appreciated!

[Ouzel]

I can't offer any suggestions .. but if you go to your local library, they might be able to recommend similar reading matter.

[Canary42]

Try this ....

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

or "Customers who bought this also bought....." on the same page.

[Jennykenny]

"When I fell from the sky."
About a young girl who survived a plane crash and made it out of the jungle.

[Jennykenny]

Juliane Koepcke, or similar. See Amazon.

[Jennykenny]

Or Piers Paul Read 'Alive', about a plane crash in the Andes. A bit gruesome.

[bhg481]

"Vulcan 607" is a very interesting book about the bombing of Port Stanley runway in the Falklands war. It's not a disaster account but a very enjoyable read.
It should be available in bookshops but the "Vulcan to the Sky" campaign sell it on their website:

http://www.vulcantotheskystore.co.uk/signed-vulcan-607-book-497-p.asp

[jno]

lots about Lockerbie

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[retrocop]

I seem to recall my wife buying me a smallish hardback called Battlefield Blunders which for the most part was quite entertaining and enjoyable. Will see if I still have it.

[grasscarp]

All Four Engines Have Failed about volcanic ash cloud affecting 747 is a really good read. Written by Betty Tootle who was a passenger aboard.

[retrocop]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Here it is,

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Military-Blunders-Battlefield-Decisions/dp/0233003517

[agchristie]

Two titles from Sarah Lotz are 'The Three' and 'Four'.

Good disaster fiction works about plane crashes and on a cruise ship!

[agchristie]

Doh! Sorry just read you want non-fiction.

[retrocop]

The British Price. Note the Sellers name "Presents for Men". The author also does Naval disasters if you want to tie it down to boats.

http://www.presentsformen.co.uk/great-military-blunders-prod12633/

[VHG]

One of my favourite authors is Bill Bryson. He writes "factual" books but in an entertaining and highly amusing way (you really laugh out loud at times).

One book from a couple of years ago was called "One Summer" about the USA in 1927, when Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic.

While talking about Lindbergh's flight Bryson also gives the story of early manned flight (and all the crashes and deaths that happened) as well as the huge adulation that Lindbergh got after the flight (and how he coped with it).

But within that he weaves the story of a gruesome murder in that year of 1927, as well as Babe Ruth in 1927 with his attempt to score the most home runs in baseball.

Bill Bryson is a highly entertaining writer and comes up with all sorts of interesting facts and information that makes you rush to the internet to find out more.

You can read more about he book here

http://www.billbrysonbooks.com/index.php/one-summer-america-1927/#us

[grasscarp]

I like the sound of that book VHG. Have now ordered it on Amazon co.uk. There are plenty at 1p plus postage.

[utepoot]

Thank you, I will have a look at these on Amazon!

[Clanad]

There are a number of aviation disaster related books on my book shelf, many that I'd recommend, including:

Fatal Crossing: Mysterious Disappearance of NWA Flight 2501 and the Quest for Answers

This article: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/1956-grand-canyon-airplane-crash-a-game-changer/ , Followed by this book: We Are Going in: The Story of the Grand Canyon Disaster ... This event forever changed the world of commercial aviation, especially as to the advancement of Air Traffic Control (ATC).

Add to those a fairly new book (2014): Into the Abyss: An Extraordinary True Story.

Plus, (don't let the title throw you) Aircraft Safety : Accident Investigations, Analyses, & Applications, Second Edition, is an excellent but largish book on true aviation accident investigations...

[grasscarp]

Very interesting selection there Clanad. I have just been reading further information about these books on the internet. I found a long article about the convict hero Paul Archambault who saved the lives of the survivors in the book Into the Abyss.

[Buenchico]

This the, without a doubt, the standard reference work relating to British railway disasters from the beginnings of rail travel through to to middle of the 20th century:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Danger-Classic-History-Disasters/dp/0750948078
It's also incredibly well-written and a totally fascinating read.

[Canary42]

Here's one I read many years ago - terrifying.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wake-Up-Its-Crash-Survivors-ebook/product-reviews/B00BPAEV5Y

Written by a survivor of the first ever Jumbo crash.