SOS: Stories of Survival

by Ed Butts

Everyone’s life is touched at some time by disaster. But some disasters loom so large they are international events. The stories of those who live through such devastating events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, fires, and floods are both heartbreaking and compelling. Often they are inspiring and uplifting.

Stories of Survival tells the tales of young survivors of such disasters — teenage coal miners trapped deep below the surface of the earth in Springhill, Nova Scotia; children who ran to escape the poisonous exploding gases spewing from Mont Pelee on Martinique; teens who rode the roofs of their homes in Pennsylvania’s roaring Johnstown Flood; and youngsters who survived, but still suffer from, the nuclear accident in Chernobyl.

Archival photos document these astounding sagas.

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2007

About the author

Tundra author Ed Butts is a writer and editor with a special interest in Canadian history. He lived for several years in the Dominican Republic, where he taught English and social studies and wrote regularly for local magazines. He has published several books of fiction and non-fiction and has written for numerous publications in Canada and the United States. Ed Butts lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

way too much graphic violence with not enough context or surrounding story. i like short story type of texts and I also like non-fiction that isn't boring... BUT, this was just like watching those poorly done documentaries that i couldn't stand to sit through as a kid. i was always, like, "the only appropriate thing here is to cry hard, so why are we watching this in school??" and so I'd just lay my head on my desk and tune it out.

anyway. not gonna be getting this for my 11 and 12 year-old kiddos.

[Melanie Toney · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are morbidly interested in survival stories, this is a good book and a really easy read. It has short chapters for each famous natural and man-made disasters in which teens and children miraculously survived (I don't know why teens are the focus). It is nicely written in my opinion - not too descriptive or wordy, just the story and then the end.