Light My Kindle

I’m not generally a non-fiction reader. I much prefer crime thrillers and Stephen King novels, and the occasional biography (which, let’s face it, isn’t always 100% non-fiction). However, when I started to read 35 Miles From Shore, I was immediately sucked in. The book tells the story of the only recorded open water ditching of a commercial jet. ALM Flight 980 landed in the waters of the Caribbean after running out of fuel. The author takes an interesting approach in not only describing the details of the doomed flight and its passengers, but also giving background on the chain of events that led up to the tragedy. Not only does it make for a more interesting story, but it gave the book a uniquely human element that I would imagine isn’t often present in books about disasters.

The book opens by explaining that most accidents aren’t a freak occurrence but rather the end of an unfortunate chain of events. In the case of ALM Flight 980, this is especially true. The author covers the choices made by the airlines, the crew, and the air traffic controllers on the ground that added to the inevitable end result. From the secondary fuel tank that was never added to the plane to the last second decision to head for their alternate landing destination due to bad weather, the author painstakingly researched every available detail about the flight and the events leading to the disaster.

In the process of revealing all the events that may or may not have contributed to the crash, we learn about all the people involved. We learn about the passengers, the crew, and even the rescuers. Reading about why each passenger was on the flight (last vacation before having a baby, returning home, business, etc.) really brought the story to life. Knowing that the author interviewed most of these people directly reminds the reader that this tragic story really happened.

One note about the endnotes in the Kindle version of the book – they work wonderfully. Typically when you read a book with annotations, they are either at the bottom of the page or at the end of the book. I typically dislike reading books where the notes are at the end because that means I have to stop reading and find the right annotation at the back of the book. However, in 35 Miles From Shore, all you have to do is use the scroll wheel to click on the line with the number and then choose the number from the menu. It takes you directly to the appropriate annotation, and simply hitting the back button brings you back to your place in the book. The only problem I found with this – and it’s a small one – is that the asterisk-marked pieces often land in the middle of paragraphs. However, once you’ve realized this, it’s easier to read around them.

I truly enjoyed the book. It was a fast read, unbelievably well-researched, and extremely interesting. Even if you’re not much of a non-fiction reader, this is an entertaining book that can capture your attention just as easily as a novel.

You can get 35 Miles From Shore in a Kindle version (with the fancy annotation stuff built in), or in a paperback version.