"Different Experiences Where Death Loomed Around the Corner"

One of the most desirous destinations in the world for adventure and survival stories of all sizes and shapes is Alaska. Some of you readers may ask, why Alaska? As pointed out in the introduction to Larry Kaniut's book entitled Cheating Death, "although other states encompass wilderness in which the citizens confront peril, no state can match danger on an Alaskan scale. Alaska is twice as big as Texas. Alaska's coastline is as long as that of the rest of the United States. Her mountains are bigger. Her rivers are colder. Her weather is harsher. Her lakes unnumbered, and much of her vastness is untracked." That in a nutshell gives us an excellent idea of the endless possibilities of what may loom ahead for the adventurer.

Cheating Death is a compilation of 18 essays describing events that occurred in Alaska wherein individuals have found themselves in situations and circumstances fraught with danger. The fascinating array of tales is diversely drawn from several different types of experiences where there was a very good chance that the protagonist would wind up in the world beyond!

Although the book is far from a literary masterpiece, it nevertheless is written in a style that provides the reader with vivid pictures of the actual near death happenings. It is as if we were watching a television documentary.

As an added feature the author provides us with some very useful black and white maps that are an excellent guide in situating the geographical locations of the stories recounted. This is in marked contrast to other books of a similar nature where the author fails to provide an adequate geographic context for his tale.

The format of each chapter is prefaced with a brief introduction that gives us a capsule view of the principal theme of the tale. For example, one of the stories commences with the following excerpt from the actual essay: "Waiting for daylight through a February night in Alaska can seem to take forever: I thought about family and friends. They were probably beginning to feel that my chances of survival were dim."

This clever teaser induces us to read about someone whose Cessna 182 was sucked into a mountain wave over a summit of a mountain and crashed. Luckily the survivor lived to tell his story, notwithstanding that during this ordeal he had lost thirty pounds and his body temperature was down to about 80 degrees (and that was after his body had been warmed by his rescuers on his way to the hospital). Unfortunately, our protagonist did not escape entirely unscathed, as he had to have a leg amputated.

Throughout the reading of the various essays of the book we are constantly shaking our heads in amazement in trying to understand how, in many instances, these individuals averted certain death. What was it that made them "hang in there" and never loose faith? Where did they derive their resiliency and stamina to stay alive?

"Copyright 2002, Bookideas.com. Orginally published at Bookideas.com"

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy Bookideas
Posted June 6, 2002