Another free book from  Concord Free Press.

As it says on the back cover: This Book is Free. By receiving a copy, you agree to contribute to a Hurricane Sandy relief organization, another charity of your choice, or a person in need. Where the money goes and how much to give--that's your call. When you're finished reading, pass this book on to someone else (for free, of course), so that can give. It adds up.

A perfect fit for BookCrossing!

This slim volume is a special project of the Concord Free Press, intended to increase awareness of the devastation inflicted upon the communities of the Rockaways (in Queens, New York City) during Hurricane Sandy last autumn. Following their unusual business model, Concord Free Press is distributing these books free of charge, and asking readers to give to charity or a person in need.

The first half of this book is a collection of full page photographs documenting the destruction wrought by the storm, and the early clean-up efforts. As haunting as the photos of the foundations of burned buildings and the piles of debris are, the photos with people in them are more powerful, because they capture some of the emotion and energy of the people of the community as they begin to face their altered reality.

The second half of the book is a collection of essays about the storm and its aftermath. They take the reader into the heart of the community and help to humanize the otherwise impossible to imagine toll of the storm. It is through these individual stories that we can begin to understand just how total the destruction was. But these stories are also powerful beacons of hope, showing incredible resilience in the face of the near total destruction of a community. Clearly, these people will find ways to restore their community.

Passing along at today's BC-in-DC get together in Baltimore.

I am a big fan of photographs and the way they can tell a story that no words can convey, so I was pleased to bring this home from the meet-up. Since it is fairly slim I plan to get it read and bring it with me to the next BCinDC gathering at the Kensington book festival.

It was nice to have a chance to learn more about Hurricane Sandy and the aftermath. Considering that the wreckage of the Rockaways are in the greater NYC area, there has been so little coverage and discussion that it is shameful. The devastation was similar to Hurricane Katrina on a smaller scale, and the rebuilding has likewise taken an unconscionably long time, and it should get more attention than it does.

The photos were powerful and reminded me a great deal of the New Orleans and Mississippi photos after Katrina. I would have like to see one or two photos from before the storm, to have a better idea of the scale of change. The essays were interesting, showing different aspects of the aftermath, from volunteer efforts at relief to people out of work and homes that are lost.

I will bring this book with me to the Kensington Day of the Book and pass it off to another local BCinDCer to read.

"A book is a mysterious object, I said, and once it floats out into the world, anything can happen. All kinds of mischief can be caused, and there's not a damned thing you can do about it. For better or worse, it's completely out of your control." -- Paul Auster

Taking this with me to the Kensington Day of the Book to pass along to another BookCrosser.

I picked this up at a BookCrossing meetup, not sure what it was about but knowing it came highly recommended and that it was a quick read.

It turned out to be not so quick a read for me, because I kept stopping to look up details or contemplate the ramifications of things. This book seems light, with tons of photos and short essays of just a few paragraphs. But it's actually pretty heavy, filled with the widespread destruction that Sandy caused in the Rockaways community. It wasn't just the destruction of buildings--it was ruining homes and culture and jobs and families. But it also created something. People who had almost nothing dropped everything to help others however they could. Parts of the community continued on in different ways, in limited capacities, but enduring with hope.

I also liked the list of places working directly to help those affected by Sandy. Not being a New Yorker, I'd never heard of http://robinhood.org, but I like their approach. This book was published by Concord Free Press and distributed free. It's asked that readers of this book donate something somewhere and then pass the book along to continue the informativeness and good will that comes from reading this book. I think that's a brilliant idea. I haven't charted my donation on their site yet, but I certainly will before I pass this book on to its next reader.

As my favorite author would say, one of the best things we can do is to imagine others more complexly. And this book definitely helps me see these people as victims of something out of their control and as much more than victims--as people suffering, rebuilding, learning, bonding, helping, living, coping. Thanks for giving me a chance to read this.

I'm going to see some BookCrossing friends today. I'm thinking maybe one of them (who hasn't already read this) will want to be the new owner of this book.

Picked up while hanging out with friends. Here's my review when I saw this book earlier in the year.

"Flipped through the pictures while at the meeting. Really amazing to see photographs. Sometimes it's hard to tell on the news the level of destruction brought on by Mother Nature.

The idea of a free book in exchange for a donation is a great one. I'll make sure I add to my regular giving special for this."

I left a copy of this book at the AMTRAK waiting area in NYC. http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/12355787

I don't know how long I've had this book. I was cleaning off my shelves and discovered I'd never journaled it. I flipped through it and looked at the photos, but didn't read the essays and honestly, it's time for this book to move on because I am clearly not going to get to it any time soon. I wish the photos had captions, but maybe their contents are obvious if you read the accompanying essays.

Giving to 6of8 for release at the 2016 BookCrossing Convention in Athens, Greece.

Received from Melydia, who thought it would be a good one to send to the convention in Athens. I have put it with the things to go in the suitcase.

This book is being added to the book buffet at the Athens Convention.

Any future reader or recipient of this book is encouraged to leave a journal entry here on the BookCrossing site to let prior readers know the fate of the book. You can make an anonymous entry without joining the BookCrossing movement, but if you are interested in joining, it is a free and spam-free community where your contact information is not shared with others. Best of all, members receive private messages via e-mail from books like this one when those books are journaled, allowing for long-term relationships between books and readers.