Flood

Where's this book been?
by Richard Doyle | Mystery & Thrillers |
ISBN: 0099429691 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 10/6/2018
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, October 6, 2018
I got this slightly-battered UK-edition softcover from Better World Books during a recent book-binge. It inspired a 2007 film.

Later: While I was intrigued enough to read the whole book, it was sometimes a bit of a slog - in many places it reads more like a documentary on disaster preparedness (or lack thereof), with minute details of everything from dispatching helicopters to managing the Underground to coping with mass evacuations of schools, hospitals, prisons - and huge, elite shopping malls (hint: that did not go well!). There are plenty of heroes, from the emergency personnel doing their jobs under increasingly horrific circumstances to the just-happened-to-be-there folks who stepped up even when they didn't have to - but there were so very many characters that it was hard to keep focus. Then again, part of the point was the huge number of people, families, governments and businesses affected by the crisis, so perhaps it was a good choice not to focus on a handful of people. (The screen adaptation did choose a few people as key characters, and made the story more about them and about individual, personal sacrifice than the book's version of large-scale efforts.)

While I haven't researched the accuracy of the book in every respect, it did seem to be a thorough look at how the Thames Barrier works (the Barrier, btw, is *awesome* - possibly my favorite "character" in the novel), how the handling of hazardous materials in the heavily-traveled Thames shipping lanes works (or fails to work), and many other aspects of the actual London infrastructure.

Despite the emphasis on logistics and the rapidly-spreading danger from floods and then from fires (which, despite the presence of all that water, can't be fought effectively), there are sprinklings of personal stories throughout - families separated during the crisis trying to find each other, oblivious businessfolk trying to catch planes without realizing just how grim things have become, even some of the politicians who are under the gun to manage an unmanageable situation.

Overall, a good story - and a cautionary tale that still needs to be heeded, and by many more governments than the UK's...

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Little Free Library, Ohio Rd. in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts USA on Sunday, November 18, 2018

Released 5 yrs ago (11/19/2018 UTC) at Little Free Library, Ohio Rd. in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book in this handsome and roomy Tardis-themed Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2018 E-less release challenge. ***

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