"Looking toward the rear of the plane, we saw the dark sky and haze of airport lights but something was terribly wrong! Where the ceiling and sides should have been we saw sky!"
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Perils! by Carolyn and Jack Fleming Trafford Publishing
book review by John E. Roper
Travel brochures tend to paint glorious and enticing portraits of the destinations they feature. High quality photographs capture famous landmarks in just the right light, and the accompanying prose is carefully crafted to prompt those who succumb to its charms to book the quickest flight possible to an exotic paradise. However, as any frequent world traveler knows, those glossy advertisements focus only on the pleasures and neglect to mention the possible perils that often await the adventurous.
The Flemings, veteran globetrotters who have experienced firsthand some of the dangers the brochures omit, have assembled an eye-opening collection of vignettes chronicling their many misadventures abroad. What becomes immediately apparent when reading this book is that the authors have an uncanny knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. From flying on a plane that decides to split in two during landing to precarious driving on dark and twisting roads in the Italian Dolomites during a nighttime snow storm, the authors have managed to find themselves over the years in one potentially fatal situation after the other. Despite the hazards, though, their love of travel and sense of fun in the process seems to be undiminished.
As a bonus to their well-written stories of perils overseas, the Flemings have included a basic medical guide to valuable life-saving techniques at the end of the book for those who might choose to follow in their footsteps or simply stick to the Travel Channel at home. Combined with their entertaining tales of trips gone wrong, the authors have put together an amusing and helpful addition to travel literature.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review.