onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/102_Minutes_The_Untold_Story_of_the_Fight_to_Survive_Inside_the_Twin_Towers');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0805080325'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers

by Jim Dwyer, Kevin Flynn

As someone who's made his home in New York for the last 9 years -- and literally watched the first of the Twin Towers fall -- reading about 9/11 can be extremely difficult. This title -- a literal minute-by-minute account from the moment the first plan struck to the moment the 2nd tower fell -- strikes me as the perfect balance of dispassionate, inspiring and honest.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/102_Minutes_The_Untold_Story_of_the_Fight_to_Survive_Inside_the_Twin_Towers');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/102_Minutes_The_Untold_Story_of_the_Fight_to_Survive_Inside_the_Twin_Towers');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0805080325'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 384 page paperback |$10.20 |162 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/Endurance_Shackletons_Incredible_Voyage');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/078670621X'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

by Alfred Lansing

Ernest Shackleton is one of those people you see in those silvery, cracking photos from the turn of the last century who looks like he hung out with Jules Verne and Mark Twain. He also looks like a man who does NOT like to fail. Needless to say, his trying to survive a few winters in Antarctica makes for a good read.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/Endurance_Shackletons_Incredible_Voyage');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/Endurance_Shackletons_Incredible_Voyage');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/078670621X'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 288 page paperback |$10.17 |389 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/In_the_Heart_of_the_Sea_The_Tragedy_of_the_Whaleship_Essex');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0141001828'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

by Nathaniel Philbrick

I had absolutely no idea that "Moby-Dick" was based on a real whale. And I REALLY had no idea that the whale was so malevolent as to sink a whaling ship by ramming it repeatedly with its head. Seriously.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/In_the_Heart_of_the_Sea_The_Tragedy_of_the_Whaleship_Essex');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/In_the_Heart_of_the_Sea_The_Tragedy_of_the_Whaleship_Essex');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0141001828'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 320 page paperback |$10.20 |277 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/Into_Thin_Air_A_Personal_Account_of_the_Mt_Everest_Disaster');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385494785'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

by Jon Krakauer

If you're at all a fan of the genre, it's hard to imagine that you haven't read this one yet but I included it on the off chance you haven't gotten to it yet. A word of warning? Don't start this one unless you've got a 4 or 5 hour window open in front of you. You won't set it down until you're done.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/Into_Thin_Air_A_Personal_Account_of_the_Mt_Everest_Disaster');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/Into_Thin_Air_A_Personal_Account_of_the_Mt_Everest_Disaster');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0385494785'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> 368 page paperback |$10.17 |1,473 reviews

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/The_Raft_The_True_and_Thrilling_Story_of_34_Days_at_Sea_on_a_Rubber_Raft');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/B000LB9EZU'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Raft: The True and Thrilling Story of 34 Days at Sea on a Rubber Raft

by Trumbull Robert

This books been out of print for a long time -- maybe even 50 years. But there are enough used copies floating around (oops, sorry for bad pun) that Amazon always has one available for a few bucks. Do yourself a favor and pick one up for your next trip to the beach.

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/The_Raft_The_True_and_Thrilling_Story_of_34_Days_at_Sea_on_a_Rubber_Raft');" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/The_Raft_The_True_and_Thrilling_Story_of_34_Days_at_Sea_on_a_Rubber_Raft');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/B000LB9EZU'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;"> used, starting at $1.08

onClick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/to_amazon/True_Tales_of_Survival/The_Terrible_Hours_The_Greatest_Submarine_Rescue_in_History');" onMouseOver="window.status='http://amazon.com/dp/0060932775'; return true;" onMouseOut="window.status=''; return true;">The Terrible Hours: The Greatest Submarine Rescue in History

by Peter Maas

Amazon readers say: