Case Studies Of Process Plant Disasters

Book Description

Expert Trevor Kletz examines the causes and aftermaths of numerous plant disasters--almost every one of which could have been prevented. Case histories illustrate what went wrong, why it went wrong, and then guide you in how to circumvent similar tragedies.

Learn from the mistakes of others. This invaluable and respected book examines the causes and aftermaths of numerous plant disasters - almost every one of which could have been prevented. Case histories illustrate what went wrong and why it went wrong, and then guide you in how to circumvent similar tragedies.

* Learn from the mistakes of others with this important book!

* Examines the causes and aftermaths of numerous plant disasters - most of which could have been prevented

* Case histories illustrate what went wrong, why it went wrong, and then guide you in how to circumvent similar tragedies

Customer Reviews:

Enlightening stuff.......2007-08-14

Mr Kletz offers engaging technical insights with case stories arising out of his long professional experience related to accidents causing small to large property damage and bodily injury including death and demonstrates that they just arise from silly mistakes made during everyday work or by having misconceptions about the laws of physics or process engineering

It is focused on occurrences in the chemical industry but the case stories serve as an example for property loss prevention in any industry (among the chapters it delves into are: maintenance, modifications, pressure pipes and vessels, hazard of materials, computers, human errors, storage tanks, labeling)

It is a slow paced reading, written to focus on ideas and develop concepts to have something new to think about. Most suitable readers are loss control & process engineers and health and safety professionals working in any type of industry or doing field surveys for insurance companies

Excellent book.......2007-03-08

Concise review of many industrial accidents with clear recommendations to help avoid repeating them. A must read all involved with industrial plants but especially chemical plants and refineries.

Learn from other people and other companies mistakes.......2006-07-12

Learning from other people and other companies mistakes is better than to gain experience through our own mistakes, especially if those are relate to safety.

An excellent reference for the industrial practitioner interested or involved with Process Safety System, Emergency Shutdown Systems, Safety Instrumented Systems, etc. working in the process industries, who want to learn about real world examples of what can go wrong.

The incidents described could occur in any type of industrial plants, even in yours. This book doesn't provide an exhaustive analysis of process safety issues or risk control. For this type of in-depth information you could try "Loss Prevention in the Process Industries", by F. P. Lees.

Use this book as a safety manual full of stories from which you should try to get what lessons can be learned from the incidents described.

I am an Industrial Practitioner of Process Safety and Control. I have been working for more than 16 years as an Instrumentation, Automation, and Process Safety and Control Engineer for the Oil & Gas Industry. I found this book to be an aid when preparing training material for operators and technicians.

A Master Class In Hazard Avoidance And Mitigation.......2006-05-02

"What Went Wrong?" is a well thought-out book on practical safety in the chemical processing industry. The book recounts numerous actual process plant accidents and incidents, includes causes and effects, and avoidance and mitigation practices.

Some of the accidents in this book are familiar to most people (Bhopal, etc.), but most are not; this exposure to "new" material is a real strength. Another strength is the focus on "minor," seemingly inconsequential, actions that have major effects. For instance, on page 62, a company was concerned that because heating had to be shut down over a weekend that water lines would freeze, so water was replaced with alcohol. When a fire occurred the sprinklers then fed the fire. This seems obvious in retrospect, but Kletz is trying to develop foresight rather than hindsight. Kletz also includes examples of human error accidents from other fields. (An excellent example concerning radiological medicine is on pages 92-93.) Kletz always avoids simplistic "human error" diagnoses and diligently pursues root causes; he asserts correctly that in human error accidents it is "unfair to put all the blame on the person who adds the last straw."

Chapter seven concerns leaks. Thomas Fuller was right in 1732 when he said "A small leak will sink a great ship." Leaks are easy to discount as minor and routine annoyances. This chapter does an excellent job of discussing most leak-related issues. The section on "Drain Valves and Vents" is particularly well-developed, as is the section titled "Small Cocks," which makes the point that they should never be used as the sole source of isolation (especially for flammable materials above their atmospheric boiling points.) Likewise his remarks at the end of the chapter (page 162) about measurements are insightful: "Whenever possible we should measure directly what we need to know and not some other property from which it can be deduced." This was, of course, one of the major problems that triggered the Three Mile Island accident.

Chapter eight is titled "Liquefied Flammable Gases," and is an extension of chapter seven in many ways (leaks play a role in many LFG incidents.) Kletz also has an excellent discussion of the hazards of Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions (BLEVEs) including dramatic examples from Feyzin, France and Duque de Caxias, Brazil. A great example (a crack propagation problem in a low temperature, nine percent nickel steel tank in Qatar) of how to mitigate and trap problems in a large-scale LFG system is on page 172, and discusses the pros and cons of different types of dike wall construction.

Chapter nine is on pipe and vessel failures. There is a good discussion of vapor cloud explosions, and while I am amazed at the scope of the author's data, even I was surprised (and amused) to find that Table 9-1 included in "transport container" column for vapor cloud explosions the note "Includes 1 zeppelin." Now that's thorough!

The book also discusses ancillary fittings (like flanges and gaskets) and equipment (like centrifuges and pumps), their common failure modes and hazard prevention methods. There is an especially good discussion of heat exchangers, furnaces, and cooling towers in chapter ten. Especially enlightening is the discussion of damage by water hammer, and the example given (see Figure 10-11, "Condensate in the steam...knocked off the impingement plate and damaged calandria tubes") illustrates the folly of ignoring precursor incidents in an accident prevention strategy. In section 10.7 Kletz discusses furnaces, and makes the statement "Never say, 'It must be safe because we have been doing it this way for years and have never had an accident'" which is an axiom that any safety professional should embrace.

Chapter eleven concerns entry into vessels, and notes that in the US each year about 63 people are killed after being overcome in inadequately prepared vessels. Of these, 40 are would-be rescuers. Any business with this type of exposure must insure that they have excellent equipment and training (including recurrent training) for people undertaking these tasks. No matter what training occurs, though, you can't protect from bad judgment. On page 232 an incident is discussed where a worker was trying to shrink-fit a bearing onto a shaft in a pit with an acetylene torch while the shaft was cooled by another worker hosing liquefied petroleum gas onto the shaft with the expected fatal results.

Chapter twelve discusses the hazards of common materials. Many situations in this book concern the misuse of water resulting in boilover, slopover, foamover, frothover, puking, or many other steam or vaporization related accidents. Compressed air is another underappreciated hazard, and is also discussed at length. Especially emphasized are reactions of air and oil mixtures and the importance of using Type 3A molecular sieves, which can avoid issues encountered in operations that dry or purify compressed air. Nitrogen is also discussed. While it is inert, Kletz makes it clear that it is not harmless using several insightful examples, including an unusual liquid nitrogen induced explosion in a pork rind processing operation on page 254.

Throughout the book Kletz emphasizes the importance of process change control, and that even slight modifications are thoroughly evaluated; this is true in all safety communities, not just the chemical processing industry. Excellent examples of training issues are throughout the book, but are specifically delineated in section 22.5 "Poor Training or Procedures."

Appendix one contains a useful discussion of relative rates of different types of incidents, while Appendix two is perhaps the best in the book, as it discusses accident reporting (page 395) and gives five excellent reasons to publish accident reports, advice that is valid in all industries.

"What Went Wrong?" is a well written book with many insights for safety professionals. It is written for the chemical industries, but is readable and useful to safety professionals in all industries. I deal largely with aviation safety (though I have a background in industrial chemical processing), and the parallels are manifold.

I highly recommend this book, and look forward to reading other books by Trevor Kletz.

Itemized Case History of Accidents in the Chemical Industry.......2006-04-06

What I like most about this book is its index and table of contents. It is easy to find a type of accident. For example, when I turned to page 291, I found an exact, simple description of the dangers resulting from the flow of a non-conducting liquid, i.e., one with a low dielectric constant --- like toluene (2.4 compared to water with a constant of 80). "The danger is that a spark could discharge between a body of liquid and grounded metal." In other words, a high voltage shock will knock you off your feet.

If this review was helpful, please add your vote.

This is an easy-to-read text and should be required reading for all chemical engineers entering the workforce. After you read it, you can move on to more detailed engineering text on the subject of safety such as Kletz's own book, or Mark Tweeddale, or Crowl and Louvar's text. These text are for calculations, "What Went Wrong," is for a clear understanding of the dangers you will be facing.

If this review was helpful, please add your vote -- Thanks.

The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche

Average customer rating:

Great historical perspective of a forgotten catastrophe...
A good story told well
The White Cascade and our genealogy library
A Wonderful book
White Cascade

The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche
Gary Krist
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805077057
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

The never-before-told story of one of the worst rail disasters in U.S. history in which two trains full of people, trapped high in the Cascade Mountains, are hit by a devastating avalanche

In February 1910, a monstrous blizzard centered on Washington State hit the Northwest, breaking records. The world stopped—but nowhere was the danger more terrifying than near a tiny town called Wellington, perched high in the Cascade Mountains, where a desperate situation evolved minute by minute: two trainloads of cold, hungry passengers and their crews found themselves marooned without escape, their railcars gradually being buried in the rising drifts. For days, an army of the Great Northern Railroad’s most dedicated men—led by the line’s legendarily courageous superintendent, James O’Neill—worked round-the-clock to rescue the trains. But the storm was unrelenting, and to the passenger’s great anxiety, the railcars—their only shelter—were parked precariously on the edge of a steep ravine. As the days passed, food and coal supplies dwindled. Panic and rage set in as snow accumulated deeper and deeper on the cliffs overhanging the trains. Finally, just when escape seemed possible, the unthinkable occurred: the earth shifted and a colossal avalanche tumbled from the high pinnacles, sweeping the trains and their sleeping passengers over the steep slope and down the mountainside.

Centered on the astonishing spectacle of our nation’s deadliest avalanche, The White Cascade is the masterfully told story of a supremely dramatic and never-before-documented American tragedy. An adventure saga filled with colorful and engaging history, this is epic narrative storytelling at its finest.

Customer Reviews:

Great historical perspective of a forgotten catastrophe..........2007-06-25

Don't know why I was prompted to pick this book up...my husband is in a search and rescue group, so that was partly the reason. I read the info given on the back of the book, and having grown up in Northern CA and being a voracious reader, I thought I should have heard about this one transportation disaster. My father was born up in Washington, but somehow this one has faded from national consciousness.

What really struck me about this book is the straightforward writing of the author, Krist. He doesn't sensationalize, as some other books on disasters tend to do. He is honest and reflective, gives the reader all the information on both sides, and lets them draw their own conclusion. I especially enjoyed the information about the court trials and the aftermaths. We can dislike the typical corporate image that continues to run big companies (only now they are the pharmaceuticals who could care less...), but we also recognize that the men who dealt at the closest part of the railway with this disaster most probably did as good a job that could have been done. Unlike the Titanic, where there were some very dismaying behavior by many who were at the helm of the boat and the company, most of the rail workers, especially the superintendant who oversaw the whole week of work around this avalanche were hardworking and gallant, who did make a few mistakes but nothing overt.

By showing us how the courts handled this particular case, plus the information that came from the newspapers that did sensationalize this happening, Krist lets us see why we have come full circle to another place that if this case were tried today, it would have ended very differently for the company. Krist makes a good case for why the ending verdict was probably right (but probably would not have been reached in this era of lawsuits we are currently in). However, he also points out the impact that this case and other transportation disasters of that time had on labor and safety laws in this country. He draws a good diagram for the reader for why this trainwreck led to our current safety requirements and the change in attitudes of people towards corporations that were in control during that time period. Now we need to turn our eyes to the corporations that are currently out of control in ours...perhaps Krist would like to take some of them on?

Karen Sadler

A good story told well.......2007-05-13

This is non-fiction at its finest. As the story unfolds, you almost wish you could get a warning to the poor passengers whose fate is all but inevitable. The author expertly weaves together the series of events that led to the disaster, providing insight into the decisions that were made from those in charge. As the snow continues to fall, adding layer on top of layer, the many characters in this story slowly become individuals with whom you can sympathize.

The story takes place in 1910 at the peak of the railroad era. The automobile and airplane are introduced as only bit players. All of the background information is perfectly balanced with the drama that unfolds atop the mountain.

There is no single mistake that led to the accident, but Superintendent James O'Neil is guilty of two mistakes that might have made a difference: His refusal to meet with the passengers and his refusal to negotiate with the laborers involved in snow removal.

This is a fast read made even more so by the author's clever use of cliff-hanging chapter endings. I highly recommend the book.

The White Cascade and our genealogy library.......2007-05-13

I ordered this book at the request of one of our genealogy society members. It came soon after I ordered it and I have not had time to read it myself because some of our patrons are waiting to read it. The woman who requested that I order it said it was the best of any of the books ever written about that disaster. We have several other books about the disaster as it happened in our area but it appears this one is the very best as it has been well researched and is well written, keeping the reader's interest to the very end. It is particularly interesting to genealogists searching this area.

A Wonderful book.......2007-05-07

This book had if all and I have purchased several as gifts. I wish it could have gone on forever. I learded more about the West, Ameican econimy what life was like back then, values and morays of the time and of course the history of the railroads. It was all brilliantly woven togther with the stories of the people involved. It was never dull very easy to read yet covered some very complex issues. It got you totally involved and it was as if you where there experiencing the cold, the danger, nature and the wonder of how it would all end.

White Cascade.......2007-04-12

Great insight into the thinking of the man responsible for keeping this train route open through incredibility bad winter snow conditions. Lots of insight on how the railroads operated back then. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this exciting account of the railway disaster.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

Average customer rating:

Strange, sad and wonderful
Chilling account of an incredible and sad story
Don't plan anything else
Good Writing, Excellent Read
A Great Writer -- Just Don't Ever Go Climbing with Him

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Jon Krakauer
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385494785
Release Date: 1999-10-19

Amazon.com

Into Thin Air is a riveting first-hand account of a catastrophic expedition up Mount Everest. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. Krakauer's book is at once the story of the ill-fated adventure and an analysis of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the events it chronicles, Into Thin Air clearly evokes the majestic Everest landscape. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is palpable as he leads readers to ponder timeless questions.

Book Description

A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster.

By writing Into Thin Air, Krakauer may have hoped to exorcise some of his own demons and lay to rest some of the painful questions that still surround the event. He takes great pains to provide a balanced picture of the people and events he witnessed and gives due credit to the tireless and dedicated Sherpas. He also avoids blasting easy targets such as Sandy Pittman, the wealthy socialite who brought an espresso maker along on the expedition. Krakauer's highly personal inquiry into the catastrophe provides a great deal of insight into what went wrong. But for Krakauer himself, further interviews and investigations only lead him to the conclusion that his perceived failures were directly responsible for a fellow climber's death. Clearly, Krakauer remains haunted by the disaster, and although he relates a number of incidents in which he acted selflessly and even heroically, he seems unable to view those instances objectively. In the end, despite his evenhanded and even generous assessment of others' actions, he reserves a full measure of vitriol for himself.

This updated trade paperback edition of Into Thin Air includes an extensive new postscript that sheds fascinating light on the acrimonious debate that flared between Krakauer and Everest guide Anatoli Boukreev in the wake of the tragedy. "I have no doubt that Boukreev's intentions were good on summit day," writes Krakauer in the postscript, dated August 1999. "What disturbs me, though, was Boukreev's refusal to acknowledge the possibility that he made even a single poor decision. Never did he indicate that perhaps it wasn't the best choice to climb without gas or go down ahead of his clients." As usual, Krakauer supports his points with dogged research and a good dose of humility. But rather than continue the heated discourse that has raged since Into Thin Air's denouncement of guide Boukreev, Krakauer's tone is conciliatory; he points most of his criticism at G. Weston De Walt, who coauthored The Climb, Boukreev's version of events. And in a touching conclusion, Krakauer recounts his last conversation with the late Boukreev, in which the two weathered climbers agreed to disagree about certain points. Krakauer had great hopes to patch things up with Boukreev, but the Russian later died in an avalanche on another Himalayan peak, Annapurna I.

In 1999, Krakauer received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters--a prestigious prize intended "to honor writers of exceptional accomplishment." According to the Academy's citation, "Krakauer combines the tenacity and courage of the finest tradition of investigative journalism with the stylish subtlety and profound insight of the born writer. His account of an ascent of Mount Everest has led to a general reevaluation of climbing and of the commercialization of what was once a romantic, solitary sport; while his account of the life and death of Christopher McCandless, who died of starvation after challenging the Alaskan wilderness, delves even more deeply and disturbingly into the fascination of nature and the devastating effects of its lure on a young and curious mind."

Download Description

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mount Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds.

Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed Outside journalist and author of the bestselling Into the Wild. Taking the reader step-by-step from Katmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, Krakauer has us shaking on the edge of our seat. Beyond the terrors of this account, however, he also peers deeply into the myth of the world's tallest mountain. What is it about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense?

Written with emotional clarity and supported by unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.

Customer Reviews:

Strange, sad and wonderful.......2007-10-16

Wow. What a book. Into Thin Air is the story of the ill-fated 1996 Mount Everest climbing season, as told by Krakauer, a journalist for Outside magazine, and a seasoned, albeit non-Himalayan, climber. Krakauer lived to summit Everest and return; nine of his fellow climbers did not return. Why did disaster strike with such ferocity? There are a number of perspectives to take. The wisdom of professional climbers taking paying customers up a mountain they otherwise would never come near has to be questioned. One client was literally dragged up the mountain (short-roped) on summit day by a sherpa who was supposed to be setting ropes further up the mountain. Many other smaller non-fatal errors accumulated to create huge problems later in the day. The best decisions on summit day seemed to be made by the non-professional climbers, which made me wonder about the cumulative effects of oxygen deprivation. Over 25,000 feet, the 'death zone', humans lose thousands of brain cells each minute due to lack of oxygen. Maybe the professional guides had been up to the summit one or two times too many. The biggest factor however, appears to have been the mountain itself, and the killer weather which is associated with it. In the end, reading this book teaches you that even with all of the high tech equipment and training, nobody climbs Everest unless the mountain decides to allow it.

Krakauer writes in a clear, entertaining, and comprehensive style. The book never dragged. The author includes enough history -of the mountain, of climbing, and of the personalities on the mountain in 1996- to put 1996's events in a meaningful context. He made me care about these eccentric, some would say self-destructive, people. There is so much in this book. There are heroes, villains, saints, a tiny bit of sex, heartbreak (one client decided to turn around short of the summit and head back to safety only to be talked back into trying for the summit by his team leader, resulting in both of their deaths), horror (good people are shown suffering unbearably, only to die in the end), suspense - and all of it really happened. Some of the events documented are so strange, bizarre and unlikely, that a fiction writer would probably choose to tone them down to make them more believable.

Krakauer is quite deliberate about qualifying his account of the 1996 disaster. As humans we are limited in how much we can take in and process of large, complex events. We forget too quickly, we are selective in what we see and hear - we only experience a fraction of what really is. And yet our minds seem hard-wired to make sense of events which probably do not make sense. Into Thin Air is only a guess as to what really happened on that strange mountain in 1996, even though it was written by a professional journalist who was in the thick of the action. If Krakauer could re-live it all 100 times, each time profiting from previous experience and each time looking at a different angle, perhaps it would all become more understandable. Krakauer of course wouldn't do this. He never wants to go back to Mount Everest.

Reading this book is like having someone dump a handful of cold powdery snow down the back of your shirt. It's a wake-up call of sorts, illustrating what a strange, wonderful, mysterious and terrifying place we live in, and how tentative and fragile is mankind's place and hold over this planet. This is a great book.

Chilling account of an incredible and sad story.......2007-10-15

A friend of mine suggested this book and I am so glad she did, it was so mind-blogging and inspiring and a fantastic pleasure to read. Even if you're not into hiking and have not even the slightest desire to climb the world's tallest mountains, I think you will enjoy reading this true story about persistence and tragedy within the most unbelievable circumstances.

Into Thin Air is about a group of thrill-seekers who hire a guide to hike Mt. Everest in 1996. From page one to the last page, the reader is welcomed along the journey as the author describes every moment of his journey. With vivid detail and heartbreaking truth, the reader feels like he is right there experiencing all that climbing Mt. Everest has to offer, the good and the bad. He describes the people in his group and reports the moment to moment occurrences that lead up to the horrible loss of life. The reader is brought up and down Mt. Everest with a sense of respect and admiration for all who attempted this incredible undertaking. For those that survived and made it home safely, a deep sense of both sorrow and esteem.

It was only after I read this book did I learn about the controversy about this author and I have to say, I think he wrote an incredibly honest and detailed account of what happened from his point of view. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading biographical stories. This was well written from start to finish.

Don't plan anything else.......2007-10-15

You probably won't be able to put down this book until you have finished it, so it's best not to start unless you know you have the time. In typical Krakauer fashion, the author takes you on a wild, emotional, heart-pounding true adventure. For anyone who loves mountains, the outdoors, climbing, or adventure. If you can't climb mountains yourself, this is the next best thing.

Good Writing, Excellent Read.......2007-10-04

The story must be familiar even to those not into mountaineering. This is probably the most well-written account of the events which led up to the catastrophe on Mt Everest on May 1996. Clients from 2 commercial groups were trapped in a storm after making the summit. Jon Krakauer gives a detailed, fast-paced account of the dramatic events that followed. It is definitely in the area of narration skills where Krakauer's book stands above all the other books written by other people on the mountain.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and won't hesitate to give it 5 stars, but I do have a serious problem with the author's attitude. With the benefit of hindsight, he could, of course point out every single mistake that the others made which cost them theirs and other people's lives.

He also can't seem to be able to stop boasting about everything that he did right. I think one of the reasons why he's alive is because he only took care of himself. He would have us think that he was more prudent that Rob Hall and Scott Fischer.

Like one reviewer said, I too would never go climbing with this guy. If I ever got into trouble, he's not only going to abandon me but would actually tell the world about what I did wrong.

The Crystal Horizon: Everest-The First Solo Ascent

Above All Else - The Everest Dream

Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance

All Fourteen 8,000ers

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks

The Trekking Peaks of Nepal

Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue: Reading Glaciers, Team Travel, Crevasse Rescue Techniques, Routefinding, Expedition Skills 2nd Edition

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills

Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpas of Everest

Medicine: For Mountaineering & Other Wilderness Activities 5th Edition

Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance (Exercise Physiology ( MC Ardle))

A Great Writer -- Just Don't Ever Go Climbing with Him.......2007-09-21

Krakauer is a superb writer, as evidenced by this compelling read. As a climber, my take-home lesson from this book is that I would never set foot on a mountain with a person as smarmy, self-serving, selfish and self-absorbed as Mr. Krakauer. In my opinion, major portions of this book are nothing more than an after-the-fact and rather flimsy justification for Krakauer's abject moral failure on Everest as a person and as a mountaineer. Krakauer made sure he looked after No. 1 -- himself. He could have helped others who later died and chose not to. He should not have compounded his moral failure on the mountain with the sin of proferring a self-serving account of why he is not such a bad fellow after all. When in the mountains, Krakauer and his ilk are the type to stay away from, and certainly never the type to trust with your life.

Tactical Emergency Care: Military and Operational Out-of-Hospital Medicine

Average customer rating:

I'd Give It Zero Stars If I Could
uneven quality
Tactical Operational Medicine
Tactical EMS
Combat Casualty Care

Tactical Emergency Care: Military and Operational Out-of-Hospital Medicine
Robert A. De Lorenzo , and Robert S. Porter
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0835953254

Book Description

This book explores the new and rapidly developing area of tactical EMS, a special blend of prehospital care and military-style tactical operations encompassing field and wilderness medicine under austere and often hostile conditions. This is the first commercial book to focus on military medicine at the EMT/military medic level. Focusing on the unique prehospital problems facing tactical EMT's, the book covers wounds from conventional weapons as well as nuclear biologic, and chemical weapons. Medical evacuation, environmental medicine and triage as well as ambulatory care and topics unique to EMT's providing law enforcement medical support are also addressed. Medical information coders

Customer Reviews:

I'd Give It Zero Stars If I Could.......2007-07-17

As a operational medical provider and later physician, having served in combat, civilian TEMS, and international disaster and remote medicine for 25 years, I can say without hesitation that this 'text' is a useless rehash of standard CONUS urban EMS and outdated and abandoned military medicine concepts. It reflects none of the critical lessons learned since Gulf 1, nor our changing understanding of how people die, and live, in operational and resource limited settings.

Many of the facts are simply wrong, wrong when the text was written, and even more so today.

The suggested solutions show no evidence that the authors have any real appreciation for the second by second difficulties, change in priorities, and realities of limited resources that actually characterize 'military and operational out-of-hospital medicine.'

If you think the topic is wholly encompassed by helicopters and ambulances at your beck and call, care under white lights, and someone else to do your carrying and grunt work, this book is for you.

If you are looking for solutions to managing an officer with a heart attack while pinned down behind a barricade for 6 hours with the resources you have on your tac vest, managing a pelvic GSW with a field transfusion under NVG's, or coordinating the evac of a trooper down a mountain... in other words, real operational medicine rather than sanitized urban CONUS EMS medicine in BDU's... look elsewhere.

uneven quality.......2003-08-17

tho re-issued in 1999 (with corrections), this book is not very well edited. For example, the index is often off by a couple of pages, figures are miss-captioned, & I'd love to be there when the unsuspecting reader applies eucalyptus oil instead of eugenol to your toothache. No doubt a fine text in a classroom situation with a good instructor, but on its own merits, leaves much to be desired. A bit out-of-scope for entry-level EMS personnel wishing to 'expand their knowledge', but the chapter on ambulatory care, for example, is hoplessly 'in-scope' compared to books like 'ditch medicine', 'special forces medical handbook', 'barefoot doctor's manual' or 'where there is no doctor'. And $... ???? Textbook price reminds me of college.

Tactical Operational Medicine.......2002-02-03

Dr. De Lorenzo and Mr. Porter have written a very readable product on operational medicine. This is an area of medical practice that begs for more documentation, and this text is a good start. Although the information contained in the text leans heavily to the military operational side, there is a great deal of information useful to civilian Tactical services. Some of the opinions are a little controversial, but the authors take a stand and attempt to justify their opinions. Topic areas such as laser and microwave injuries are not available in other sources. The approach taken by these authors is very practical and useful from a clinical point of view. This book is a valuable addition to any emergency physician or paramedics library. I hope to see further editions with improvements.

Tactical EMS.......2001-11-23

This book is a blend of military medicine, tactical (as in law-enforcement/SWAT) EMS and state-of-the-art prehospital care. It achieves its stated goals of bringing the best of all these worlds to the medics in the trenches. Advanced techniques such as intubation and transport medicine are well-covered, while basic techniques such as manual carries are not overlooked. Particularly helpful are the sections on NBC/WMD, medication use and preparing patients for long transport.

Highly recommended for any emergency care provider desiring an in-depth look at tactical care.

Combat Casualty Care.......2001-09-28

Excellent textbook. Up-to-date, succinct and accurate, particularly for the military operator. Has value for civilian tactical medics, too. Techniques are current and reflect the authoritative refrences that are included at the end of each chapter. Strengths include the chapters on nuclear, biological and chemical casualties. The main weakness is the focus on military medics (this is the intent of book, according to the Forward and jacket). A must buy for anyone in the business!

Average customer rating:

disaster medicine
Disastermedicine
Excellent and Informative

Disaster Medicine
David E Hogan , and Jonathan L Burstein
Manufacturer: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0781762626

Book Description

Written by more than 30 emergency physicians with first-hand experience handling medical care during disasters, this volume is the only single comprehensive reference on disaster medicine. It provides the information that every emergency department needs to prepare for and handle the challenges of natural and manmade disasters. The contributors present guidelines for assessing the affected population's health care needs, establishing priorities, allocating resources, and treating individuals. Coverage encompasses a wide range of natural, industrial, technologic, transportation-related, and conflict-related disasters, with examples from around the world. This edition has more illustrations and more information on weapons of mass destruction and explosions.

Customer Reviews:

disaster medicine.......2002-11-05

This is the quintessential book for all practicing physicians. No where else can you find the total knowledge that can be found in this manual. Highly recommended!!!

Disastermedicine.......2002-10-12

This text represents the first scientificly based attempt to define the clinical practice of disaster medicine. Despite the underlying science it is easy to read and understand and should appeal to nonmedical readers as well. It is a must for anyone trying to understand the impact of disasters in our modern era.

Excellent and Informative.......2002-09-30

This book is very informative and a must have for anyone who wants to understand triage and disaster realted medicine! It is well written and easy to understand.

Aircraft Accident Analysis: Final Reports

Average customer rating:

Great reading
More descriptive than anything.
Aircraft Accident Analysis: Final Reports
Aircraft Accident Analysis
TRAPPED IN THE MIDDLE

Aircraft Accident Analysis: Final Reports
Robert Sumwalt , and Jim Walters
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0071351493

Book Description

Fascinating and factual accounts of the world’s most recent and compelling crashes

Industry insiders James Walters and Robert Sumwalt, trained aviation accident investigators and commercial airline pilots, offer expert analyses of notable and recent aircraft accidents in this eye-opening, lesson-filled case file. Culled from final reports issued by military and foreign government investigations, as well as additional research and resources, Aircraft Accident Analysis tells the final and full tales of doomed flights that stopped the world cold in their wake.

Technical accuracy and details, presented in layman’s language, help to clarify:

• Major accidents from commercial, military, and general aviation flights
• Pilot backgrounds and flight histories
• Chronology of events leading to each accident
• Description of aviation investigation process
• Insight into NTSB, military, and foreign government findings
• Resulting recommendations, requirements, and policy changes
• Preview summaries of accidents too recent for final reports are also highlighted.

Readable, authoritative, and complete, Aircraft Accident Analysis: Final Reports is at once an important reference tool and a riveting, what-went-wrong look at air safety for everyone who flies.

Featured final and preview reports include:

U.S. Air Force, U.S Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Jessica Dubroff, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Valujet Airlines 592, Everglades, Florida
American Airlines 955, Cali, Columbia
John Denver, Pacific Grove, California
Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Carrollton, Georgia
US Air 427, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TWA 800, Long Island, New York
Delta Air Lines, LaGuardia Airport, New York
John F. Kennedy, Jr., Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts

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Customer Reviews:

Great reading.......2007-01-05

I really enjoyed reading this detailed account of aviation mishaps. As a former pilot, I am fascinated with the causes of aircraft accidents. It is amazing how even the most experienced pilots can make fatal mistakes. This book on aircraft mishaps gives a very detailed account of each accident and the investigation. The pictures and graphics let you see how the accident happened and how it sometimes could have been avoided. If you like CSI, you would love this book.

More descriptive than anything........2006-09-18

This is a great book, if you want to expand your knowledge on Air Accidents, being a novice or professional you will enjoy it.

Ane of my favorites book of this year.

Aircraft Accident Analysis: Final Reports.......2006-03-20

It was exactly what it stated it would be. Perfect Service. Thank you!!

Bree Whittle

Aircraft Accident Analysis.......2006-02-23

A very interesting book providing a wealth of information on some well known aircraft accidents. I was especially interested in the commercial jet aircraft accident reports.

TRAPPED IN THE MIDDLE.......2001-08-07

It is very hard to get an interesting book about aircraft accidents without, at the same time, getting "yellow" in the analysis.

Book Description

Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Gregory Ciottone, and Associate Editors, Dr. Philip D. Anderson, Dr. Erik Auf Der Heide, Dr. Robert G. Darling, Dr. Irving Jacoby, Dr. Eric Noji, and Dr. Selim Suner, recognized worldwide as authorities in the field, bring you this brand-new reference, which offers comprehensive yet succinct guidance on the preparation, assessment, and management of a full range of disasters, both natural and man-made (including terrorist attacks and the threat of biological warfare). More than 200 contributors carefully outline the basics of disaster management and provide guidance on more than 100 specific disaster situations. Part 1 offers an A to Z source for information on every aspect of disaster medicine and management. Part 2 features an exhaustive compilation of every conceivable disaster event, organized to facilitate fast reference in a real-time setting. The second part of the book also serves as a quick consult on disaster medicine.

Customer Reviews:

The Definitive work on Disaster Medicine.......2006-04-06

I'm told this is the most comprehensive text in the field, period! And I know that it has been painstakingly assembled by the World's foremost experts in Disaster and Emergency Medicine. Wherever there has been a disaster - Dr. Ciottone has been there. The editor and contributor list reads like a who's who in Disaster Medicine. This will surely remain The Definitive work on Disaster Medicine for years. Whether you work in Emergency Medicine, the Military, public service or even as a parent, this is a must have. I love it!

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster

Average customer rating:

Profound and important
Frst hand accounts
This Book Will Break Your Heart
Voices from Chernobyl.
And You Think Hurricane Katrina Was A Disaster??

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster
Svetlana Alexievich
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312425848
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Book Description

Voices from Chernobyl is the first book to present personal accounts of what happened on April 26, 1986, when the worst nuclear reactor accident in history contaminated as much as three quarters of Europe. Svetlana Alexievich a journalist who now suffers from an immune deficiency developed while researching this bookinterviewed hundreds of people affected by the meltdown. Their narratives form a crucial document revealing how the government masked the event with deception and denial. Harrowing and unforgettable, Voices from Chernobyl bears witness to a tragedy and its aftermath in a book that is as unforgettable as it is essential.

Customer Reviews:

Profound and important.......2007-09-10

This book is a punch in the gut. There's no nicer way to say it. It's downright devastating. It's something that every single person should read. Even if you only know Chernobyl vaguely, two things are made painfully apparent by this book: whatever you've read about Chernobyl in the past has probably grossly underestimated the magnitude of the disaster; and the death and injury toll from the accident hasn't stopped yet. Not by a long shot.

In her quest to expose the human cost of Chernobyl, journalist Svetlana Alexievich presents three years' worth of interviews with a wide cross-section of individuals. Unlike most books about Chernobyl, the focus is on the people of Belarus, who were not evacuated as quickly as their southern neighbors in Ukraine. The breadth of the author's research is astounding. The reader meets the widow of one of the first responders to the Chernobyl accident, a young firefighter who arrived at the nuclear plant clad only in his street clothes and ended up suffering an agonizing death in a Moscow radiation ward only 14 days later. There are children who were evacuated from surrounding cities and parents of children who have died from radiation-related illnesses. There's a respected scientist who, learning of the Chernobyl disaster, made frantic calls to all the Soviet brass in Minsk he could think of, only to be ignored. There are elderly men and women who have returned to the Exclusion Zone to live in solitude, eating radioactive crops. There are liquidators who toiled for months shoring up the reactor's ruins, only to receive a medal, a certificate and a serious or terminal illness as thanks. There's even an ex-Soviet official who tries to justify the cover-ups surrounding the Chernobyl crisis.

No angle is ignored, and no detail, no matter how horrifying, is politely edited out. Alexievich allows her subjects to tell their stories honestly and frankly. Voices from Chernobyl presents a profound moment of truth for a situation that, for 20 years, has been seeped in denial and secrecy. Very highly recommended.

Frst hand accounts.......2007-08-28

Touching first hand accounts of the people effected by the fallout of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Accounts of how land and the popluation were forever devasted and chagned, how the Soviet government secretly handled the containment and clean up and blinded many who dutifully responded by withholding and not inforing of the danger. The first story of the wife of a fireman who was one of the first on scene and her pain as she watched him die was the most gripping account to me. First hand accounts tell of poeple who have remained in Chernobyl, the way the land once looked and now looks and the soldiers who were sent to guard and contain the site. Overall I did find the book touching and intereting but towards the end, I did find the stories somewhat redundant of the theme.

This Book Will Break Your Heart.......2007-07-27

This book brought tears to my eyes reading the stories that these people have gone through. One would have to be made of stone not to cry over all that these wonderful people have had to go through.

Stories of love, death, sickness,pain, despair, and the reality of what could happen here in the States if we ever had a nuclear accident like they did. We must not grow lax or lazy and think it could not happen here, because the truth of the matter is that it could happen here. This book has convinced me more than ever, that nuclear power is not something that I want us to pursue as an souce of energy in this country.

I believe that it is important that I pass this book on so that more people can read this book. I want as many people to read this book, so that they know the facts of what would happen if we had a nuclear accident here in the States.

Voices from Chernobyl........2007-04-02

This was not the book I was looking for but it was the book I read. Far from an historical recreation of the disaster, Voices from Chernobyl is a personal confessional, a lyric documentation of intense human emotions. Svetlana Alexiech presents each story without comment or judgement. It is a stream of conscoiusness, profoundly moving in the face of this 1986 nuclear disaster, the gross incompetence of the Soviet Government and failure to contain the radioactive contamination. The stories are of those who stayed, those who came to help, those who died and those who survived. Haunting, moving, emotional, revealing, shocking, sad and inspirational. This book will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

And You Think Hurricane Katrina Was A Disaster??.......2007-02-13

This book is a collection of stories, commentaries, and monologues from the people who lived and continue to live through the Chernobyl crisis. Their voices are simple and honest but come from the heart and clearly depict their hardship and suffering. Their voices also give portrayal to their culture which combines old world peasantry and Soviet collectivism that is clashing with an unexplainable, unseeable, and futuristic horror. It is this clash that renders the whole catastrophe so heartbreaking. That a simple, family oriented, agrarian society who have already lived through so much suffering be victim to such an accident is quite heartbreaking. And to make matters worse, the lack of education, support, protection, and management by the Soviet government is apalling. The failures of a socialistic bureacracy are quite apparent. After reading this book, I can clearly argue why nuclear technology should not be placed in the hands of governments such as Iran or North Korea who already have a record of irresponsibility. Allowing these countries to develop nuclear energy is like giving a three year old a loaded gun to play with. Well written and well deserving of the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award for non-fiction.

Hope in Hell: Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders

Average customer rating:

I couldn't put this book down
MSF brings hope tot he most unimagineable Hell
Very Good Book
impersonal and repetitive

Hope in Hell: Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders
Dan Bortolotti
Manufacturer: Firefly Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1554071429

Book Description

A fascinating and harrowing account of the men and women who struggle to improve the lives of people in desperate need.

Doctors Without Borders (also known as MÃ©decins Sans FrontiÃ¨res, or MSF) is arguably the best known humanitarian organization in the world. These professional men and women deliver emergency aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics and natural disasters as well as to many others who lack reliable health care. Each year, more than 2,500 volunteer doctors, nurses and other professionals join locally hired staff to provide medical aid and health care in more than 80 countries.

At the forefront of this organization and its work are the volunteer doctors and other health professionals who risk their lives to perform surgery, establish or rehabilitate hospitals and clinics, run nutrition and sanitation programs, and train local medical personnel. This book follows these men and women on location as they risk their own health, well-being and lives to treat patients in desperate need.

These engaging true stories with dramatic color photographs examine the lives of individual volunteer medical professionals from around the world who:

Perform emergency surgery in the war-torn regions of Africa and Asia
Treat the homeless in the streets of Europe
Understand cultural customs and societal differences that affect health care
Witness and report genocidal atrocities.

This new paperback edition is updated to include events that occurred following publication of the hardcover.

Hope in Hell chronicles the raucous founding of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the organization. If there is a horrific event, MSF will be there. This book tells why and how.

Customer Reviews:

I couldn't put this book down.......2007-09-06

This is an AMAZING book. It takes alot for a book to really captivate me, and Hope in Hell did so about a page into it. I recomend this book to everyone, whether your an avid reader into good stories, or wether your like myself and considering a career with the MSF.

The book makes sure to cover all jobs that you could fill with the organization, with the execption of working for one of their western offices. It covers job descroptions for water sanitation workers, Logistians (excuse my spelling), Nurses, Doctors, and Surgeons. I feel it is great for people considering work with the MSF because it gives you the full story through acounts from actual volunteers, not only does it tell you the nature of the feild work, but also the effect it has on people pschologically when they return home, and how they react once back in their "homes" (and how they realize their only home is with the MSF).

The book also spends time discussing the structural aspect of the organization as well as politics and Drug research.

I bought the book and couldn't put it down, a great read.

MSF brings hope tot he most unimagineable Hell.......2006-01-10

I am a grade 10 student who recently used this book for an english project. I found this book to be highly insightful of MSF thoughts, goals and ideas. The book painted a bold picture that sends a impactful image of our world. It sheds lights on many projects MSF is currently working on and also makes you think of these people who give their lives for strangers in order to provide life.
Technically, the book follows an understandable format and remains interesting throughout while covering a lot of information. Many perspectives are covered which gives the book added depth.

Very Good Book.......2005-08-02

This book really helped putting the finishing touches on my sister's research projects about doctors without borders, especially since many books don't offer as many insights and pictures as this one.

impersonal and repetitive.......2005-02-05

I would say that Hope in Hell is a good read and an interesting book but I have to say that the style is very impersonal, very repetitive, very introductory and does not do justice to the many MSF volunteers who were interviewed for the book.
It is impersonal because there is little more than a name and perhaps the country of origin given as the stories of volunteers are told. I read this book right after reading the Fast Food Nation in which the writer describes his interview subjects in a manner that enables the reader to have a mental picutre and develop a deep relationship with them.
Hope in Hell reads as an introductory piece of writting. Half way through the book I still thought I was reading the introductory chapter.
The sotries in this book were tragic and could've and should've been written in a heart wrenching style but the writer failed to write it so.
I would recommend it as a book to skim through but not a book worth purchasing and adding to your collection.

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