Michael Hingson and roselle his guide dog are in one of the towers hit by an airplane. They must escape the building and walk down stairs from the 78th floor; oner 1000+ steps to fresh air and a chance to get away from the carnage, but the towers collapse and Michael, Roselle, and a friend must run for their lives as shattering glass and steel falls to the ground. Life as it was will never be the same again.

Their normal day turns into hours of terror but Roselle is calm and Michael trusts her so stays calm. He is able to help people. Roselle continues to guide him and eventually they barely escape;peinto the street. After long hours of staying in New York waiting for transportation to resume Michael and Roselle finally head for home.

The next few days are fraught with reality as he and his wife try to regain some normalcy. Eventually Michael and Roselle find a new purpose and begin sharing their experience of survival giving talks all over the country.

Readers interested in true stories, biographies, dogs, action/adventure, and blindness will enjoy this book. History enthusiasts and interest in the tower attacks also will derive pleasure in reading this book. This book gives a unique perspective from a blind persons point of view.

Michaels point of view shows the reader what it was like to experience the attack at the tower through sound, smell, touch, taste, and emotion. There are no visual examples. I was able to understand more about the conditions.

It was difficult to read about the people who were injured and killed because of this attack.

I would have liked to know Roselle and give her a pat. She was a fantastic guide dog who worked under very difficult situations that many dogs wouldn't have been able to endure even some guide dogs.

I felt as if I knew Michael and Roselle, understood the trials of getting out of the building, and had in unique view of the events. This book is like no other because the others were written with a visual point of view as part of the story.

The writing style is like having Michael sitting with me and telling his story and roselle.

Reading this book shows the events from a unique perspective, how guide dogs work, and the events so that it feels like a person is in the situations.

If tragedy is upsetting, Get some tissue and at least give this book a try. The reader learns about being blind from Michaels point of view, dog guides, survival, and finding a future after this dramatic event.

Additional information is at the back of the book about resources for the blind, dog guides, terminology/nomenclature, and other interesting topics. I enjoyed reading this book because it showed me details I never knew about when the towers collapsed.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero   from Amazon.Com!

Created Mar 30, 2024 at 12:48am • Submit your own review...