PEN / ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing (2015 LONGLIST)“[P]erversely entertaining... In a truly intoxicating read that was hard to put down; Matt Higgins has managed to make real a world about as far removed from daily life as it gets.†--Daily Beast "Matt Higgins cracks open this astonishingly dangerous sport and captures the spectacular adrenaline surges it delivers."--The Wall Street Journal "[R]iveting... a must-read. A highflying; electrifying story of a treacherous sport in which every triumph is an eye blink away from becoming a disaster." --Kirkus (STARRED) A heart-stopping narrative of risk and courage; Bird Dream tells the story of the remarkable men and women who pioneered the latest advances in aerial exploration—from skydiving to BASE jumping to wingsuit flying—and made history with their daring. By the end of the twentieth century BASE jumping was the most dangerous of all the extreme sports; with thrill-seeking jumpers parachuting from bridges; mountains; radio towers; and even skyscrapers. Despite numerous fatalities and legal skirmishes; BASE jumpers like Jeb Corliss of California thought they had discovered the ultimate rush. But all this changed for Corliss in 1999; when; high in the mountains of northern Italy; he and other jumpers watched in wonder as a stranger—wearing a cunning new jumpsuit featuring “wings†between the arms and legs—leaped from a ledge and then actually flew from the vertiginous cliffs. Drawing on intimate access to Corliss and other top pilots from around the globe; Bird Dream tracks the evolution of the wingsuit movement through the larger than life characters who; in an age of viral video; forced the sport onto the world stage. Their exploits—which entranced millions of fans along the way—defied imagination. They were flying; not like the Wright brothers; but the way we do in our dreams. Some dared to dream of going further yet; to a day when a wingsuit pilot might fly; and land; all without a parachute. A growing number of wingsuit pilots began plotting ways in which a human being might leap from the sky and land. A half dozen groups around the world were dedicated to this quest for a “wingsuit landing;†conjuring the pursuit of nations that once inspired the race to first summit Everest. Given his fame as a stuntman; the brash; publicity-hungry Corliss remained the popular favorite to claim the first landing. Yet Bird Dream also tracks the path of another man; Gary Connery—a forty-two-year-old Englishman—who was quietly plotting to beat Corliss at his own game. Accompanied by an international cast of wingsuit devotees—including a Finnish magician; a parachute tester from Brazil; an Australian computer programmer; a gruff hang-gliding champion-turned-aeronautical engineer; a French skydiving champion; and a South African costume designer—Corliss and Connery raced to leap into the unknown; a contest that would lead to triumph for one and nearly cost the other his life. Based on five years of firsthand reporting and original interviews; Bird Dream is the work of journalist Matt Higgins; who traveled the world alongside these extraordinary men and women as they jumped and flew in Europe; Africa; Asia; and the Americas. Offering a behind-the-scenes take on some of the most spectacular and disastrous events of the wingsuit movement; Higgins’s Bird Dream is a riveting; adrenaline-fueled adventure at the very edge of human experience.
#1268736 in Books 2010-09-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 11.10 x .80 x 8.70l; 2.95 #File Name: 1592642861255 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Get this and the one on the MishnahBy Marc ZuckerThese are both great books; cannot recommend them enough. I read the first of these; the one on the Mishnah; and had to get this one as well. They are published by different companies; but they look identical in their formatting and quality. They can be given as a gift together; but I do not think that they are sold as a set.6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. The rabbi offers his view of the TalmudBy Israel DrazinRabbi Berel Wein; one of the leading and highly respected figures of Orthodox Jewry; a man with a large following; offers his readers his understanding of the Talmud and the history of the sages mentioned in it. The book is filled with beautiful pictures of artifacts that existed during the first millennium. The beginning of each chapter has a summary of the dates and relationships to teachers; colleagues; students; and relatives of the sage being discussed.Rabbi Wein teaches that God revealed the written Torah at Sinai with an Oral Torah that explains it. He writes that God kept the Oral Torah unwritten as a special gift to the Jewish people to differentiate them from non-Jews. He states that the Oral Torah was developed further after Sinai; but all of the developments are grounded in the words of the written Torah. Much of this Oral Torah is in the Talmud.He describes the lives of the seven generations of sages; called Amoraim; "interpreters;" who are mentioned in the Talmud. He writes that these Amoraim lived from around 200 CE until the Talmud was completed about 500 CE. He tells the lives of the principle Amoraim; about their families; upbringing; social conditions; jobs; struggles; and ideas. He depicts the conditions of Israel; Babylonia; and nearby countries. He includes dozens of interesting tales that could be understood as true facts or as legends; parables; and sermons.He informs us; for example; that when the third century sage Rav; the first of the Amoraim; came to Israel from Babylonia; the Israeli crops blossomed in his honor. He includes stories such as the talmudic depictions of what occurred in heaven after sages died. He gives the account of Rabbi Yochanan reviving a dead person. Readers who consider these anecdotes impossible could understand them as metaphoric parables. For example; the statement about the blossoming could be read as the joy felt by the people in Israel; the after-death scenes the good thoughts that people had about the deceased; and the reviving of the dead man might suggest that Rabbi Yochanan's teachings inspired his student to a new understanding of a problem that changed his life.
