There is an unexpected irony that comes with publishing a book. You spend years scouring the Earth for stories; then the book comes out, and the stories start coming to you.
All summer, people from all over the world have been sending me unforgettable stories of human behavior in near-death experiences. Some of these stories arrived in private email messages that I can’t share; others are embedded in the comments on this site; and many more are floating in the ether, in blogs, articles and on TV. Check out this TV News segment that aired last…
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Here’s my latest TIME article about the new developments in the anthrax case. The FBI has released a slew of documents related to the case. And they make a compelling case for why Bruce Ivins was a suspect in the attacks.
But just as revealing as the documents are what the FBI did not release. We still do not know any details of the mysterious and fantastic new science that the government says it used to link the anthrax used in the attacks to anthrax used by Ivins. We…
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I just got back from Frederick, MD, the town that has become the epicenter of the anthrax investigation. (Twice!) The latest developments in this strange and seemingly endless mystery are dizzying to the point of nauseating.
Basically, the FBI’s latest suspect killed himself last week in Frederick, before any charges had been filed. So the story broke before the feds were ready to go public. The end result was a great, gaping void. While the FBI waited to get clearance to make its evidence public, reporters speculated, officials leaked and scientists…
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Exactly one year ago, Minneapolis’ Interstate 35W bridge crumpled into a heap, killing 13 people and injuring 100.
What has happened since? A few states, including Minneapolis, have mustered all their courage and made serious investments in their aging infrastructure. But no state has the money to do what needs to be done. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell managed to push through a $350 million bond issue. But, as he recently told CBS News, he needs $80 billion more. “There is no way on this good God’s earth that Pennsylvania alone…
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The emergency landing of the Qantas Boeing 747 in Manila yesterday reminded me of how little most of us know about what it actually feels like to be in a rapid decompression. So I did a story on this for Time.com, with help from Todd Curtis, a former safety analyst at Boeing whose web site, airsafe.com, is an extremely helpful resource for anyone who is afraid of flying.
I recommend checking out this footage from inside the cabin for a classic example…
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Just got word that The Unthinkable will be published in Korea by DD World, in Portugal by Oficina do Livro and in Russia by Eksmo. I am flattered, though I suspect this has less to do with me than with the shared sense that disasters are a threat—and a bit of a mystery still—in every part of the world. (That and the fact that Crown’s Karin Schulze, who has been handling the foreign rights, is a tireless, passionate advocate for the book, for which I am eternally grateful.)
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I just got back from the one conference I go to every year. About 400 disaster experts get together near Boulder, Colo., and consider the country’s hazardscape.
Each time, there is a lot of lamentation about all the deaths and losses that could have been avoided from the year gone by. ("Natural disaster” is not a phrase you hear in that crowd, since they know most disasters could be turned into mere emergencies with foresight and money.) It’s a thoughtful, passionate group of academics and government types who are well-accustomed to suppressing their rage.
…
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The Unthinkable has officially launched in the US and the UK, and I’m proud and relieved to report that the reviews have been generous and positive so far. From O Magazine to FOX News to the Times of London, people have been captivated by the storytelling and the science in the book, just like I was while working on it. I have thought for a long time that this was a strangely unexamined part of the human condition, so it’s nice to see that other people agree.
Just as importantly, I’ve gotten a lot of thoughtful…
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