U R Frentless, £12.99
Nine Eleven: A Life Transformed
An Everyman Discovers the Hero Inside
himself.
By Philip Waterford
04 September 2003
On one unforgettable September day in 2001 the world
changed forever. For some, that change was more personal
than others. 'Ordinary' People found that they could do
'extraordinary' things. One such man was Philip Waterford.
In this touchingly written book, Philip explains how he
transformed himself from a humble retail assistant at a
large DIY store to someone capable of rigging up essential
communications links to help get information to the
outside world.
An extract follows:
"I wasn't in the immediate vicinity of the Twin
towers when the first plane struck but I was soon aware.
It was a slow day in the store and one of the girls on the
information desk was listening to her radio when it was
announced. She screamed out to everyone and we were
chilled to the bone. Even though we weren't in a position
to offer immediate help (being in Milton Keynes, UK at the
time) I knew we would need to do something to help the
flow of information. I grabbed a portable TV from aisle 6
and an E-Z Install Home Antenna kit and rushed up to the
staff room. Next thing, I was hanging out of the window
finding the best position for the aerial on the ledge
whilst the guys in the staff room told me if the picture
of the BBC news was getting clearer. It took what seemed
like hours to find the right spot but it must have only
been minutes (seconds even?) as 'Thank God' we were in
time to watch the second plane hit and didn't miss another
thing for hours...."
Thankfully, harrowing events like this are rare but
when they come they often makes heroes of the most
unlikely people. In this earnest account, Philip speaks
for a little piece of the hero inside each of us and how
we can perform under the most stressful circumstances. At
only £12.99 for 840 pages this book represents outstanding
value for money and has a bonus section at the end in
which Philip describes his techniques for facing up
litre tins of Emulsion.
Bunce Rating:
Review by Quentin Davies-Cheswick. |
