CRAZY FOR STORM: A Memoir of Survival (P.S.) - Softcover

Ollestad, Norman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 006176678X ISBN 13: 9780061766787

Publisher: EccoPress, 2010

Synopsis

"Breathtaking....Crazy for the Storm will keep you up late into the night."
--Washington Post Book World

Norman Olstead's New York Times bestselling memoir Crazy for the Storm is the story of the harrowing plane crash the author miraculously survived at age eleven, framed by the moving tale of his complicated relationship with his charismatic, adrenaline-addicted father. Destined to stand with other classic true stories of man against nature--Into Thin Air and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer; Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm--it is a literary triumph that novelist Russell Banks (Affliction) calls, "A heart-stopping story beautifully told....Norman Olstead has written a book that may well be read for generations."

About this title

Review:

"Tragic and exotic ...[with] short, punchy chapters and...nonstop emphasis on adrenaline-fueled excitement."--Janet Maslin, New York Times

"Engrossing...Ollestad hits several notes that should make his memoir irresistible to those looking for page-turning but thought-provoking summer reading along the lines of Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air (1997)...Deep and resonant."--Kirkus Reviews

"Never a dull moment....[Ollestad has] written a beautiful story about a thrill-loving father -- 'the man with the sunshine in his eyes'-- who taught his boy not just how to live, but how to thrive."--Houston Chronicle

"A heart-stopping adventure that ends in tragedy and in triumph, a love story that fearlessly explores the bond between a father and son and what it means to lead a life without limits."--Susan Cheever

"Riveting."--Entertainment Weekly

"At times beautiful, at times heart-wrenching, Crazy for the Storm is a commanding read--a tale that proves the power of the human spirit can rise against any challenge, and a father's legacy can be more than he imagines.--BookPage

"Cinematic and personal . . . Ollestad's insights into growing up in a broken home and adolescence in southern California are as engrossing as the story of his trip down the mountain."--Chicago Tribune

"As much a thriller as a memoir . . . gorgeously written, perfectly controlled."--Carolyn See

"Breathtaking...A portrait of a father's consuming love for his son, Crazy for the Storm will keep you up late into the night."--Washington Post Book World

"An elegant memoir as well as a transformative coming-of-age tale. When he leaves his father's limp body behind on the icy plateau--giving it a final kiss and caress as it's claimed by the snow--Ollestad takes his first perilous steps not just into survival, but into adulthood."--New York Post

From the Back Cover:

A riveting and moving memoir, written in crisp Hemingwayesque prose and set amid the wild, uninhibited surf culture of Malibu and Mexico in the late 1970s

From the age of three, Norman Ollestad was thrust into the world of surfing and competitive downhill skiing by the intense, charismatic father he both idolized and resented. Yet it was these exhilarating tests of skill that ultimately saved his life when the chartered Cessna carrying them to a ski championship ceremony crashed 8,000 feet up in the California mountains, leaving his father and the pilot dead. The devastated eleven-year-old Ollestad had to descend the treacherous, icy mountain alone.

Crazy for the Storm is a powerful and unforgettable true story that illuminates the complicated bond between an extraordinary father and his extraordinary son.

About this edition

• Publisher: EccoPress
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 006176678X
• ISBN 13: 9780061766787
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304