Thunder Dog

Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson

I don't mean this in any sort of negative way, but I am fascinated with blindness.  I have two blogs I follow written by blind women and I respect and admire both of them very much: I frequently talk about both of them and appreciate the perspective they give me on life (theirs is a whole new way of seeing things).  One of these women recommended the book Thunder Dog, and I made it cover to cover in about 48 hours while in Disneyland (my poor husband stood next to me in lines while I had my nose in a book).

Thunder Dog is the remarkable story of a man named Michael and his guide dog, Roselle, who were on the 78th floor of the South Tower when it was hit on 9/11.  Through the teamwork so typical of a guide team, the two of them descended all the stairs together and survived the incident.

I appreciated that the book was written with the intention of educating the general public about blindness; I've learned a lot from following these blogs and grabbed even more insight from this book.  After a brief introduction to the situation, Michael walks you through his memories as he descends the stairs, so that most of each chapter tells about his life to date and the last page or two give an update on the "current status" in escaping the tower.  If you were to read the book hoping for a comprehensive view of 9/11 you may be disappointed, but I loved looking into his life and finding out about growing up blind (he rode his bike by clicking his tongue to hear where cars, houses, and other obstacles were).

My only complaint about Thunder Dog comes after the story has finished: for the sake of education he includes several additional "chapters" about blindness, including an essay suggesting that blindness is comparable to being left-handed: a nuisance, but far from debilitating.  The essay is excellent, and very well written, but shows fragmentation amongst the blind community about how blindness should be viewed.  I was personally frustrated that a book about unity, teamwork and achieving a common goal ended on such a note and would recommend that in future reprints the essay be removed.

Aside from that, Thunder Dog was a great, quick read, one that I think will fill many with hope about the future.