Book Review: Brotherhood of the Fin

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               Brotherhood of the Fin, by Gerald R. Hoover, is an autobiography by one of the

most decorated Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers in history. Hoover did a fantastic job describing

his part in the creation of rescue swimmers, his career as a rescue swimmer, and the evolution of

rescue swimmers. Hoover was one of the first rescue swimmers in the Coast Guard, and by the

end of his career, he was one of the best. As all did all of the rescue swimmers do, Hoover

attended the Navy Rescue Swimmer School because the coast guard didn't have one established

yet. This school was 8 weeks long, and grueling. Most people did not complete the school, but

he did. Not until a student died at the hands of the instructors did the coast guard set up a school.

Fresh out of the school, he was offered a position on the "Stan Team", standardization team,

which was the research branch of the rescue swimmer program. Hoover worked with skilled

people as they researched and tested new equipment. After leaving the Stan team, Hoover started

working as a rescue swimmer. Unfortunately, at the time, rescue swimmers with discouraged and

disliked, so Hoover did not see action at first. After the initial road block in the program, rescue

swimmers were starting to be used. Through the years Hoover completed save after save. He

described in the book that toward the end of career he felt like an 18 year old with 22 years

of experience, point being that time flied for Hoover. Hoover's main influences were his wife,

who understood the being inside of him that needed to save lives, despite the personal risk.

He was apart of the Katrina efforts, playing a huge role in the 33,500 survivors rescued in a few

weeks, and even met the President because of it. The amount of respect the Hoover has in the

Coast Guard is enormous, and surely cannot be met by anyone else.
         
              Gerald R. Hoover is the best definition of a hero I can think of. He would rather die

than fail at saving a life. It doesn't get any closer than that, his only fear in life is that he might fail,

and that is what made him that man he is today. He shares with the select 300 plus rescue

swimmers in the coast guard today, along with all of the retired rescue swimmers living normal

lives now.

              The theme of this book is sacrifice. Hoover would sacrifice his life for anyone else's.

That is the ultimate sacrifice. Hoover describes throughout the book that he would rather die

than to loose someone. That is also the theme for something else, a hero.

             This book was very powerful. Hearing their stories doesn't even come close to seeing

their own words. There is so much emotion with ever line of ink. I would recommend this book

to anyone. You will appreciate it as much as I did.

            I was curious as to how someone would become a rescue swimmer, so this is what I

found out. The whole process takes about a year. First, you must enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard,

where you will attend boot camp in Cape May, New Jersey. Upon graduation you must request

to become an AST, Aviation Survival Technician. Your name will them be put on a list, where

you will stay until acceptance to AST School in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. During this period

of wait you are put into a program called the Airman Program, where you are transferred to an

air station to train for the basics of being on base. This also provides the opportunity to build up

strength to help you prepare for AST School. After you get excepted into the school a whole

new phase starts. AST School is famous for its attrition rate being extremely high, meaning most

people drop out. The school is what separates out weak minded, for those are the ones who will

drop out. If you do somehow pass the school, only then do you know what it truly takes to

become a rescue swimmer. There is also Advanced Rescue Swimmer School in Cape

Disappointment, Oregon for rescue swimmers looking to acquire higher skills, and in depth

training of a variety of different types of rescues. 
 

Book Review: So Others May Live

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So Others May Live; Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers: Saving 
Lives, Defying Death, by Marth J. LaGuardia-Kotite is the best non-fiction book I have ever read. Each chapter is a new and exciting adventure. This book is about Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers, who risk their lives for complete strangers on the verge of death. This book covers 12 true, amazing, and inspiring stories of this country's forgotten heroes.
          This first story actually takes place in Sitka! On December 10, 1987 Jim Blades and his son Clint needed rescue during a brutal unforeseen storm. After pushing the helicopter to its limits, even despite several close calls, coast guard pilots and rescue swimmer Jeffry D. Trunks successfully rescued the father and son. Next, the book travels to Astoria, Oregon where Kelly Mogk rescued a crashed National Guard pilot in the Pacific Ocean. The guardsman was tangled in his parachute chords, but this didn't stop Mogk. The book remained in Oregon to cover a unique rescue because it took place in a cave! Where Tristan Heaton battled wave after wave to save a victim. The book moved East to Air Station Clearwater, Florida, where Daniel W. Edwards saved the crew of a fishing vessel during a hurricane-like storm. The next story takes place north at Niagara Falls where Erik Mueller and his crew rescued a tourist stuck in the strong currents headed right for the falls! He almost died himself, but he wouldn't give up. It paid off. Next, Dave Foreman rescued a crew of a tanker set ablaze. Mario Vittone saved a one-month year old and her family out of a tropical storm. Mike P. Thomas was the next subject when he saved 5 people from a flood in Virginia. The next courageous rescue took place 400 miles east of North Carolina. The H-30 Jawhawk helicopter that David Yoder rode in that day was involved in the longest SAR mission in Coast Guard history. The 800 mile round trip was staggering and only left 15 minutes to actually complete the mission in order even have a chance to return safely. With courage the crew completed the rescue and made history. Normally, you only see people jumping into a helicopter within seconds of an explosion in the movies, but it actually happened. John Green rescued 50 people from an oil rig off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico after a fire started. The rig was bound to blow anytime, but he stayed and saved everyone before even starting his own rescue. As the helicopter arrived Green knew he didn't have time to even wait for the helicopter to even land, so he ran and dove into it. Sure enough, seconds later the rig exploded into a fiery ball of flames. Returning to Alaska, this mission isn't one that you might expect to see from the Coast Guard. After a Cessna model plane crashed into a mountain near Amber Bay, Robert E. Watson was dispatched. After battling fog they were able to locate the plane. When the rescue swimmer reached the plane, he saw the gory aftermath. He located and saved a survivor, who he had to bring down the mountain. The last story is the efforts of multiple rescue swimmers after Katrina in 2005. The Coast Guard rescued over 7,000 survivors in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the U.S. of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Many rescue swimmer completed a life time worth of rescues in only 8 weeks. The Coast Guard was highly honored in their efforts in Katrina.
       On the outside, all of the characters in this book are different, but inside they are all the same people inside. Not just anyone can just become a rescue swimmer. They have to be diligent, and want to do it so bad that they will sacrifice themselves to get the job done. Being a rescue swimmer strains the body physically and mentally, therefore there is always two battles going on within the rescue swimmer. One, they have to push their bodies to limit and beyond. They can't give up, and if they do they could kill someone. Two, the have to fight the mentality that they cannot complete their mission. As soon as they start thinking this, they will fail. Rescue swimmers are faced with the most impossible question, there is no right answer! They have to decide who lives and who dies. To make these decisions and not let them interfere with their job takes a true hero. Not to mention the guilt that they might feel after the fact. Rescue swimmers are special. Special as in they will not let anything get in their way, not waves, not caves, not explosions, not even death knocking on the front door. Special as in they would do the job even if they didn't get paid. Special as in they care about the awards, the only recondition they want is a thank you. These people are amazing human beings.
       The theme in this book is diligence. Every one of the rescue swimmers in this book were truly dedicated, not only to their job, but to saving lives. Every story showed diligence in there own way. Whether it was not giving up on a victim, or having to give up on a victim. I think that especially in Katrina rescue swimmers showed diligence, 2-3 hours of sleep between saving hundreds of lives.
      I loved this book! It was so inspiring! The sacrifices these people make for strangers is incredible. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. One thing, make sure to stick it out in the beginning, until at least chapter 4. The first couple were a little bland, but around chapter 3 it started getting exciting. Make sure to read about the rescue swimmers at the end, it is very interesting!
      The rescue swimmer program had an extremely rough start. At the beginning in 1995, the initial program was kept hushed because people's reactions might ground the program before it even had a chance. Up to that point in the coast guard, rescues were either conducted by boat or pilots of the helicopter lowering the basket to the vessel. This was inefficient because if the basket couldn't reach the target they were forced to abandon the rescue. Rescue swimmers now secure people in the basket or hook them to their harness and pull them up. This increases the success rate from before the program enormously. Even though the swimmers were very valuable to rescues, at the beginning of the program swimmers were a last resort, and even discriminated upon assignment to a base. This seems idiotic in my view because at that point the swimmers were being trained at the Navy Rescue Swimmer School, which has a very excellent reputation, along with the navy swimmers. So, I think that people should have realized how valuable the swimmers were. Today, swimmers are essential in rescue operations, and save hundreds annually. It's hard to think how the coast guard conducted rescues before the rescue swimmer program! 

Book Review: Sweet Talk

1st picture found at: http://www.amazon.ca/Sweet-Talk-Julie-Garwood/dp/0525952861

2nd picture found at: http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2008/12/27/biggest-stock-investment-scam-in-history-stock-fraud-how-does-it-affect-us/

           Sweet Talk, by Julie Garwood, is a passionate, exhilarating, emotional novel about

trust andcourage. The main character is Olivia Mackenzie. Olivia spent her childhood in a

experimental cancertreatment program. She and four other girls in the program had to fight

through the treatment, whichwas agonizing and frequent. The group of girls named themselves

the Pips. This group would be bestfriends for life.
       
          Olivia had beaten the cancer! It was in remission, and as far as the doctors could see,

it would not return. Three of the other Pips had also obtained the same fate, but one was still

battling the relentless disease twelve years later.
       
         Through the whole ordeal at the experimental program, Olivia had not retained a

relationship with her family, except for her aunt Emma. These harsh and mixed feelings

continued to haunt her even all these years later.
       
        Olivia now works for the IRS as an attorney, and enjoys the job very much. The job

also gives her a skill which will be very helpful in putting away a powerful, but corrupt man.

See, Olivia's father is a very successful investor, and has made millions off of short term

companies, which had always gone bankrupt. Yet, Olivia's father walked away with a rapidly

increasing bank account. Olivia is sure that her father is running an elaborate ponzi scheme,

but of course there is no evidence. Not giving up,Olivia is determined to put her father away

behind bars.
       
         With the economy as bad as it is, Olivia is preparing for a budget cutback at her work.

Being a new employee, Olivia knows her job is threatened. So, Olivia puts finding a secure job

in case she is laid off from her current job. Eric Jourgson is the CEO of one of the biggest

investment firms in the country, and Olivia got an interview for a job with him. The interview

went well, until they started talking about Olivia's father. After expressing some of her personal

views on her father, Olivia has made Jourgson weary. Especially since her father is basically a

celebrity. Jourgson knew that the FBI is interested in him, and was convinced that Olivia was

wearing a wire and he and his bodyguard attacked her. Little did they know that there was a

current FBI sting operation under way on Jourgson. Agents stepped in and contained Jourgson.
       
       Agent Grayson Kincaid was leading the case. After interviewing Olivia, they begin the

process of trying to convict Jourgson, but they know his attorneys will delay the case.

      During this period in Olivia's life, her father's attorney has been threatening Olivia trying to

get her to stop investigating her father. This started with phone calls, and escalated to phone

calls to her boss trying to discredit her. When her boss received one of these phone calls, he

immediately discussed with Olivia what the man had brought up. After squaring things up with

her boss, she walked home from the cafe in which they met. Upon arriving at her apartment

building, she was gunned down. She escaped with with three bullet wounds. Olivia barely

survives, and the FBI comes back into play. Agent Grayson, who had taken a special liking to

Olivia, places protection on Olivia, because he know who

ever tried to kill her will probably try it again.

         Several months pass, and Olivia still has off duty cops at her apartment door. Grayson

and Olivia had begun to be very good friends. In fact, they start dating. With Grayson's

feelings for Olivia, he doesn't plan to let up the protection any time soon. An investigation is

still going on to find Olivia's shooter. The heat is rising, not only to find the criminal that shot

Olivia, but to finding evidence on he rfather's Ponzi scheme. One of her aunt Emma's friends

had become victim of her father, and is facing prison on money he invested in Olivia's father.

This man was in charge of money from a charity and Olivia's father had ensured him that if he

invests with him that his money will be secure. This of course was not true. Once again,

Olivia's father had ruined someone's life and only improved his. Olivia and her aunt team up

and hire one of the best fraud attorneys in the country.

       Olivia's father and his attorney do not like this. They have everything to gain, and

everything to loose, and the chances of them loosing everything are way too high. Out

of pure desperation, her father's attorney goes to try to kill her one last time. He is

prepared to die in the process. He knows he is done, and all he wants is take Olivia

down with him. He waits outside her apartment, until her and Grayson leave to go to

dinner. He jumped out of his car and started shooting, but before he could hither,

Grayson put a bullet through his heart.

       With Olivia's father exposed, and after things cool down, Olivia and Grayson marry.

Olivia's dreams had come true! She exposed her father for what he really was, and saved

her aunt's friend.Also, in the process she found true love that lasts till this day, and that

cannot be replaced.

       Olivia is the main character. She is a strong willed, stubborn, independent, beautiful,

intelligent,kind, and remarkable woman. She refuses to back down to help others, even

when her life is threatened. These qualities shouldn't be taken for granted, but they are.

Most people do not admire these traits, but Grayson did, mainly because he has obtained

the same ones. Grayson and Olivia are literally the perfect couple. Their kind hearts, and

longing to help others bring them together. Don't forget their chemistry! Grayson is the same

as Olivia, only in a man figure.

       The theme in this book is honesty. All Olivia wanted to do was make it known that her

father was not honest. She does this by being honest, and it almost gets her killed. This book

makes me realize that even if you're honest good things can happen to you. Olivia's father,

even though he had a luxurious life while it lasted, lost everything because he lied. Being

honest is very important, and you can succeed by doing so. No matter if the chance arises

to benefit from a lie, you mustn't give in. The theme in this book is honesty.

       This book was very fun to read! There were so many twists and turns it made my jaw

drop. Iadmire the research the author had to of done in order to write so many in depth

details about the ponzi scheme industry. The author wrote the book fantastically! She made

every detail count. Even the prologue had in depth details, so by the end of the book you

could remember it as though you had just finished it. Concluding, I would recommend this

to anyone. It was very fun to read, and I hope you agree!

        Julie Garwood had written many other books by the time she finished this book in 2011.

These include: The Ideal Man, Sizzle, Fire and Ice, Shadow Music, Shadow Dance, Slow 

Burn, Murder List, Killjoy, Mercy, Heartbreaker, Ransom, Come the Spring, The 

Clayborne Brides, The Wedding, For the Roses, Prince Charming, Saving Grace, 

Castles, The Secret, The Prize, The Gift, Guardian Angel, The Bride, The Lion's Lady, 

Honor's Splendour, Rebellious Desire, Gentle Warrior, A Girl Named Summer. Including

this book, she has written 29 novels. She is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, and has

received numerous awards for her writing. I can't wait till more of her work comes out!