Just reading the contents tells what's in store: "Ditching at Sea," "Python!" "Just Desert," "Capital of Chaos," "Buried..." Likewise, the tone of this book is evident on every skillfully crafted page. From "Chimney Rock" by Peter Potterfield: "My left arm hung at a bizarre angle. My left leg was twisted outward and throbbing." From "Baja Bites Back" by Graham Mackintosh: "I began psyching myself up to use the Radio Distress Beacon. Would anyone pick it up?" From "Hyena" by Joanna Greenfield: "No sterilization? Who cares? I was alive." From "The Killing of the Catsiburere" by Leonard Clark: "The closest savages drew back their right arms, but did not throw their saw-edged spears...."

A book to be encountered in small doses, Danger! is an armchair guide to pain, suffering, and anguish. A thrilling read from the comfort of a well-heated home. --Byron Ricks

Product Description

All of the essays support Tim Cahill's assertion in the introduction to the book: "danger is entirely about mortality. It is an elucidation and illumination of the final mystery of human experience, a matter, if you will, of life and death."

The essays divide themselves into four sections each of which emphasize different situations. The protagonists either willingly place themselves into dangerous situations or involuntarily are faced with daunting encounters. In the first section entitled "dangerous territory" the emphasis is on the geographical location where a possible disaster is averted. We read about such encounters as a war correspondent in Bosnia who, if he makes one wrong move, is a "goner," A couple living in Zambia who are attacked by some local thugs, a Python wrapping itself around someone's body, a face-to-face meeting with a bear in Alaska.

The second and third sections, which are called "going to the edge" and "heart of darkness," recount adventure tales where the principal characters actually seek out dangerous situations or are exposed to the darker side of man's behaviour towards his fellow human being. Mountain climbers who endeavour to climb the highest peak in the former Soviet Union, Mt. Communism, are faced with an avalanche as well as the falling into a coma of one of their co-climbers; a medical doctor treating the casualties resulting from the savage war being waged between the "Hutu"-and the "rebels"- Tutsi;

The final section entitled "crossing to safety" is a philosophical essay that addresses when something inside of us says, "it is time to quit" or as the author states, "get down, there is danger here, and it does not serve."

Each one of these stories is written in a different style, yet they all have the same underlining theme. The reader is constantly shaking his head and saying to himself "oh no!" After reading all of the 28 tales, we are left with the impression that it certainly takes a very special individual to withstand some of the various experiences that are exposed in the book. It also makes you ask the question why seek out danger! What is it that seduces a traveller to go out of his way to experience terrifying encounters?

Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com


Suprisingly Gripping   October 6, 2003
I try to stay away from cheap thrills, and quick fixes. So when I picked this book up, I told myself that I would only read two pages, and if I got bored, it was going back. It took 2 paragraphs and I was hooked.

Each short story is a true account of harrowing danger. The writing is excellent. You don't expect professional adventurers to write well, but they do; And they keep you in it. Each story starts climaxing within 3 pages, so you're on literal adrenalin high almost all the way through the book. I really enjoyed the book and will keep on the lookout for others in the series.

Recommended when you need to kill an hour.


Jack into a world of danger and taste the mind of evil.   April 11, 2002
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Travelers' Tales Danger takes you on a tour of Danger's world. My favorite story in the book is Blademaster. Learn that when faced with a knife wielding attacker that must say to yourself, "today I must bleed a little." Discover the insanity in Rwanda, encounter the hoods of America and the hoodlums of England. I also learned how terrifying it must be to fly in the dark and not know whether you are going up or down. Whether you want to climb perilous crevasses or play with Stinger missles, this book has something for all those looking to safely jack into the violent and dangerous world around them.