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49 reviews for:
The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes
Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone
3.46 AVERAGE
49 reviews for:
The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes
Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone
3.46 AVERAGE
Worth the read!
I have wondered if this book was worth reading. Answer: It is! It's well-written and allows you to get to know the three men as young boys, adolescents, and then grown men. All three of them have different personalities and perspectives. Each part of the book highlights one man's view of his childhood, adulthood, and the life-changing event on that train. Pick up the book and dive in. I hope you appreciate it.
I have wondered if this book was worth reading. Answer: It is! It's well-written and allows you to get to know the three men as young boys, adolescents, and then grown men. All three of them have different personalities and perspectives. Each part of the book highlights one man's view of his childhood, adulthood, and the life-changing event on that train. Pick up the book and dive in. I hope you appreciate it.
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
‘Because of their courage, because of their quick thinking, because of their teamwork…a lot of people were saved and a real calamity was averted. They represent the very best of America, American character and you know, it’s these kinds of young people who make me extraordinarily optimistic and hopeful about our future.’
Barack Obama, President of the United States
‘In the name of France, I would like to thank you. The whole world admires your bravery. It should be an example to all of us and inspire us. You put your lives at risk in order to defend freedom. You gave us a lesson in courage, in will, and thus in hope. Faced with the evil called terrorism there is a good, that is humanity. You are the incarnation of that.’
François Hollande, President of France
‘The book is written with humanity and honesty. It is a story not about Hollywood action heroes, but about three ordinary young men who rose to an extraordinary challenge and saved their own lives and those of the passengers on the 15.17 to Paris.’
Law Institute Journal
Barack Obama, President of the United States
‘In the name of France, I would like to thank you. The whole world admires your bravery. It should be an example to all of us and inspire us. You put your lives at risk in order to defend freedom. You gave us a lesson in courage, in will, and thus in hope. Faced with the evil called terrorism there is a good, that is humanity. You are the incarnation of that.’
François Hollande, President of France
‘The book is written with humanity and honesty. It is a story not about Hollywood action heroes, but about three ordinary young men who rose to an extraordinary challenge and saved their own lives and those of the passengers on the 15.17 to Paris.’
Law Institute Journal
This is an excellent book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
challenging
tense
medium-paced
This book was simultaneously hard to put down and difficult to read.
As a sensitive reader, the brutality of the fight that prevented the terrorist attack was tough reading, as well as the boys' childhood of fascination with guns and battle.
But the friendship and bravery of the boys and the series of events that lead them to the right place at the right time kept me reading.
I appreciated how they discussed their unexpected overnight fame and how that affected each of them differently.
As a sensitive reader, the brutality of the fight that prevented the terrorist attack was tough reading, as well as the boys' childhood of fascination with guns and battle.
But the friendship and bravery of the boys and the series of events that lead them to the right place at the right time kept me reading.
I appreciated how they discussed their unexpected overnight fame and how that affected each of them differently.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
This book tells the story of three boyhood friends that grew up and reconnected for a trip across Europe. Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone (a member of the United States Air Force), and Alek Skarlatos (a member of the Oregon National Guard) stopped a terrorist named Ayoub El-Khazzani when he boarded a passenger train determined to commit as many murders as possible. He had a pistol, AK-47, and a box cutter. His motivation was to attack American travelers and get revenge for bombings in Syria. Stone was cut in the neck, hand, and head with the box cutter, while subduing the man with a chokehold. Skarlatos whacked him in the head with his weapon they took from him to help subdue him. Other passengers stepped in to tie him up until they reached the train station for police to take custody. Stone saved a passenger that had been shot by shoving his fingers in the guys neck to stop the bleeding until they were able to get an ambulance, which he did despite his injuries. Ayoub El-Khazzani was given a lifetime deportation from France, and a sentence of life imprisonment. All of the men who stepped in to subdue him were made Knights of the Legion of Honour. This was a good book about how troublemaking kids eventually grew up and made good lives for themselves, and helped out so many people by being men of action and character. I liked this book a lot, and when I finished it, I watched the film.
this book is aggressively average
my major critiques are
-why was this written in third person, it bugged the hell out of me
-so?many?rhetorical?questions?
-this book does this thing where it repeats itself by rephrasing what the previous sentence says.
extraordinary dudes tho.
my major critiques are
-why was this written in third person, it bugged the hell out of me
-so?many?rhetorical?questions?
-this book does this thing where it repeats itself by rephrasing what the previous sentence says.
extraordinary dudes tho.
This would be an engaging read even if i didn't know it's a true story.
The main event, the attack on the train, is narrated in small chunks separated by the lives of the three heroes, both before and after the event, creating a sense of suspense that is pure writing skill, a truthfullness to the story that goes beyond the fact that it actually is a true story. The firsthand experiences of each of the three heroes are more than a description of events, because the events are barely narrated, the reader is given the engaging task of reconstructing the truth while the narrators are as unreliable as can be. I wish I read it without knowing the story, or even without knowing it's a memoir, highly recommended.
The main event, the attack on the train, is narrated in small chunks separated by the lives of the three heroes, both before and after the event, creating a sense of suspense that is pure writing skill, a truthfullness to the story that goes beyond the fact that it actually is a true story. The firsthand experiences of each of the three heroes are more than a description of events, because the events are barely narrated, the reader is given the engaging task of reconstructing the truth while the narrators are as unreliable as can be. I wish I read it without knowing the story, or even without knowing it's a memoir, highly recommended.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-paced