No One’s Coming is the compelling and page-turning story of Phoenix Air and their heroic and risky rescue of two American medical workers in West Africa stricken with Ebola.
No One’s Coming: The Rogue Heroes Our Government Turns to When There’s Nowhere Else to Turn by Kevin Hazzard
Genre/Categories/Setting: Narrative Nonfiction, Aviation, Engineering, Rescue, Infectious Disease (Ebola), West Africa
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My Summary:
No One’s Coming is the compelling and page-turning story of Phoenix Air and their heroic and risky rescue of two American medical workers in West Africa stricken with Ebola. A race against time.
My Thoughts:
Risky rescue and a race against time!
What’s to Love About Narrative Nonfiction?
My favorite form of nonfiction is narrative nonfiction, i.e., compelling nonfiction that reads like a story. A few favorite titles include The Woman They Could Not Silence, Killers of the Flower Moon, Family of Spies, The Boys in the Boat, and The Boys of Riverside. Do you enjoy narrative nonfiction?
In No One’s Coming, we follow a rogue airline and its pilots who take on the challenges that other airlines wouldn’t consider. They are risk-takers and trailblazers. To rescue medical personnel who have Ebola, they must invent and build a secure containment system that would fit inside a small plane and hope it works. The team also faces bureaucracy and fear. The situation becomes dire when they are in the air with their Ebola patient and are refused entry into the U.S. They haven’t taken all these risks to accept “no.”
Ethical concerns drive this risky mission: Can we as Americans leave other Americans behind. Do we have an obligation to help fellow Americans who have risked their lives to help humanity?
Will They Win This Race Against Time?
One of the most compelling aspects of the story is the race against time. Can the airline invent and engineer safe transportation conditions for Ebola patients (and pilots) in time to save their lives? Can they secure permission to land at various airports? What about the fear factor that they face at every moment of the mission? Will the two seriously ill American patients hold out long enough for rescue and treatment? What experimental treatment is even available for them?
Would You Participate in a Risky Rescue?
I predict that you’ll enjoy reading about this unique airline, its dedicated pilots, and the complicated and risky rescue mission.
If you had the skills, at what point would you participate in a risky mission/rescue? Medical professionals risk their health to treat COVID patients. Firefighters and police officers accept the risks of their jobs every day. The pilots of Phoenix Air thrive on risky missions and challenges that others wouldn’t consider. Is there a certain personality or temperament required for these professions? Do you think you have this ability? Are you impressed with people who do?
How Do You Feel About Bringing Highly Contagious Diseases to American Soil?
Would you have been among the protestors as Phoenix Air brought the first Ebola patients to the U. S.? Do you feel the U. S. should rescue Americans who are in danger of losing their lives after volunteering for humanitarian missions around the world when it could mean bringing contagious diseases to our own shores? How concerned should Americans be about Ebola in West Africa?
Content Consideration: Medical content (the ravages of Ebola are graphically described in the book)
Recommending No One’s Coming:
I highly recommend No One’s Coming for fans of narrative nonfiction and risky rescues, and for those concerned about contagious diseases. It’s a relevant, compelling, and page-turning account. This will be on my best-of-the-year list.
My Rating: 4 Stars
Meet the Author of No One’s Coming, Kevin Hazzard
KEVIN HAZZARD is a journalist, TV writer, and former paramedic. His first book, A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back, was published in 2016. He now writes for film and TV, with work produced by Hulu, CBS, ABC, and Universal. His journalism has been published at 99% Invisible, the Atavist, Men’s Journal, Creative Loafing, Atlanta Magazine, and elsewhere. He does medical relief work through Global Response Medicine and is a sought-after voice on emergency medicine. He lives in Atlanta.
QOTD:
Do you enjoy Narrative Nonfiction?
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This sounds fascinating Carol.
It’s a memorable story!
Yes, absolutely, I love Erik Larsen’s stuff.