Six-word review: Marathon bombing: stories behind the story.

Extended review:

Is the age of scrupulous editing gone forever? Is everyone now his own gatekeeper? Does the rush to market trump all other considerations?

Certainly the release of this work is timely, coinciding as it does not only with the second anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing but also with the rendering of a verdict and sentence in the trial of the surviving Tsarnaev brother, which is, as I write, still under jury deliberation. No doubt there was pressure to bring out the book while the topic is still hot in the news. It wouldn't be the first time that speedy coverage of a tragedy or a disaster was strongly motivated.

But writing about difficult subject matter--terrorism, blood, loss, death--does not exempt an author from ordinary care; in fact, in my opinion the authors of such material should go to extra lengths to honor the subject with exceptional attention to every single aspect of the project. For the same reason, out of respect for the individual and collective victims of the atrocity of April 15, 2013, the authors don't get a pass from me.

The structure of the book is basically chronological, with considerable lateral spread. In each phase, before, during, and after the explosions, we're shown closeups of numerous individuals: a sampling of spectator-victims, first responders, and public officials as well as perpetrators. We read about who they are, their background, how they came to be where they were at that day and time, their experience during and immediately following the attack, and what happened to them afterward.

What makes the preliminaries compelling is only that we know what's coming. If it weren't for the awareness that all of those profiled were going to be involved somehow in the impending catastrophe, the long (seeming much longer than it actually is) series of sketches would seem disconnected and pointless. As it is, though, there are so many, across such a spectrum, from small children, out-of-town runners, and street cops to top public officials, that it's hard to remember who many of them are when things start to happen.

This is one of several ways in which an index would have been helpful, but there isn't one.

Granted, once the bombs go off and everything starts to move very fast, that would be the wrong time in terms of pacing to stop and fill in the biographical data for either the major players or those who have been singled out to represent larger groups, such as racers and firefighters. And it's the personal perspective that brings this terrifying story into close focus, making it a matter of people, not numbers--real people who might have been us or our friends, out to enjoy a traditional event on a beautiful spring day in our hometown or adopted city. Or--is it conceivable?--out to seek attention for a cause and revenge for centuries of perceived injustice. Figuring out how to handle such material appropriately is a job for a pro.

Which is what the two authors are, according to the cover blurb: veteran journalists with apparently respectable professional credentials.

So why, then, one wonders, is the book positively riddled with the sort of errors that your high school English teacher would have marked in your essays? They start right in on page 1 with "hearty" (warm-hearted, cordial, jovial) where the word should be "hardy" (sturdy, strong, enduring); the same misuse is repeated on page 5.

I noted down more than a hundred instances of problems ranging from poor word choices and sloppiness to outright, provable errors. My list of citations is very long. I put most of them in my draft of this review; now I'm doing readers a favor and taking them out. Instead I'll settle for just these few:

Spelling errors

• We have 46 instances of "Dzhokhar" (correct) and 14 of "Dhzokhar" (incorrect; e.g., 63, 134, 162), and even a Dhokhar (165). Also, we see "Dzhokhar" hyphenated between the z and the h, not just once but several times. You can't do that. It's one sound. That's like hyphenating "marathon" between the t and the h.

Stale, cliché-ridden language

• He was under heavy fire and was a sitting duck. (169)

Misquotes

• Whether or not Captain John Parker actually said the famous words on the nineteenth of April in 1775 is immaterial; the fact is, they're carved on a rock on Lexington Green: "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." The book quotes this incorrectly (page 2) as "...if they want to have a war, let it start here."

Poor verb choice

• She ambled up to the counter and said: "Please help me! Please help me!" (68)

To amble is to stroll in a leisurely fashion. That's not how you move when a piece of your leg has just been torn off and you're running into a store screaming for help.

General bad writing

• In Viviers, Eric and Ann Whalley, a British couple in their mid-60s whose stroll from their home in Charlestown to the finish line on Marathon Monday landed them in the hospital with excruciating leg injuries and more than a dozen surgeries between them, carefully negotiated dirt paths and stone walkways to reach the top of a scenic plateau. (239-240)

Sentences like this don't even read like an unedited final draft. They read like a rough draft.

And one more:

Special mention for creepiness

• People started running. A beefy, athletic man with short, black hair was running toward him, holding a woman's hand... (109)

Disembodied? In the present context of mayhem, bloodshed, and gross dismemberment, we can't be sure on first reading this whether or not there was a woman attached. This kind of jarring effect as a result of careless writing occurs repeatedly throughout the book.

I've deleted all the rest of my overlong, indignant review. I'll just say this: if you want to learn all about this horrific incident that traumatized a major American city, in decent prose such as the subject deserves, I recommend that you look elsewhere. ( )

What sets this book apart from other books on the Boston Marathon bombing is the focus on the first responders instead of just the bombers and victims. I read it back in February, but didn't feel like I could review it while the trial was going on. The authors assumed the guilt of the accused bombers, which made me a bit uncomfortable. The defense team for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had repeatedly argued that their client could not get a fair trial in Boston, and here were a pair of journalists who should have been reporting the facts with neutrality, writing without using the important word "alleged." But today Tsarnaev was found guilty on all charges, so I can comfortably say, "Read this book." ( )

This book was a very intense read. I have read a few other books on this subject and this one was by far the most emotional. You get to read from the perspective of all those involved. Good read. Would recommend. ( )

(13) This is an easy read about the Marathon bombing through the eyes of many of the survivors, first responders, the Boston Police Chief, and even from Governor Patrick's perspective as well. It took me only a few sittings to finish it and it had its moments of being disturbing and inspiring. I learned a small bit of new information such as about the total shut down of the city of Boston - not sure I realized that. And that one of the perpetrators if not both were fairly hard core Islamic jihadist types who had killed before. I think the younger kid who is now on trial for his life would be a fascinating character study. Would have liked to see more about him, but that is not a story that is able to be told at this point I realize.

The negatives - seemed a bit superficial coverage. The victims blended together. The cops kind of blended together. Hard to keep track of who was who. A lot of people introduced who seemingly had a bit role to play and were never mentioned again.

Overall an OK read, but perhaps would have been better to focus on just one or two individuals' stories. Or maybe it hasn't been long enough to get good perspective to write a truly meaningful book about this event. Definitely readable. The city of Boston means a lot to me and one of the writers is an old classmate of mine so perhaps I am not completely unbiased. There would be no way I would miss this book for those reasons alone. Appreciated being an early reviewer. ( )

I received this book free in exchange for a honest review.

[Boston Strong] by [Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge] was a very well told account of the events leading to, during and after the Boston Marathon bombing. As I finished this book the surviving bomber is just going to trial so the whole thing is a bit surrealistic. I am used to reading about disasters and horrific events but usually long after they have occurred. i don't expect to see them on my news feed.

I believe the authors did a great job of telling the story without too much bias and with an event like this (as 9-11) that is hard because there is so much emotion tied up in it. I recommend this book especially if you want to know more about the survivors, hero's, and even the bombers. ( )