Product Description

Mike May spent his life crashing through. Blinded at age three, he defied expectations by breaking world records in downhill speed skiing, joining the CIA, and becoming a successful inventor, entrepreneur, and family man. He had never yearned for vision. Then, in 1999, a chance encounter brought startling news: a revolutionary stem cell transplant surgery could restore May’s vision. It would allow him to drive, to read, to see his children’s faces. But the procedure was filled with gambles, some of them deadly, others beyond May’s wildest dreams. Beautifully written and thrillingly told, Crashing Through is a journey of suspense, daring, romance, and insight into the mysteries of vision and the brain. Robert Kurson gives us a fascinating account of one man’s choice to explore what it means to see–and to truly live.

Praise for the National Bestseller Crashing Through:

“An incredible human story [told] in gripping fashion . . . a great read.”
–Chicago Sun-Times

“Inspiring.”
–USA Today

“[An] astonishing story . . . memorably told . . . May is remarkable. . . . Don’t be surprised if your own vision mists over now and then.”
–Chicago Tribune

“[A] moving account [of] an extraordinary character.”
–People

“Terrific . . . [a] genuinely fascinating account of the nature of human vision.”
–The Washington Post

“Kurson is a man with natural curiosity and one who can feel the excitement life has to offer. One of his great gifts is he makes you feel it, too.”
–The Kansas City Star

“Propulsive . . . a gripping adventure story.”
–Entertainment Weekly

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74994 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-19
• Released on: 2008-08-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780812973686
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Christopher Evan Welch brings a tone of boyish wonder to the reading of Kurson's biography of Mike May, a highly successful entrepreneur, athlete, husband and father who undergoes experimental surgery to regain the vision that he lost in a chemical explosion at age three. When May chooses to pursue the risky procedure, he rejects the notion of blindness as an infirmity that requires healing. Instead, May views the restoration of sight as a new adventure to explore with the same gusto that he has demonstrated in all facets of life. Without pathos or pity, Welch vividly portrays May's challenge of processing the mental complexities of his newfound vision, including navigating the aisles of Costco and recognizing the gender of patrons at a neighborhood coffee bar. Some listeners may not fully embrace the stance of hearty stoicism, but others will be captivated by the decidedly nonmelodramatic perspective. As an added bonus, the audiobook includes an insightful follow-up interview between Kurson and May.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine
Robert Kurson's Shadow Divers (**** Sept/Oct 2004), a tale of a deadly search for a German U-boat off the coast of New Jersey, became an instant classic among adventure readers who enjoy well-told, high-octane nonfiction. In Crashing Through, the author finds an equally compelling subject. Kurson's journalistic instincts are strong, and tight writing and thorough research reflect his journalist background. The profile of Mike May is generally engaging-particularly in describing the difficult transition to the sighted world and what happens when May is ripped out of his comfort zone. However, readers should know that the story of May's personal struggles takes a back seat to Kurson's lucid exploration of the brain's circuitry and fascinating details of how we can have vision without really seeing.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

From Booklist
By the time he turned 44, Mike May had accomplished a lot. He had been an Olympic downhill skier and won three gold medals at the 1982 Winter Games. He was an entrepreneur with a specialized portable GPS system under development. He had lived for a time in Ghana among the villagers of Kumbuli, helping them to build a schoolhouse. He had even worked briefly for the CIA. So when doctors offered May the opportunity to regain his eyesight via a risky corneal transplant, he took the chance of a lifetime. May had been blinded by a chemical explosion at the age of 3, and the operation would make him one of only 60 documented cases of vision restoration after long-term blindness. The surgery proved successful, and May's experience with his new eyesight was packed with adventure—and difficulty. Kurson wrote the best-selling Shadow Divers (2004), about risk-taking deep-wreck divers. His latest offering documents a different kind of courage, as embodied by a man who was willing to take enormous risks on behalf of his curiosity. Eberle, Jerry

Customer Reviews

Blind, But Now I See
Robert Kurson swept me away with "Shadow Divers," his rousing, true-life WWII treasure hunt. He introduced us to real people with foibles and strengths; he gave appropriate, often hair-raising details; and he kept in focus the human element of relationships and desire.

"Crashing Through" is a completely different type of story, and yet it captures those same elements--in much narrower focus. This time, Kurson leads us through the dramatic issues of sight, self-reliance, self-discovery, and the pleasures and pain of dreaming large. We find these things embodied in the story of Mike May, a man blinded at age three by a chemical burn. Mike has lived life on the edge, "crashing through" every obstacle in his desire to enjoy each day. His well-balanced, mostly normal life, is endangered by an exciting new opportunity: the chance to see again.

The offer is not risk-free. Mike and his supportive wife, Jennifer, face emotional and health risks as he begins a harrowing journey back to the world of the sighted. The marriage they have built together for over a decade will be knocked off balance. Will he lose his friends and credibility within circles of the blind? Could the overwhelming responsibility of sight become a millstone around Mike's neck? What if his business can't withstand his temporary absences? Even more foundational: Will Mike May discover he is not who he thought he was, who he's proclaimed himself to be?

With inimitable touch, Kurson takes us through this scientific, emotional, and thoroughly fascinating story. He gives intimate details of the world of the blind, and even more intimate looks into Mike May's journey back to sight. There are moments of heartache and fear, as well as scenes of understated rapture. The book's only disappointing, somewhat ironic, element is the lack of photos. I would've loved to see these people in color, to see those whose lives were changed.

With that caveat aside, I cannot recommend the book highly enough. Kurson is a master at allowing those readers unfamiliar and "blind" to a certain subject to "see" the heart and mind behind it in blazing color. Mike May dared to see, and Kurson dared to give us the details.

Absolutely Remarkable, Unbelievably Inspiring...
This is quite simply the most amazing book I have read in years. From a purely superficial perspective, the book is a great read, it is intense, griping and entertaining. But "Crashing Through" is more like an onion than a book. Though I just read and finished it over the last three days I can see myself reading this book many, many more times in the future and drawing fresh insights from it. Among the layers:

It is a fascinating exploration into the science and pyschology of vision, extremely complicated material that I felt was delivered masterfully in layman's terms without oversimplifying the material, and with a variety of illustrations to further explain complicated processes.

Another reader commented that it is a sort of self-help book and I agree, one can certainly see the motivational speaker at work in many parts of the book. I don't mean that as a detraction though, on the contrary I found the way that Mike May has quite literally "crashed through" life to be rather challenging to me personally.

The moral, ethical, and spiritual facets of blindness, vision, and vision restoration are extremely engaging. Normally I just tear through books, but this one took me some time to finish because I had to stop frequently to think about the words on the page, not to comprehend them but to really contemplate the message. Beyond the mechanics of vision, what does it mean to truly "see" -- and which is more valuable? Vison or "seeing."

Last, as another reviewer also mentioned, it's a great parenting book...and I'd add marriage manual to that as well.

I highly recommend this book, I think it would be great for a book club as there is no shortage of discussion topics. I have several friends who are teachers and I think this book would be great to "read alound" to a class (though there is one post-vision-restoration-romance-encounter...just one chapter they'd better skip, but for older teens I don't think even that would be a problem.) I'll certainly read it to my kids someday. And though I never buy people books because I don't want to impose my taste on anybody, in this case I will definitely make an exception.

Moving story of a life changing event...
I really enjoyed the writing in this story of a blind man who is given the chance to see. The first part of the book introduces the life of Mike May, the fellow who has lived without vision since childhood. It is, by any reckoning a good life. The second part of the book explores the feelings he and his family go through at the prospect of him being given vision. The last part of the book explores his experience of his new sense.

I actually cried a few times, so well was May's reaction to his newfound sight described. I had to put the book down and take a break from reading. Much of the book is, though emotional, softer and less striking. That is what I found so impressive about Robert Kurson, he built up the foundation of the story, then gave it a payoff with his detailed descriptions of what it was like to see. Amazing stuff.

There is a little bit of information about research into visual perception, a subject which as always interested me, but Kurson avoided the mistake of clouding the drama of his story by over-explaining the science.

Very well done.