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If I'm Not Back By Wednesday cover

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    • 978-1-4602-7440-8
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  • Keywords
    • Kingston,
    • Jamaica,
    • Blue Mountains,
    • Diaspora,
    • Hiking,
    • Survival,
    • Search & Rescue

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If I'm Not Back By Wednesday
Trapped in Jamaica's Blue Mountains
by Geoffrey B. Haddad


On December 16, 1967, five adventurous boys from one of the Island’s elite high schools, Jamaica College, set out into the majestic Blue Mountains in search of a mythical trail, endeavouring to reach its highest point, the Peak, at elevation 7402 feet. They never made it. A platoon of soldiers dispatched to the area where it was believed that the boys began their hike along the Blue Mountain Ridge, reported that they were never there or had vanished into the jungle. The soldiers turned back. After almost ten days in heavily forested terrain described as “inaccessible as any place in the world, and perhaps where no man has ever trodden,” they found themselves hopelessly lost, trapped, and far from a living soul. Cold and starving, they probably only had hours to live. This is the story of the harrowing journey that would make headlines and test the character of five boys as they faced down death on their way to manhood. Using eyewitness accounts, maps and never-before-seen photographs, the author tracks the action from an innocent plan hatched during Christmas break to the dramatic, last-ditch efforts to rescue the boys. In 1967, Geoffrey Haddad was a curious Jamaica College student with a passion for the outdoors. He was one of the five.

www.geoffreyhaddadbooks.com


"An amazing true story." - Darcy Rezac, CD, Managing Director Emeritus, The Vancouver Board of Trade "Survival at its most elemental. A brutal rite of passage to manhood, and the triumph of the human spirit. If you enjoyed ‘Alive’, The Story of the Andes Survivors, Haddad’s superb book is a must!" - Professor Diana Cooper-Clark, Departments of English and Humanities, York University "Riveting, well paced and attention holding tale of five teenagers who came within a hair’s breath of death. Demonstrates that fact tops fiction when it is well written." - Lady Colin Campbell, New York and London Times best selling author and media personality. "A non-fiction response to high school staples like ‘The Young Warriors’, ‘Escape to Last Man Peak’, ‘Lord of the Flies’ or any other male-oriented coming of age stories....historic, literary and anthropological merits....all the trappings of a high school principal reading list. Saliently illustrates the complex social and class relations which existed then and still exists in Jamaica today." - Ann-Margaret Lim, The Observer


Geoffrey B. Haddad photo

Geoffrey B. Haddad was born in Kingston Jamaica. By the time he was five he had developed a passion for the outdoors. At sixteen he had hiked all the hills of the southern flanks of the Blue Mountains, either while on cub/scout outings or hunting with his father. Conquering the Peak, however, has always been a personal goal. Spontaneously accepting that challenge on December 15, 1967 almost cost him his life. He graduated from McMaster University in 1974 (first class honours) and completed a master’s degree in structural engineering in 1975. He is a professional engineer registered in Jamaica, British Columbia and Ontario, Canada. He has worked in the consulting engineering and related fields since that time. He resides in West Vancouver, Canada with his family, including four grandchildren.


Contributors

Author
Geoffrey B. Haddad
Illustrator
Patrick Kitson


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