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| Google Image of Michael Tougias |
For years I have wanted to go to a presentation by author Michael Tougias. When I was young I used to read his column in the Sun Chronicle (our local newspaper) every week. His articles were not so much about fishing as they were other outdoor pursuits such as daytrips, state parks, and canoeing local rivers. Though thirty years ago, I vividly remember reading his piece every week and learning about new places in the area.
Somehow I got wind of Michael's books. He wrote multiple books about the area. He lives in Mendon, MA. Back then his books were about local history or nature. I bought a book about King Philip's War. King Philip was the son of the famous Massasoit that befriended the Puritans. By King Philip's time the colonists were busy stealing the land from the natives and spreading disease decimating the native population. King Philip (whose real name was Metacomet) lead a war against the colonists. Per capita it was the bloodiest war in American history. Both sides were responsible for some despicable atrocities.
Another book that I bought is called "Exploring the Hidden Charles". The book is about the Charles River. It breaks the river down into sections starting in the town of Franklin all the way to where it dumps into Boston Harbor at the Museum of Science. In each section is information about entering tributaries, scenery, and most importantly access points. I took multiple scouting trips to sections of the Charles with my book and notes looking for places to fish. Because of this book I caught Yellow Bullheads in Sherborn and fished for carp in Needham.
Later on Michael decided to expand to a more national audience. He found a niche in extreme survival. He found stories where people survived all kinds of historical disasters. He has also dabbled in young adult books. Some of these are more stripped down reader friendly versions of his more detailed disaster books. These books certainly expanded his readership. To date, Michael Tougias was written thirty books.
Michael Tougias does multiple speaking presentations based on his books. Last night he spoke at Seekonk Library. I put it on my calendar and was getting excited as the day approached. Last night's presentation was called "The Finest Hour". It was about a Coast Guard Rescue off of the Cape Cod Coast in 1952. There was a terrible winter storm so powerful that two oil tankers split in half about twenty miles from each other. The Coast Guard rescued most of the seamen but there were some deaths. The book was made into a feature movie by Disney. Two of the actors in the movie were Casey Affleck and Chris Pine.
The presentation lasted almost an hour and was excellent. I hadn't read this book or seen the movie. So everything I heard was history I didn't know anything about. The meeting room was completely full and Michael was very happy with the turnout. After the presentation and Q &A was over Michael sold books in the back of the room. He signed the books and answered some more questions.
Seeing a Michael Tougias presentation was something I have wanted to do for decades (as usual I dragged Laurie along). It was definitely on my bucket list. He is doing a presentation in Middleboro, MA on October 2. The talk will be about King Philip's War. I plan on going to that. To find out when he is speaking go to his Facebook page and scroll down. You can go to his website to buy books and other info (I don't know why he doesn't have his speaking engagements on his website). The presentations are free. He obviously does them in hopes of selling some his books. None the less, a very enjoyable hour.
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