Michael Daly – författare

The life and legacy of Father Mychal Judge, the first official victim of 9/11 and a symbol of hope amidst tragedy.As chaplain to the Fire Department of New York, Father Mychal Judge was officially the first to perish on September 11th. A loving priest with a gift for the gab—gregarious yet humble, a healer with the ability to wipe away a widow''s tears and put a smile on a fireman''s face—Father Mike rushed to the fires at the World Trade Center as quickly as those who fought them, losing his own life while tirelessly ministering to New York''s bravest.Father Mike recounts the colorful, astonishing, and at times troubled life of a priest who saw the potential for good in everybody—in the homeless person he slipped a dollar to on the street; the alcoholic he sought to coax to an AA meeting; the early victims of AIDS he embraced and comforted; the troubled young men he visited in jail; and the thousands of firefighters he blessed as they rushed to their rigs answering the call.Here was a priest who rejoiced in the life around him and understood that even the most terrible times present us with wonders—that good always arises from the bad in the most unexpected ways. Or as Father Mike would say, "My God is a God of surprises."In this touching book, author Michael Daly retraces the footsteps of Father Mike as his vocation takes us inside the firehouse, his friary and his Church, and the chaos that often befalls New York. Father Mike is the inspirational story of a hero priest who blessed so many lives and will long be remembered by it.

In 1903 at the soon-to-open Luna Park on Coney Island, an elephant named Topsy was electrocuted, likely with advice from Thomas Edison, whose film crew recorded the horrible event. Over the past century, this bizarre, ghoulish execution has reverberated through popular culture with the ring of an urban legend. But it really happened, and today, Edison''s footage can be found on YouTube, where it has been viewed nearly two million times.

Many historical forces conspired to bring Topsy, Edison, and those 6,600 volts of alternating current together at Coney Island that day. Journalist Michael Daly''s Topsy is a fascinating popular history that traces them, from the rise of the circus in America and the lives of circus elephants, through Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and the war of the currents, to the birth of Coney Island.

Throughout the book, Daly follows Topsy''s picaresque life up to the point of her death, from her capture, the roar of the crowd, life on the endless road, and the tormenting of her trainers, weaving her tale through other big stories such as P. T. Barnum and Adam Forepaugh''s circus rivalry, trainers Stewart Craven and Eph Thompson''s kindness to the animals, and Thomas Edison''s attempt to prove alternating current was far more dangerous than his direct current. It''s a touching tale, and it is impossible to read Topsy and look at the circus, elephants, or Thomas Edison the same way again. Above all, Topsy is an entertaining read that brings to life this remarkable world and its characters.