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Author Topic: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie  (Read 61061 times)

Irvine John Donald

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Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« on: June 04, 2011, 03:42:44 PM »

It was noted recently in this forum that the kindle book site now offered the ebook version of Ric's book.

I purchased it earlier this week and read it using the iPad version of the Kindle software app.

I have just completed reading this book and suggest that anyone who is new to this topic or to this hypothesis should read this book first before reviewing the documented information within the forum.

I have been following this forum and reading the data available for many months now. Ric's book laid out in excellent format the chronological data intertwined with the real time events of the day, along with an excellent narrative style, that kept me reading for hours on end. I can easily state that many times in my reading I read passages that clarified, for me, the chronology of events, the mind set of the day, the real lack of coordination and communication.  AE and FN were so close and yet so far from succeeding.

Can I suggest that Ric now undertake to write the second book of this obvious trilogy. It would be called "Finding Amelia: The Evidence Search". This would pick up exactly where the first leaves off with Gallagher and the bones discovery through to today. Naturally the third book of the trilogy would be titled "Finding Amelia: Amelia Earhart Found By A TIGHAR".  It would be the book that pulls the trilogy together.

I'm sure that Ric has a desk drawer somewhere with the outline of this second book and has the outline for the third book floating around in his head just bursting and waiting for paper. I'm sure he is probably at a loss as to how to spend those few valuable hours he has for personal time so I might suggest he get that outline from the drawer and get hunched over the keyboard. You have a writing flair and style that has a great sense of drama while using only the facts and no fiction. Tell the rest of the story Ric.     Please.
Respectfully Submitted;

Irv
 
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Ric Gillespie

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2011, 09:54:03 AM »

Thank you.  I'm flattered and humbled by your confidence in my ability to tell this story.  As you correctly guess, I've spent a lot of time agonizing over the next book.  There is a great temptation to write a here's-what-really-happened book, but that's what everybody does and the truth is - nobody yet knows what really happened.  With so much of our research still on-going, at least once a week I learn something new that changes some part of the picture.  I could write a "fact-based historical novel" and nobody could fault me if I got something wrong because  after all, it's only a novel.  I actually took a stab at that a while back and wrote a novelization of the wreck of the Norwich City.  It was great fun and, in all humility, pretty good  ;D, but I quickly realized that by filling in the gaps in the historical record with my own imagination I was creating such a convincing artificial reality that it was almost impossible for me to keep straight what was documented and what was made up. I found myself resisting new facts that disagreed with my imagined truth and that's deadly to an on-going investigation.

I hope and trust that there will come a time when I can write the nonfiction, footnoted here's-what-really-happened book, but we're not there yet. Your suggestion that the next book be "Finding Amelia: The Evidence Search" makes sense (although we might work on the title).  A book that, as you say, begins where FA left off could be a chronological narrative of what has become an amazing cultural phenomenon.  I could explore the WWII origins of the Japanese Capture theory, its flowering in the 1960s, and the Crashed & Sank backlash of the 1970s.  TIGHAR comes into the story in 1988 and there is, of course, much to tell - but TIGHAR's work needs to be seen in the context of what went before and since.  

As I think about it, the second volume in the trilogy would feature many of the same elements as the first - unrealistic expectations, wishful thinking, false starts, successes and failures, inflated egos ( ;D), and so on. Most importantly, like volume one, it could be a true history book - not a polemic that espouses a particular theory.  Just lay out the documented facts and let the reader decide.

Does that sound reasonable?
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steven c seitel

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2011, 08:02:30 PM »

Absolutely, Ric.  Hear, hear!
Steve Seitel
TIGHAR 4384R
 
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Irvine John Donald

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2011, 08:50:44 PM »

Excellent outline for volume 2, Ric!!  Sounds like you really have thought about the second volume. I agree that it would be a historical non fiction.  The wealth of information, the scientific approach and analysis and the number of different theories to cover over the many years means you would have a much larger volume than the first. Keeping it historically accurate, as you outlined, would maintain the TIGHAR philosophy which is important in order that TIGHAR's reputation be maintained. That's probably why you haven't published a fiction novel.  This way no one can charge that your imagination is getting the better of you.

The third novel in the trilogy would clearly be full of conjecture and would not come out until after the mystery is solved. Therefore not tainting the accuracy and validity of the first two.

The problem is always TIME. Over the years TIGHAR research has seemed so close to proving its theory just to have it slip away largely because of TIGHAR's own research efforts!  So years have slipped by and no one is getting younger. The proximity to the final answer, demands of other projects, the growth og TIGHAR, public relations work and, of course, the never ending fund raising, means you Ric, have less time to tackle volume 2. Yet it needs to be done. You're reading this and nodding your agreement.

But sorry Ric. It NEEDS to be done and done by you.  The website has your years of exploration, research and analysis laid out for the world to see.   Your writing style and analytical approach need to tell that next chapter. Not someone who comes along and uses the TIGHAR data to do it. You just need to read the forum and ask your many fans what they think of your writing style. You know it's extremely positive.

Okay, I have finished making my simple case for why you need to do this. The title definitely needs work, and the search for the evidence to what happened to AE and FN must continue. But I think you're a lot further, mentally, on this novel than you imply. :-)



Respectfully Submitted;

Irv
 
« Last Edit: June 06, 2011, 06:32:21 AM by Martin X. Moleski, SJ »
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Tim Collins

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2011, 10:13:34 AM »

The book I'm wait for Ric to write is Amelia Found!
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Alex Fox

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2011, 12:19:26 PM »

Sounds awesome, Ric!  I will definitely buy it.  I had a great time reading about the search for a similar Electra Alaska and Idaho, and other tangential research aspects.  These side stories can be incredibly entertaining and they round-out the whole picture of how much work goes into this project.  I would think the second book would have a lot of photos, which would be fantastic.
#4317
 
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Ric Gillespie

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #6 on: June 07, 2011, 08:49:48 AM »

One aspect of the second book will, by necessity, be different from the first book.  Because I had no role in the events described and documented in "Finding Amelia - the true story of the Earhart disappearance" I was able to write the book in the third person.  I can do the same for the events that I'll describe and document in the second book until I get to 1988 and the beginning of TIGHAR's involvement in the search for the answer to the Earhart riddle. At that point, the narrator becomes one of the characters in the story and I have to shift to the first person.  That's an awkward transition to make in the middle of a narrative.  Anybody have any ideas about how to handle that?
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Kevin Weeks

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #7 on: June 07, 2011, 09:05:22 AM »

hmmm. would it be completely 1st person at that point?? there were several relevant searches done after 1988 as well correct?? This would further confuse/complicate things.

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Ric Gillespie

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #8 on: June 07, 2011, 09:23:41 AM »

hmmm. would it be completely 1st person at that point?? there were several relevant searches done after 1988 as well correct??

That's right.  There were four deep water searches and a revival of the Irene Bolam nonsense.

This would further confuse/complicate things.

Once I've made the transition to a first person description of TIGHAR's work I'll have to cover my own reaction to "competing" efforts to solve the mystery.  Yeah, it gets complicated.
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Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #9 on: June 07, 2011, 10:44:05 AM »

... At that point, the narrator becomes one of the characters in the story and I have to shift to the first person.  That's an awkward transition to make in the middle of a narrative.  Anybody have any ideas about how to handle that?

Talk about the problem in your Introduction or Preface.

Start talking in the first person at the beginning of a chapter that introduces the development of TIGHAR and the rise of the Niku hypothesis.

You could also divide the book into two parts: Part I, "Before TIGHAR"; Part II, "After TIGHAR."
LTM,

           Marty
           TIGHAR #2359A
 
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Kevin Weeks

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2011, 10:53:07 AM »

the chapters or parts was my first thought as well. possibly smoother transitions out there if you start to lay it out??
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Ric Gillespie

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2011, 11:53:19 AM »

Talk about the problem in your Introduction or Preface.

Good idea.

Start talking in the first person at the beginning of a chapter that introduces the development of TIGHAR and the rise of the Niku hypothesis.
You could also divide the book into two parts: Part I, "Before TIGHAR"; Part II, "After TIGHAR."

That would be a clean way to do it.
« Last Edit: June 15, 2011, 05:27:46 PM by Martin X. Moleski, SJ »
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Ted G Campbell

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2011, 12:51:58 PM »

Ric,
Couldn't you use a "hand-off" style?

If the first part is "they, them, etc." then there had to be a point in the search where "we, I, TIGHAR" had to take up the challlange and the investment of time and resources in order to continue the search.  I think it would be a smooth transition.
Ted Campbell
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Irvine John Donald

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2011, 05:36:12 PM »

I think the two part approach works. The first volume was a chronological approach of the facts. This volume is actually the multiple approaches of multiple groups. I think Marty is right. "Pre TIGHAR" and "The TIGHAR Hunt".

The main thing is that I think I hear a keyboard being fired up!  I promise to buy the first copy.
Respectfully Submitted;

Irv
 
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Monty Fowler

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Re: Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie
« Reply #14 on: June 07, 2011, 05:55:46 PM »

Before we buy copies of the finished book TIGHAR needs the money to write it.

When the time comes, I'm in, just like the first go-around.

Ex-TIGHAR member No. 2189 E C R SP, 1998-2016
 
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