At the Edge: Daring Acts in Desperate Times by Larry Verstraete

From chapters.ca:
Over twenty true- life stories about life- threatening situations and the wrenching choices made by the people facing them. In this compelling book, readers are presented with true accounts of desperate situations, and the split- second decisions that people were forced to make. Many of the stories focus on Canadian experiences, while the rest have emerged from around the world. A young man in Nunavut fights off a polar bear to save his friend. A Canadian peacekeeper in the Congo risks his own life to save those of stranded tourists. Ordinary people show extraordinary character during the Halifax Explosion, the Holocaust, Hurricane Katrina, the Tiananmen Square protests, and September 11, 2001. An important book, whose contents will fascinate middle- grade readers, and provide a perfect springboard to discussion about making life- changing decisions.