Survive Disasters With The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why
The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley absolutely added to my knowledge of information on how people react in disasters. The writing could be better, but overall it was an interesting book and a decent enough read.
Every time I find a book that deals essentially with the psychology of unexpected emergencies, violence, survival, or anything affiliated, I leap on the opportunity to check it out. Psychology and Sociology will always be a bit of a interest for me personally. When I was a teenager, I was fascinated with reading men and women and their interactions. When I was a Pickup Artist, it revolved around the interpersonal dynamics of dating. Just as soon as I fell into studying survival, the mindsets of survival promptly became a huge piece of what I studied. As my interest has focussed in on Urban Survival, I came to the realization that a big part of Urban Survival will require being familiar with how the people around me, and the way I myself, probably would react.
Urban Survival is definitely the principal emphasis of my writing and a immense emphasis of my life for the past number of years. Something we have a good amount of in metropolitan areas is people. People could possibly be the thing that saves you or people may perhaps be the factor that kills you. What is more important - the way you behave in a disaster - could very well be precisely what saves you or kills you.
In contrast to a lot of the books I have come across that are survival-centric, The Unthinkable examines how people behave in emergency situations; both as individuals and as groups, without stepping into hysterics. Amanda Ripley does not take a tone of fright. Instead, in a matter-of-fact method, she discloses what truly occurs in various kinds of calamities.
Hollywood and mainstream media love to show us images of panic and the most severe actions of mankind during calamities. What the author illustrates to us is usually that inactivity is much more normally the case than panic. Most people will go into "Brain Lock" as put by Ben Sherwood, author of The Survivors Club.
Ripley examines the psychology involved in catastrophe situations to spell out who lives and who dies. She does this by studying real life events and engaging in quite a few interviews with people who have survived these events. Ripley doesn't explore flights of fancy or rumors. Preferably she utilizes recent historical information of how people handled themselves.
The Unthinkable is written much like a extended article. This makes sense, as that is the author's background - a article writer for Time Magazine. The majority of the book is made up of interviews with survivors of catastrophes. Through their recanting then her examination of the disaster, Ripley lays out the how and why of people's decisions and inaction within the accounts.
Point Of Great Interest
If you're looking for a "Disaster How-to Manual", this is not it. Even so, readers would find it really hard not to finish the book with an comprehension of the dynamics involved in emergencies, and to gain practical knowledge that might ideally help save their lives.
Amanda Ripley references evolutionary psychology significantly in The Unthinkable. I the author's routine reference to evolutionary psychology and how it plays into crisis situations to be very supportive of her findings. However, if the concept of anything to do with evolution does not jive with your beliefs her book will irritate you.
Most publications dealing with catastrophes leave me wanting to pet a firearm, batten down the hatches of my rabbit hole, or run out to obtain more prepping items. This is among the few books were I felt a calm understanding instead of a sense of urgency after reading through it.
Concluding Points
Even though good quality, The Unthinkable is sort of a let down. Segments of the book commonly meander around without feeling as if they are heading anywhere. More actionable information, adding real life stories, fewer digressions, and a lot more interviews with industry professionals - in combination with survivors - on the topic may possibly genuinely improved upon The Unthinkable. I'd personally grant The Unthinkable 3 out of 5 stars. Worth reading, yet not dazzling.
Every time I find a book that deals essentially with the psychology of unexpected emergencies, violence, survival, or anything affiliated, I leap on the opportunity to check it out. Psychology and Sociology will always be a bit of a interest for me personally. When I was a teenager, I was fascinated with reading men and women and their interactions. When I was a Pickup Artist, it revolved around the interpersonal dynamics of dating. Just as soon as I fell into studying survival, the mindsets of survival promptly became a huge piece of what I studied. As my interest has focussed in on Urban Survival, I came to the realization that a big part of Urban Survival will require being familiar with how the people around me, and the way I myself, probably would react.
Urban Survival is definitely the principal emphasis of my writing and a immense emphasis of my life for the past number of years. Something we have a good amount of in metropolitan areas is people. People could possibly be the thing that saves you or people may perhaps be the factor that kills you. What is more important - the way you behave in a disaster - could very well be precisely what saves you or kills you.
In contrast to a lot of the books I have come across that are survival-centric, The Unthinkable examines how people behave in emergency situations; both as individuals and as groups, without stepping into hysterics. Amanda Ripley does not take a tone of fright. Instead, in a matter-of-fact method, she discloses what truly occurs in various kinds of calamities.
Hollywood and mainstream media love to show us images of panic and the most severe actions of mankind during calamities. What the author illustrates to us is usually that inactivity is much more normally the case than panic. Most people will go into "Brain Lock" as put by Ben Sherwood, author of The Survivors Club.
Ripley examines the psychology involved in catastrophe situations to spell out who lives and who dies. She does this by studying real life events and engaging in quite a few interviews with people who have survived these events. Ripley doesn't explore flights of fancy or rumors. Preferably she utilizes recent historical information of how people handled themselves.
The Unthinkable is written much like a extended article. This makes sense, as that is the author's background - a article writer for Time Magazine. The majority of the book is made up of interviews with survivors of catastrophes. Through their recanting then her examination of the disaster, Ripley lays out the how and why of people's decisions and inaction within the accounts.
Point Of Great Interest
If you're looking for a "Disaster How-to Manual", this is not it. Even so, readers would find it really hard not to finish the book with an comprehension of the dynamics involved in emergencies, and to gain practical knowledge that might ideally help save their lives.
Amanda Ripley references evolutionary psychology significantly in The Unthinkable. I the author's routine reference to evolutionary psychology and how it plays into crisis situations to be very supportive of her findings. However, if the concept of anything to do with evolution does not jive with your beliefs her book will irritate you.
Most publications dealing with catastrophes leave me wanting to pet a firearm, batten down the hatches of my rabbit hole, or run out to obtain more prepping items. This is among the few books were I felt a calm understanding instead of a sense of urgency after reading through it.
Concluding Points
Even though good quality, The Unthinkable is sort of a let down. Segments of the book commonly meander around without feeling as if they are heading anywhere. More actionable information, adding real life stories, fewer digressions, and a lot more interviews with industry professionals - in combination with survivors - on the topic may possibly genuinely improved upon The Unthinkable. I'd personally grant The Unthinkable 3 out of 5 stars. Worth reading, yet not dazzling.
