The Unthinkable - Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why by Amanda Ripley

"The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - And Why" by Amanda Ripley is a fascinating look at the human response to disasters. This excellent book not only describes some of what happened, but look closely at the "why" people respond the way they do in such situations. As Gavin De Becker, author of "The Gift of Fear" states on the front cover, "'The Unthinkable' isn't merely a book about disaster; it's a book about survival - maybe yours."

The book consists of an introduction titled "Life Becomes Like Molten Metal" and then eight chapters divided into three parts.

Part one, Denial, includes the chapters Delay: Procrastinating in Tower 1 and Risk: Gambling in New Orleans. Part two, Deliberation, contains three chapters: Fear: The Body and Mind of a Hostage, Resilience: Staying Cool in Jerusalem, and Groupthink: Role Playing at the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire. Part three, The Decisive Moment, has the final three chapters: Panic: A Stampede on Holy Ground, Paralysis: Playing Dead in French Class, and Heroism: A Suicide Attempt on the Potomac River.

The book concludes with a conclusion titled "Making New Instincts." Each section of the book consists of not only information on the human condition being addressed, but stories of actual people and what transpired during different disasters. Some of the stories of the heroics displayed during these times are quite moving.

I really enjoyed this book, and appreciate the time and reporting Amanda Ripley put into it. The stories keep your attention and the lessons you can learn from this book just may save your life if you are ever unfortunate enough to be caught in a disaster. The book reinforced some of my habits such as always reading the safety instruction card when I board an airplane, along with looking around and noting the exits, as well as made me think of other habits I can develop to better prepare myself for the worst.

For a fascinating look at disasters and how they effect people, combined with some lessons that may help you if you ever face one, I recommend you read "The Unthinkable" by Amanda Ripley.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a performance and personal development expert who teaches how to live, take action, and get things done through the Warrior's Edge. Alain combines his military, martial art, and Asian experiences with his business, law, and conflict resolution education into a powerful way of living with balance, honor, and integrity. He teaches how to use the Warrior's Edge to Take Action and Achieve Remarkable Results. Alain is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School Of Hard Knocks, the DVDs Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, the Lock On Joint Locking series, and numerous articles and reviews. You can read more articles over 100 reviews, and see clips of his DVDs as well as much more at http://www.burrese.com/

View the original article here

The Unthinkable - Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - And Why by Amanda Ripley

I picked this up thinking it was probably a knockoff of The Survivor's Club by Ben Sherwood. However, I quickly realized The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley is an excellent, well-researched book in its own right. There's is some overlap between them, but she focuses on disasters -- by definition involving many people at once -- whereas he focuses on survival of individuals, sometimes in disastrous circumstances and sometimes by themselves.

She also uses a lot of case studies, though dividing them up and spreading them out to make her points, which is sometimes confusing. She explores many areas without making a concentrated attempt to make a point.

One thing she does say, repeatedly though not as much as I would have liked, is how most people respond as constructively as possible to disasters, and they could respond even better if given the proper training and instruction.

According to her, and she makes a lot of sense, in too many cases the government and other relevant authorities fail to trust the ability of people to learn.

She brings out the lessons of September 11 from several angles. The first is a woman whose reaction and that of her co-workers was typical. They dithered. They wasted time talking about what to do and in gathering up their belongings. When they finally got started going down the stairwell, they went too slowly.

Despite the usual assumptions, they didn't panic. Almost the reverse. They were polite and helpful to each other. The woman was in denial and suffered some sensory shock -- blindness at the street level -- and had to be helped outside.

She examines a situation where Columbian guerillas attacked a diplomatic party and took the U.S. ambassador hostage. She gets interesting material both from the ambassador and the leader of the guerrillas who is now a politician in Columbia. Both of them report changes in their perceptions. Time slowed down for the ambassador. Commandante Uno shot at his own reflection in a mirror, mistaking it for an armed opponent, not recognizing himself.

She references some airline crashes. She doesn't go into the detail Sherwood did -- one chapter of his book is practically a textbook on how to survive them -- but does repeat the same basic advice. Read the instruction cards, listen to the safety demonstrations and make note of where the nearest exits are. She mentions a crash where the only people who survived were those who had paid attention to the preflight demonstration and read those little cards.

She also interviewed a lot of scientists who study things such as the fear paralysis animals demonstrate, and panic, and how we learn how to respond. She also goes into depth on the physics of being in dense crowds, and the times when people are killed in Saudi Arabia, crushed by other Muslims while on haj. It has to do with the extraordinary density and size of the processions, not religious behavior.

I highly recommend both books. This one makes a better case for authorities educating and empowering ordinary people to help themselves. But in the end, it's all up to us. The Unthinkable contains some of the tools and concepts we can use to better prepare ourselves for emergencies.

Richard Stooker is a writer with a long time interest in fitness, health, anti-aging and nutrition. He also recommends keeping freeze dried foods stored in your home and car in case of emergencies, and have an emergency preparedness plan.

View the original article here