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Feb 11, 2008

Amanda rated it:

I gave this book to my husband for Christmas. He never read it and yesterday I picked it up and started reading. Fascinating! The author's father survived being shot down in a plane in WWII, falling without a parachute, nearly being shot by a German farmer (the gun jammed), being treated without anaesthetic in the POW camp where he received just enough food to keep him alive, barely. Yet he did survive and he came home and had a successful career as a scientist and fathered 9 sons.
His son More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2009

Bells rated it:

A fascinating story of what makes 2 people go into the same situation, one lives, one dies.

The author has an interest in survival as his father was gunned down in the war. His father survived when others perished. Gonzales became an adrenaline junkie, also flying planes, racing motorcyles and mountain climbing.

He covers it all, from wilderness misadventures people get themselves into (rafting, sailing, climbing and hiking) to disasters beyond our control (plane crashes, More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2009

Goat rated it:

I'm a big fan of 'true survival in the wilderness' tales, and having done my share of stupid and life-threatening things in the outdoors, I really enjoyed this examination of the 'theory' of accidents and what goes on in the brain in life-or-death situations and what separates the survivor from the statistic. Gonzales sprinkles the book with true stories of the lucky and the luckless (he readily admits that luck or its absence is not to be discounted in assessing (non-)survival, some of which ar More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 06, 2009

Branden rated it:

This was a very intriguing read that I really enjoyed. The title pretty much describes it, it's about survival and the author asks the question, why do some people survive certain situations while others succumb to death? He asks, if two people, of the same phyical health, same training are put into a life and death situation, what is it that will allow one of the two to survive while the other dies? The author searches for these answers by studying many cases of human survival and he shares the More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 30, 2008

Toby rated it:

I guess I should start writing comments, eh? I liked this book, even though he harps on some of the same points over and over. But in doing so keeps giving examples, a few of which resonated with me. The stories of survival (and sometimes of not surviving) are great, using both amazingly heroic tales of freak chance to illustrate a point (survival at sea, etc), to someone getting lost while going for a hike. And it all applies.

This guy is obviously all about his father (who has More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 04, 2008

Paige rated it:

I'd say it was like 3-3.5 stars, but I rounded up because I'm nice.

So...my dad really recommended this book to me. I can see why it'd be the sort of thing he'd like: I was rolling my eyes constantly (more in the beginning than at the end, but maybe that's just because I got used to it). That's not to say I'm not glad that I read it--I am really glad that I did, because it was entertaining and he did share a lot of good information. I wrote down all the titles of the books he refer More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Diana rated it:

i read about this book in national geographic adventure magazine. they had a three-page spread about gonzales, his story, and the impetus for this book. it seemed fascinating, the 'theory' behind survival and why certain people beat the odds and survive a harrowing situation, while others give up and die after only one day. the book was rather disappointing...there really is no 'theory' behind survival. gonzales is not a great writer, and he doesn't make any kind of argument. basically, the More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 16, 2009

Lori rated it:

A friend bought this book for my husband and he loved it so much, I had to read it. It's about surviving trouble in the outdoors, but it's a really a handbook for life in all situations. What I took from it, among many other things, is: keep an open mind, focus on living, look for opportunities, believe you will survive and that you are lost only if you believe you are lost. One very practical tip, when walking somewhere make a mental note of things at many turns. Some native cultures sing thems More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2009

Lauren rated it:

Fast-paced and very interesting read about what goes through one's mind when faced with extreme survival situations. Includes a number of case studies about both people who live and people who die in such situations. Examines the mix of psychology, neurology and skill that determines if one survives or not. Although the context of the person is important (e.g. skill leading into situation, exposure to such situations), other factors (how one's brain is wired, attitudes) play a remarkably stro More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 21, 2007

Denise rated it:

Wow. In addition to hair-raising stories, Gonzales throws in a little brain research to help us understand why we respond as we do in survival situations. Who's most likely to survive being lost in the woods? Kids five and under. (They listen to their bodies.) Least likely? Teenagers from the 'burbs and adults. (No natural predators; too "rational.")

As it turns out, some people, when faced with a survival situation, simply lie down and die. Literally.

Some folk More...

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May 31, 2008

Daniel rated it:

Anyone who participates in risky endevors such as Rock Climbing, mountaineering, backpaking, wilderness travel, rafting, or any other activiy should read this book. It is very anaylitical and details the human brain. The first part of the book is why accidents happen and how they happen. The second part details how some people survive against increadible odds while others die in less trying circumstances. There are many stories of survival and each one is disected and illistrates what is takes t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 04, 2011

Perrin rated it:

Portions of this book were great. A really in depth look at what makes up a survivor's mind set. Then there were parts which were a little flowery and phallocentric (you didn't think those two words could be used in the same sentence did you?) which is why some of the book is a little hard to stomach. The first 4 chapters weren't really worth the time, but the fifth chapter, the Sand Pile Effect, was eye opening. If you are interested in high risk endeavors, or SAR, this book is worth the read, More...

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Jan 12, 2011

stefan rated it:

With a title like this, it's got to be good. Right? I have to admit I didn't give this book much respect at the start. For a study on the qualities of survivors, or the actions people can take to become survivors, Gonzales chooses an odd anchoring narrative. He writes about his father, a WWII fighter pilot who survived miraculously when his plane plummeted 27,000 feet to a crash landing, and survived again when the German farmer set on killing him had his rusty pistol jam up. It's unclear what e More...

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Nov 14, 2010

Rjwessman rated it:

Great book that uses biology and psychology to delve into the nuances of why some live and some die when faced with extreme situations. It's not as much what you know as much as it is the ability to know what survivors do. Be mentally aware of your environment and accept reality for what it is, rather than try to "bend the map" to your own mental model of the world. Positive Mental Attitude will get you a long ways, and even more important is maintaining the Zen-like balance between ha More...

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Oct 25, 2010

Nicholas rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Dec 20, 2009

Craven rated it:

A really compelling book about who survives life or death situations and who doesn't.
It references true-life survival stories and analyzes the mindset of the survivor, the most important thing being that they don't become ruled by their emotions and they adapt to their environment. For instance, they don't attempt to go by information that they already have that was working for them in a different environment. As an example, they say that children from 1 to 6 are statistically some of the More...

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Nov 05, 2009

Jackie rated it:

Long before I reached page 256 (just about the end of the book) I knew Laurence Gonzales was not a person I would want to hang with. So when he wrote on page 256,"My daughters tell me I have the job every thirteen-year-old boy wants. My ex-wives tell me that I never grew up," I was hardly surprised.

His obsession with adventurers who survive against great odds and his desire to find explanations as to why some survive and others do not rang hollow for me. Every time he r More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Aug 08, 2011

Kyla rated it:

This book is a necessity on absolutely every level. And it would not be wise to think that just because you may take no risks in your life that you do not need a book like this. For death comes looking for everyone, and it is even more possible to die on an ordinary day than on a wilderness trip.
The book got off a bit slow for me (there was scientific and military mumbo-jumbo), but it swiftly picked up pace. The book is divided into two sections. The first is How Accidents Happen, and Gonza More...

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Feb 04, 2011

Kate rated it:

Someone in my Twitter feed posted a link to an article about a girl who survived a plane crash and then walked out of the Amazon to safety over 10 days (read that, it's amazing). The bottom of the article cites Deep Survival by as a source. I picked this book up thinking it was just a collection of survival stories, but it's actually more about the psychology behind survivors (and non-survivors). It explains how the ways our brain processes and responds to input contribute to the occurrence o More...

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Jan 04, 2010

Eva rated it:

I found this book extremely easy to read and finished it in less than 24 hours (especially as I was stuck at my in-laws' house with nothing else to do on New Year's Day). Regardless, I enjoyed the mixture of disaster stories with armchair philosophizing about why humans make idiotic decisions and get ourselves into accidents/lost, etc, to begin with, and why we behave seemingly irrationally when trying to save ourselves.

I agree with several other reviewers' complaints that the autho More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 08, 2011

Sean Kahlich rated it:

Laurence Gonzales is an eloquent scientist that has had enough exposure to and experience in survival situations to back up his research. The book is very well written but tends to lean towards the more scholarly side of things. Gonzales uses a great amount of survival stories to support his reasons of who lives, who dies, and why. Not everyone makes it, and Gonzales is quick to point out a good balance of stories of those who make it and those who don't. But don't go into a reading of this More...

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Mar 30, 2010

Moira rated it:

Great! I like outdoor adventure and enjoyed this book. I've hiked a fair bit in the Sierras, and some in the Colorado Rockies, plus done some backpacking, and snow backpacking/x-country skiing. Done a bit of rock climbing in my teens and 20's and was ok at it but didn't really enjoy it much. Never done any ice climbing or high altitude work (beyond one 'fourteener' Gray's Peak in CO) and don't have the ability or desire to do so at this point.

Have been well-schooled in outdoor safety More...

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Feb 13, 2009

Mike rated it:

Awesome. Even if you dont like this book, find it interesting or an outdoorsman/adventure person, you must admire the author's writing skills, brilliant style and deep scientific research understanding in this book. I think it is a profound piece of work he should be very proud of. I was given this as a gift and enjoyed it much while suffering the pains of flu. How fitting of book to ponder on what seemed a low spot in time. Here are my summary thoughts of what I learned:

1. Stress More...

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Mar 23, 2009

Mark rated it:

An excellent study read on the possible neuroscience factors involved in survival. I emphasize possible only because well, let's face it, what we really know about the deep, inner workings of the human brain amounts to jack and shit, and jack left town.
If you take that into account though, it's a very enjoyable and enlightening book.

One thing that stands out most to me is Gonzales' deep understanding of "somatic memory"--the prevailing theory of how the subconscious s More...

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Aug 13, 2010

Robin rated it:

I didn’t expect to like this book so much. A book that examines life, death, and survival in unthinkable circumstances could either be too dry or overly graphic. I thought I’d skim it and pick up some survival tips, but was fascinated by the variety of case studies and the different ways in which the author analyzes them. He begins the book with the story of his father who crash-landed a bomber behind German lines in WWII, breaking many bones and emerging from his plane to find a local farmer ai More...

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Mar 15, 2009

John rated it:

When I first picked this up, I figured it was another survival techniques book, more like extreme Boy Scouts than anything else.

It isn't.

It's about managing oneself, one's mind, and one's spirit in survival situations. It includes an exploration of the different parts of the brain and how they are challenged in high stress circumstances and how they may cause one to make things worse.

At the same time, the book is not about hiding from risk. Quite the contrary More...

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Aug 29, 2010

Nicole rated it:

We listened to this on CD as we were travelling. It was really eclectic, especially at first I couldn't quite figure out what point the author was trying to make. The author is motivated by his father's life story- which is that as a youth in WW2 he was a fighter pilot, shot down, broke almost all the bones in his body, put in a full body cast by a prisoner-doctor, and kept prisoner by the Germans, and then was freed and made it home to the states where he led a full, happy, and productive life. More...

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Feb 03, 2009

Nicholas rated it:

Fascinating. For those with more of a scientific or theoretical mind this book is great. It brings order to the seeming chaos of accidents and makes one wonder "How would I react in that situation?", knowing that how ytou think you would act isn't necessarily how you'll act.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 04, 2010

Reid rated it:

I wanted to really love this book, but I only really enjoyed half of it. The good half of the book is composed of the passages of real-life stories of disaster and survival. I was surprised at how fascinated I was by these accounts, both the events I was aware of (Joe Simpson's 'Touching the Void' disaster) and the ones I had never heard of. Gonzales' story of his father being shot down during WW2 over Germany and surviving a 27,000 foot fall is amazing, if only tangentially related to the re More...

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Jan 17, 2010

Michele rated it:

I expected a lot more from this book. He promised to explain why given the same survival scenario, one person would live and one would die, not always the ones you'd expect. What you get instead is some pseudo-scientific explanations, inadequately cited, a lot of uninteresting anecdotes about his search for the survivor experience, interspersed with some genuinely interesting survival stories.
One thing that really bothered me was his use of scuba divers to illustrate people in jeopardy More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

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