Kurt's review of Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales
Kurt's review
rating:
recommended for:
outdoors folks, and indoors folks who want to survive the outdoors
status:
Read in December, 2007
Not exactly either a series of survival stories or a how-to-survive handbook, but interesting nonetheless. This books does include both. It's always interesting that survivors -- say after a plane crash, or a shipwreck, or lost in the woods, or after a mountain climbing accident, or in a P.O.W. camp (all of which are discussed here) -- are often not the youngest, fittest, strongest people in the group. There's something psychological about survival in these situations, and Gonzales explores that. Along with brain chemistry, and the physical aspects. A lot of survival (as I recall) depends upon being able to create new mental pictures of your surroundings; many people who don't make it out alive expend energy ignoring the obvious danger signs and the obvious paths to safety. Things don't appear 'the way they're supposed to be' and folks don't let themselves accept the obvious meaning: circumstances have changed (e.g., you're LOST; or the storm arrived a day early). Persisting in a...more
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