It's a Disaster! ... and what are YOU gonna do about it?

by Bill Liebsch, Janet Liebsch

About the Authors:

Bill and Janet Liebsch are the authors, publishers, and founders of their new corporation, Fedhealth. They consider themselves "social entrepreneurs" since one primary goal is to develop and market programs that primarily benefit schools and nonprofits while helping communities focus on preparedness.

Genres: Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2000

Reviews

[Ioannis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to @BookTasters and the author Janet Liebsch (@itsadisaster) for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


I have to admit it. Before I read this book I thought that it was one of those books written by former CIA agents that can teach you how to escape if a kidnapper puts you in a car trunk, how to make a rope ladder from garbage bags, or how to bury a dead body without being found.
I love those kinds of books, but let's face it. What are the chances that you need this kind of information? Ok, everything can happen, and sometimes they really happen but what is more important? How to bury a dead body, or to have taught your children how to turn off the gas switch in the event of an earthquake. And this book is exactly that. All the useful information that every member of the family should know and all the information about organizations that you can turn to in case of an emergency.
It's a book that should be somewhere easily accessible and read at least once a year by everyone.
When the time comes for an earthquake, a flood, a fire, even an active shooter, (yes, infectious diseases too) it is good to know in advance what we have to do. Includes everything, how to prepare for a disaster, what to do during the disaster, and what to do after that. Please read this book. It's one of the most useful you will ever read.
I do not know how to rate such a book though. In terms of structure and information, I give it five stars. On the other hand, most of the addresses and telephone numbers refer only to the United States and Canada. So, it's 4,5 rounded up.

[Angelica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must have book for everyone, regardless of where you live. It’s written in a way that isn’t alarming but rather as a helpful aid to educate you on the dos and donts in various scenarios.

The book is incredibly thorough and provides valuable tips to protect yourself, your business and even property in the event of a disaster. It is easy to read and does a good job explaining the various disaster scenarios and defining terms . It’s worth getting multiple copies to keep at home, in your car, office, etc. The tips for Emergency kits was most helpful and something everyone should have ready in their home. Preparation helps to increase your chances of survival as well as helps you remain calm in scary situations. After reading this, I plan to make my own changes so that my family is better prepared. As a reference book, this is great to highlight and mark sections to review multiple times a year and also involve family members so that everyone knows what to do if you are not together when a disaster strikes. .

The book does a great job outlining every potential major disaster and describing in detail steps to take to mitigate your risks. The sections aren’t long which makes it easy to jump around and refresh your knowledge of various scenarios throughout the year. Reading the book in a pandemic really highlighted the importance of preparedness and how every location is prone to a disaster.

I love to travel and never thought to research the areas I visit for potential disaster that could strike. This book will come in handy to not only be prepared in my home but when I’m away from home too.

A big thanks to the author, Janet Liebsch for providing a copy for me to read as well as @Booktasters

[Chris Maddix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you keep reference books? I do. I love reference books. Occasionally, my books and I have meetings, and it's like getting together with old friends - haven't seen you for a while, great to meet up with you again, how have you been? You look terrific! Let me introduce you to a few of my favorites. By my bedside, I have The Lives & Times of the Great Composers, The Literature of the Western World (not really a reference book, but a compilation of the best literature from the ancient world to modern times), and the US Army Survival Manual. Our library houses the histories of Will and Ariel Durant and the Time-Life Books history series. My office contains, among others, Bulfinch's Mythology, Gray's Anatomy, Warriner's Elements of Writing, National Geographic's Who's Who in the Bible, and Country Wisdom & Know-How. Well, just now I discovered another must-have reference book - It's A Disaster, by Bill and Janet Liebsch. It's a Disaster includes guidance on creating a family emergency plan, offers suggestions (checklists) for disaster preparedness, mitigation and prevention, describes basic first aid, and provides disaster contact names and numbers.

How should the reader approach such a book? My recommendation would be to treat it like an encyclopedia - don't read it cover to cover, but develop an awareness of information provided. Look into developing a family emergency plan. Check up on supplies, including food, first aid, survival tools, personal hygiene items and clothing. Learn how to mitigate disasters - weather extremes, civil disturbance, diseases, etc. Locate the first aid and contact sections of the book, and know where to seek help. Finally, keep the book in a handy spot. It might just become an old friend.

[Sheidareads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanna say this book is useful and suitable for all ages :)

This book teaches us always aware, be ready, and have a plan before anything bad happens.

Before this, we become too nonchalant about it and start thinking they're all going to miss us or that we're blessed and they're never going to reach us. But after you read this book, you should always be prepared and keep a First Aid Kit in your home and
in every car and make sure everyone knows where kits are and how to use
them.

In fact, its many types of disaster we cannot control such as flood, extreme heat, tsunami, volcanic eruption, hailstorms, tornado and so on. Furthermore, this book gives tips and instructions what we gonna do to overcome this situation.

I never thought we need to draw our house route before, in case of emergency. But, now I know how important to draw a floor plan of our home showing doors, windows and
stairways. Mark locations of first aid and disaster kits, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, ladders, and utility shut-off points.It all makes sense now.

I learnt a lot from this book how to protect our family and property in hard times. I really recommended people to read this useful book to gain our knowledge about some things we cannot control such as disaster.

Thank you so much to the author, Janet Liebsch for giving me opportunity to read this book and a big thanks to Booktasters too.😊

[Kunmi Olamiju · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a Disaster! is an excellent resource for any individual, family or organization interested in knowing how to prepare for and prevent disasters. The book covers an impressive range of emergencies and disaster scenarios comprehensively and provides up-to-date information on how to deal with them, including how to perform basic first aid. The contact details of several Emergency Management offices are also provided.

The writing is accessible, every section concise, striking the right balance between technical jargon and colloquial language — it helps that relevant facts are often listed. The only fault I found in the book is the relative lack of illustrations. I hope there will be more in future editions. Aside from that, I highly recommend this book.

[Lina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, never read anything like it!

This book contains useful information that helps you out of critical situations. It’s very comprehensive thanks to the simple language used by the authors. It’s very straightforward and informative; I feel like this book is most useful when you own a hard copy of it because in times of an emergency you probably will not be able to use the internet/your phone.

Everyone should read this and discuss it with their loved ones so they can understand better how to act when a disaster occurs and prepare themselves for an emergency.

[Manal Jamaleddine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very important to learn the basics for each emergency case and how to deal with it unit help arrives. This book can serve as a guide to plan before a disaster, understand what to do during the disaster and recover from it as individual, family, business, community... etc. Very much worth it to keep a copy in the library.

[Calla · Rating 4 out of 5]

very useful :) The most valuable lesson this book taught me was to always always be aware, be prepared and always make a plan. Aside from the do's and don'ts, the book actually gives a picture of what actually happens during certain disaster, which would somehow give us an idea what could actually happen. It made me reminded me of the importance of first aid kits

[Melvin Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, I didn't love it. This book is customized for different organizations, mine is from the Medical Reserve Corps. It's a little handbook.

[Mikki Ibarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! Clear, concise, thorough, and I loved that the headlines were in red. Definitely something that I am keeping on my bookshelf and going to give to my more conspiracy theorist loved ones!

[Christa]

Good book to have when the Internet is not available or as concise in a time crunch.