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How to Survive: Self-Reliance in Extreme Circumstances
When faced with near death, your survival instincts kick in. Instincts can only take you so far, however; it’s preparation and planning that can make the difference between living and dying. In How to Survive, readers will hear harrowing tales of survival and learn from them. These stories are broken down and studied, whether it’s the experience of a teenager hiking to safety as the only survivor of a plane crash in the Peruvian Amazon, a fisherman drifting for more than 400 days in an open boat across the Pacific Ocean, or a US Air Force fighter pilot forced to eject from his stealth fighter thousands of feet above the earth.
John Hudson, a military survivor instructor, introduces the mindset that he feels is imperative for success: the Survival Triangle. This combination of effort, hope, and goals, along with a few practical skills, provides a premade planning template that can be used to jumpstart the whole survival process.
John Hudson, a military survivor instructor, introduces the mindset that he feels is imperative for success: the Survival Triangle. This combination of effort, hope, and goals, along with a few practical skills, provides a premade planning template that can be used to jumpstart the whole survival process.
309 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 5, 2021
165 people are currently reading
365 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 37 reviews
February 6, 2022
Цитаты:
«Reading is one of the best ways to reduce stress. It was found to be 68 per cent better at reducing stress levels than listening to music, 300 per cent better than going for a walk and 700 per cent more than playing video games.»
«It’s the sort of thing you could do too, like simply having a back-up snack bar deep in your laptop bag for the emergency scenario of missing lunch when you’re on the way to an important meeting. People tend to think that the body and the mind are separate. I think it’s mad that people go to a meeting or event that could change their lives feeling hungry or thirsty. We are chemical creatures and I don’t care how well you’ve prepared a presentation or your answers to likely questions, if you’ve not given your brain the fuel it needs, you’ve not given yourself the best chance of success.»
«When I work with mixed groups of civilians and military, you can tell who’s military straight away. Anyone who’s been in the services wants to equip themselves with as much information about what we’re going to do as possible. We’re going into which forest? How big is it? How far away? What do we know about what’s in it? What will we be carrying? Most civilians would be halfway over the fence by the time you’d finished saying ‘forest’. This is because a key part of any military plan is trying to minimize the ‘risk to life’ in the event of things heading south. Preparation isn’t an optional extra, it’s the most important foundation of everything that follows. By narrowing the window of the unknown, you increase your chances of success.»
«What the researchers discovered is that if you hold a pencil in your mouth crossways (ever seen a dog with a stick that looks sad?) it forces your facial muscles into the position they’d be in if you were smiling. That’s enough to make the feedback kick in and your brain get sent a message that says ‘happy’. If you’re at a desk and you need to use this cheat, people will just assume your pen’s in your mouth while you type between notes; very industrious of you.»
«I think about the current fashion for the term ‘mindfulness’, for stopping and noticing, for paying attention to what your body and mind is telling you. I know how some of the survival instructors would react if I told them that we’re basically practising mindfulness every day. I probably couldn’t print that reaction, but I still think it’s true. A lot of what we do when we’re out and about could be labelled as mindfulness; we’re paying a lot of attention to now, to what’s around us and the many senses that our environment is firing».
«Go at Iban pace when you tackle large projects: by progressing at a steady rate that minimizes but never completely removes stress, I know that I’ll get to the finish line without having wasted any effort; like I would if I inadvertently followed a bad route because I rushed things.»
«Reading is one of the best ways to reduce stress. It was found to be 68 per cent better at reducing stress levels than listening to music, 300 per cent better than going for a walk and 700 per cent more than playing video games.»
«It’s the sort of thing you could do too, like simply having a back-up snack bar deep in your laptop bag for the emergency scenario of missing lunch when you’re on the way to an important meeting. People tend to think that the body and the mind are separate. I think it’s mad that people go to a meeting or event that could change their lives feeling hungry or thirsty. We are chemical creatures and I don’t care how well you’ve prepared a presentation or your answers to likely questions, if you’ve not given your brain the fuel it needs, you’ve not given yourself the best chance of success.»
«When I work with mixed groups of civilians and military, you can tell who’s military straight away. Anyone who’s been in the services wants to equip themselves with as much information about what we’re going to do as possible. We’re going into which forest? How big is it? How far away? What do we know about what’s in it? What will we be carrying? Most civilians would be halfway over the fence by the time you’d finished saying ‘forest’. This is because a key part of any military plan is trying to minimize the ‘risk to life’ in the event of things heading south. Preparation isn’t an optional extra, it’s the most important foundation of everything that follows. By narrowing the window of the unknown, you increase your chances of success.»
«What the researchers discovered is that if you hold a pencil in your mouth crossways (ever seen a dog with a stick that looks sad?) it forces your facial muscles into the position they’d be in if you were smiling. That’s enough to make the feedback kick in and your brain get sent a message that says ‘happy’. If you’re at a desk and you need to use this cheat, people will just assume your pen’s in your mouth while you type between notes; very industrious of you.»
«I think about the current fashion for the term ‘mindfulness’, for stopping and noticing, for paying attention to what your body and mind is telling you. I know how some of the survival instructors would react if I told them that we’re basically practising mindfulness every day. I probably couldn’t print that reaction, but I still think it’s true. A lot of what we do when we’re out and about could be labelled as mindfulness; we’re paying a lot of attention to now, to what’s around us and the many senses that our environment is firing».
«Go at Iban pace when you tackle large projects: by progressing at a steady rate that minimizes but never completely removes stress, I know that I’ll get to the finish line without having wasted any effort; like I would if I inadvertently followed a bad route because I rushed things.»
December 7, 2020
I really wish this was out before Christmas because I would happily wrap 3 of these copies for my family. With the world in its current state How to Survive provides readers old and young with some direction and guidance on how to survive through the shit life throws at you and thrive.
October 9, 2023
Enjoyable and relatable read framing preparedness and response planning in everyday life against the backdrop of extreme feats of survival.
Hudson uses real life disasters to illustrate the importance of pre-planning and effort in successfully navigating the more typical stressors we experience like work and leadership challenges.
Hudson uses real life disasters to illustrate the importance of pre-planning and effort in successfully navigating the more typical stressors we experience like work and leadership challenges.
June 18, 2021
How to Survive isn't your typical survival book. While it's got some things that you would find in your "Dummies Guide To Survival" kinds of books like how to build a fire or how to build an igloo it's less of a how-to book and more of a book on how survival psychology works and why you need to do certain things to not just survive being marooned on a deserted island but also to make it through the stresses of everyday life.
Written by RAF survival instructor (and the British Dude on "Dude, You're Screwed" which aired on Discovery way back when), John Hudson breaks down why you need to train yourself to react. How to handle panic attacks. How to handle things like, oh say, a global pandemic that locks down your city/state. It's a book on psychology but a practical book that's filled with anecdotes featuring people who survived but also those who didn't and it analyzes what they did right and what they did wrong and how you can apply that to your standard life.
The book is laid out in a logical manner, centering around anecdotes and stories from history as a framing device and learning module. I found it easy to follow, and I also appreciated the bullet points at the end that were essentially a TL:DR for the chapter. It reminded me in some ways of a textbook, which makes sense considering what the author does for a living.
It's a book that as I read I could see a lot of value it. It answers a core question: Why. Why study survival? Why prepare for the worst case scenario? Why carry a few small supplies, just in case. Why do things in a certain order. Etc. I've already recommended it to a few people who I've seen not be able to handle something unexpected or panic in several situations. Or those who I've seen get overwhelmed by life and trying to figure out how to triage things.
Additionally as an editor, I also would recommend this book for people who are interested in writing characters dealing with a survival situation. Knowing how an everyday person vs. a trained person reacts can be invaluable in creating believable scenarios and characterizations. This extends beyond the action/adventure genre but also into sci-fi, fantasy, YA, paranormal, urban fantasy, and even Romantic Suspense.
I fully enjoyed this book
And so because of that I give this:
Five Stars
Written by RAF survival instructor (and the British Dude on "Dude, You're Screwed" which aired on Discovery way back when), John Hudson breaks down why you need to train yourself to react. How to handle panic attacks. How to handle things like, oh say, a global pandemic that locks down your city/state. It's a book on psychology but a practical book that's filled with anecdotes featuring people who survived but also those who didn't and it analyzes what they did right and what they did wrong and how you can apply that to your standard life.
The book is laid out in a logical manner, centering around anecdotes and stories from history as a framing device and learning module. I found it easy to follow, and I also appreciated the bullet points at the end that were essentially a TL:DR for the chapter. It reminded me in some ways of a textbook, which makes sense considering what the author does for a living.
It's a book that as I read I could see a lot of value it. It answers a core question: Why. Why study survival? Why prepare for the worst case scenario? Why carry a few small supplies, just in case. Why do things in a certain order. Etc. I've already recommended it to a few people who I've seen not be able to handle something unexpected or panic in several situations. Or those who I've seen get overwhelmed by life and trying to figure out how to triage things.
Additionally as an editor, I also would recommend this book for people who are interested in writing characters dealing with a survival situation. Knowing how an everyday person vs. a trained person reacts can be invaluable in creating believable scenarios and characterizations. This extends beyond the action/adventure genre but also into sci-fi, fantasy, YA, paranormal, urban fantasy, and even Romantic Suspense.
I fully enjoyed this book
And so because of that I give this:
Five Stars
June 21, 2022
Really helpful and really readable
November 2, 2019
This is not just a Bear Grylls-style 'How to...' book that advocates eating grubs and turning some twigs into a rocket launcher (although there are some eye-opening tips and tricks), Oh No.
It's a lot more than that. HOW TO SURVIVE incorporates first hand accounts of those who have dealt with extreme situations, their mind sets and how they overcame the perils of the situations that they found themselves in. Those who remained calm and thought practically when they got lost at sea or up the world's tallest mountain, for example.
Not only that but saged advice and anecdotes from the author, who just happens to be the Chief Survival Instructor to the British Military. Which means that he is basically MacGyver. It's a great read. Wise, cerebral, clever and intriguing.
It's a lot more than that. HOW TO SURVIVE incorporates first hand accounts of those who have dealt with extreme situations, their mind sets and how they overcame the perils of the situations that they found themselves in. Those who remained calm and thought practically when they got lost at sea or up the world's tallest mountain, for example.
Not only that but saged advice and anecdotes from the author, who just happens to be the Chief Survival Instructor to the British Military. Which means that he is basically MacGyver. It's a great read. Wise, cerebral, clever and intriguing.
August 19, 2021
A lot of people love this. I can't say I learned many useful things apart from a few random tidbits of information here and there. There was a lot of fluffing about, a lot of storytelling, not so many practical tips as the book promised despite the author's efforts to compare a jungle to an office environment and no we're not all plagued by email reading.
June 17, 2022
Really interesting. This was narrated by the author which I quite liked.
February 14, 2021
This is not your usual survival guide. It is not a deep dive into details of shelter-building and fire-making. This guide addresses the most important issue, the psychology of survival. Who survives and why.
The author uses anecdotes about people who survived in various situations to demonstrate the concepts. Some made it and some did not. The cases provide real-world examples of what works in survival situations. Some of the stories are harrowing! I can’t even imagine some of the circumstances, but people survived!
I liked that this is a book that goes beyond just the physical survival skills. The attitude of the survivalist is just as important as mastery of the skills. If you don't have the proper attitude, you're likely not to be able to perform the skills or survive very well. You might make fatal mistakes, or make errors in judgement that could be costly. I think this guide should be essential reading for anyone who has any sort of conflicts in life, which includes us all! The tips the author gives apply to normal, daily life just as well as they apply to survival situations. It’s just plain good advice.
I highly recommend this book to anyone.
The author uses anecdotes about people who survived in various situations to demonstrate the concepts. Some made it and some did not. The cases provide real-world examples of what works in survival situations. Some of the stories are harrowing! I can’t even imagine some of the circumstances, but people survived!
I liked that this is a book that goes beyond just the physical survival skills. The attitude of the survivalist is just as important as mastery of the skills. If you don't have the proper attitude, you're likely not to be able to perform the skills or survive very well. You might make fatal mistakes, or make errors in judgement that could be costly. I think this guide should be essential reading for anyone who has any sort of conflicts in life, which includes us all! The tips the author gives apply to normal, daily life just as well as they apply to survival situations. It’s just plain good advice.
I highly recommend this book to anyone.
October 6, 2021
How to Survive: Lessons for Everyday Life from the Extreme World by John Hudson who is UK’s chief military survival inspector relays real world experience to explain what we can learn from them and apply it in our real life.
The book/manual has a a lot of points which you would have heard before, but a few insights that I found valuable are as follows:
1. Survival doesn’t mean only in jungles, the real life in cities need work too.
2. Don’t be too hard on yourself- The best are the ones who didn’t get it at first
3. Disruption is a choice, while consistency is comfort. I don’t have to tell you what drives growth
4. Your potential is defined by your will and being practical about what your body can handle in that situation. Don’t try to be a HERO for others!
5. E-readers or audiobooks can give you the same level of learning as a paperback.
#bookreview
The book/manual has a a lot of points which you would have heard before, but a few insights that I found valuable are as follows:
1. Survival doesn’t mean only in jungles, the real life in cities need work too.
2. Don’t be too hard on yourself- The best are the ones who didn’t get it at first
3. Disruption is a choice, while consistency is comfort. I don’t have to tell you what drives growth
4. Your potential is defined by your will and being practical about what your body can handle in that situation. Don’t try to be a HERO for others!
5. E-readers or audiobooks can give you the same level of learning as a paperback.
#bookreview
August 17, 2020
Book finished, 4*/5* as most survival books i have read there are numerous examples of people surviving in certain situations, this is no different. A lot of good examples or historical survival moments ie in May 1942 3 Royal Australian Airforce servicemen were sent to MEDEVAC a soldier from an abandoned outpost in Arnhem land. They encountered numerous issues, flight comms, and landing fault. Which then led to the servicemen having to survive themselves. Twenty-six days the survived in the wild, and rescued by a missionary.
June 21, 2022
Would have a 4.
Appendix focused on COVID took away from the entire book, using health "experts" as references. Unfortunately it dates the entire book and looking at data coming out now on the downsides of all the "expert" guidance hurts this book, as their guidance was in many ways anti-survival mentality, with isolation, lack of personal health care (gyms, social groups, etc.), masks, mental deterioration, blind obedience with lack of critical thinking, etc.
Appendix focused on COVID took away from the entire book, using health "experts" as references. Unfortunately it dates the entire book and looking at data coming out now on the downsides of all the "expert" guidance hurts this book, as their guidance was in many ways anti-survival mentality, with isolation, lack of personal health care (gyms, social groups, etc.), masks, mental deterioration, blind obedience with lack of critical thinking, etc.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2021
Excellent read. This book fills the gap within any survival library. By far the most informative read on the proper mindset composed of relevant stories to illuminate important lessons. Well referenced and cited.
January 30, 2022
O carte excelenta si foarte usor de citit. Imi place ca are si multe povesti adevarate ce te ajuta sa retii mai usor ce e bine si ce nu in situatii de supravietuire. In plus, multe din aceste tehnici sunt corelate si cu situatii din viata reala de la birou sau din trafic, de exemplu.
May 27, 2022
Pleasantly surprised by the book. Not a huge fan of one or two of his sources for pop psych, but he cherry picks the best that those writers included. A delightful narration from the author. It's definitely introductory—like one of several books you'd be assigned for a 101 class.
September 1, 2021
Great guide with a lot of interesting stories. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to apply this to my daily life, but I'm going to try.
Read
January 9, 2022Lectii de supravietuire in conditii extreme
March 6, 2022
A very informative and enjoyable read
August 13, 2022
Not bad by any means, but if you've done even a little reading on survival situations before, there won't really be anything new here.
January 23, 2024
3.5 with the second half of the book being more appealing than the first IMO. Would recommend overall
May 5, 2024
Really good book about the psychology of survival, and how that psychology is applicable to effective and efficient non-survival scenarios.
October 7, 2024
2.5
secret sauce is having a plan
secret sauce is having a plan
December 20, 2024
Enjoyed the style and substance of this book. Title is misleading, could be “extreme and ordinary circumstances” instead of “extreme circumstances“.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 37 reviews