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Book Review of Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
Shervivor avatar reviewed on + 97 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


I can understand why some people would have problems completing this book (such as my mother who gave up quickly). The beginning of the book spends a lot of time discussing the mechanisms of the human mind and is very scientific. Personally, I just skipped over those paragraphs until the author got back on track with the interesting points that would lead someone unscientific like me to be reading this book.

He covers many unknown,well known and personal survival stories. The book begins and ends telling the story of his father who was a WWII fighter pilot that was shot down and held as a prisoner of war in Germany. There are many references to those who did and did not survive the World Trade Center collapses. Some of the other incidents covered are; river rafting accidents, mountain climbing incidents, an avalanche, a skiier who goes off trail and becomes lost, hikers lost in the woods (including the author), a Peruvian airline crash and survival at sea.

The book gets more interesting when the author gets passed the brain chemistry of survival and delves into the emotions of the people who survive. The book gives you a good foundation of what you would require mentally to survive a catastrophic event.