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leleroulant's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating book...a must read. You learn all you need to know to increase your chances of surviving everything from a plane crash to a lion attack to cancer.
librariann's review against another edition
3.0
The ARC of this book sat on my shelf for a year, but now that I have finally read it I will say that it is worthwhile. Like Arthur Dent, I know that paying attention to the safety briefing will help you survive a plane crash. Full of useful tidbits and FACTS for being FACTUAL.
alvalvano's review against another edition
2.0
Some interesting tidbits, lots of great stories from the survivors he interviews. I mostly felt that the various points made were shallow at best, condescending at worst.
alex_ellermann's review against another edition
3.0
This is a perfectly fine book with some interesting thoughts. However, it’s limited by its prose style. Upside: this is one of those books that makes you think, “Jeesh, I could write a book.”
emiged's review against another edition
3.0
The topic of this book is so similar (read: almost identical) to the one I read just previously (The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley) that I'm afraid it suffers just because of the order I happened to pick them up. And it's impossible to write this review without comparing the two of them. Several of the same disasters were discussed, the same scientific findings analyzed, the same experts quoted. The Survivors Club adds some interesting tidbits - like the best place to have a heart attack is in a casino because of the proximity to defibrillators and people trained to use them and statistically you're more likely to die during the week surrounding your birthday than any other time. It also delves more deeply into the role of faith and the will to live than the other book. But I liked the way that The Unthinkable was organized better - there was a methodical approach to the individual's reaction to a disaster - it was more accessible and applicable. The Survivors Club seemed a bit more scattered in its structure. Part II of The Survivors Club, which provides the reader the opportunity to complete an online test to identify his/her "Survivor Profile" and top strengths in a survival situation, was the biggest difference between the two books, but that's the part I found least interesting or helpful.
For more book reviews, visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
For more book reviews, visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
cmcahill's review against another edition
4.0
I am totally inspired by this book. It is not a "How-to" book, but rather a look at surviving-how do we do it-and I am totally buoyed up the the incredible stories in this book.
eliser217's review against another edition
2.0
I thought this book was just OK overall, but damn if I don't think of it every time I get on a plane! Through personal narratives from various types of "survivors," this book outlines all of the ways to keep yourself alive in a disaster situation. The author uses some iffy qualitative research to come up with these various factors, I personally would have wanted to see a little more hard science along with it. It's an entertaining and fairly light read. If nothing else, it will make you more attentive during takeoff and landing!
suncoyote's review against another edition
2.0
It's official: I'm giving up on nonfiction. After reading Supersense I'm discovering a dearth of solid content. What is Sherwood's point? Is his point that we're all survivors? No, wait, his point is that some people are just lucky! No, wait his point is that some people make their own luck! No, wait his point is that we all have strengths!
For the love of god, quit pulling punches! Just tell me: "You are coddled in your safe, cashmere life and if disaster ever struck you'd be the sucker gaping at the lava rolling down the mountain and die with your food still unchewed." But, no, instead Sherwood spend 2/3rds of the book gently reassuring us that bad things happen, but some people just seem to live! So, don't worry, all you need is to do is eject out of a plane at mach 3, then lay in the ocean overnight and then "muster up this one last surge of strength" to survive until the morning. As if everything really just counted on darn luck and a will to not drown. I want the stories about the people who use their wits and wiles to defeat the greatest tragedies. Where is the story about the person who gets trapped in a bear trap and gnaws off their arm? Where are the stories of women who wrestle crocodiles? Where are the stories of heroism because people did more than just decide they were going to live--they took action? Where are those stories? Because they are, most assuredly, not in this book.
(Also, ps., that code you provided in the book jacket to allow readers to take the online survivor profile test only works once--and whoever figured out how to read the code through the library protective covering, like me, already used it.)
For the love of god, quit pulling punches! Just tell me: "You are coddled in your safe, cashmere life and if disaster ever struck you'd be the sucker gaping at the lava rolling down the mountain and die with your food still unchewed." But, no, instead Sherwood spend 2/3rds of the book gently reassuring us that bad things happen, but some people just seem to live! So, don't worry, all you need is to do is eject out of a plane at mach 3, then lay in the ocean overnight and then "muster up this one last surge of strength" to survive until the morning. As if everything really just counted on darn luck and a will to not drown. I want the stories about the people who use their wits and wiles to defeat the greatest tragedies. Where is the story about the person who gets trapped in a bear trap and gnaws off their arm? Where are the stories of women who wrestle crocodiles? Where are the stories of heroism because people did more than just decide they were going to live--they took action? Where are those stories? Because they are, most assuredly, not in this book.
(Also, ps., that code you provided in the book jacket to allow readers to take the online survivor profile test only works once--and whoever figured out how to read the code through the library protective covering, like me, already used it.)
trevynzobell's review against another edition
2.0
I’ll be honest I would have NEVER read this book if it wasn’t my wife’s absolute favorite for a while. If it didn’t have the chapter about surviving plane crashes I think it would have been a total let down, but overall it was fairly interesting. Give it a try if you already know this would interest you.