Monday, February 15, 2010

Survivor Type.

Having read Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why, I was intrigued when I saw a copy of The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life at the book store. I took it home to read, and I wasn't disappointed. In amongst the anecdotes (which are unfortunately occasionally treated as the plural of "data") are such topics as:
  • Why, if you have to go into cardiac arrest, a Vegas casino is a great place to do so.
  • Why it's important to listen to the flight attendant's safety briefing.
  • Things you shouldn't do when your conveyance leaves you floating in the ocean.
  • Why "Losing Your Religion" in a crisis can actually have a deleterious effect on your chances of seeing your next birthday.
Worth reading.

8 comments:

Joanna said...

Maybe if you think you thought you saw you try, that helps.

*mandolin break!

Tam said...

I LOL'ed. :D

JD said...

My wife read the book, I found it very interesting, especially the parts about being shot/stabbed.

As an added bonus I was able to buy my wife a fire starting kit (ferro rod/magnesium rod) for Christmas and she loved it.

Ambulance Driver said...

"Why, if you have to go into cardiac arrest, a Vegas casino is a great place to do so."

Or for that matter, O'Hare International Airport.

Prompt CPR and AEDs beat the best paramedics, doctors and nurses every time.

T.Stahl said...

Having read - and enjoyed - Deep Survival after your recommendation, I guess I'll get that other book as well.

Anonymous said...

I've read both in the last two years and wholeheartedly recommend both.

When I faced brain surgery in December, I frequently used tips and ideas from the books to keep my sanity and keep moving forward. "Surviving is living above and beyond the present circumstances. Just gotta make it a few more minutes..." was my mantra in the ICU.

Best of all, my kids yell "auto dog" any time they see a frozen yogurt machine now.

global village idiot said...

http://www.alpharubicon.com

gvi

Zendo Deb said...

You may also like "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why" by Amanda Ripley.