Sunday, January 18, 2009
Review of the Survivor's Club
Review of The Survivor's Club, the Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life
Author: Ben Sherwood
Non-Fiction
Grand Central Publishing
January 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-58024-3
The Survivor's Club is a fascinating collection of stories about people who survived disasters with subsequent analysis of a question that should be of interest to just about everyone; is surviving a disaster more than luck and, if so, is there a way to quantify what it takes to survive?
The book details several disasters, some of them well known, and the people who survived them; from plane crashes to animal attacks as well as accidents that could happen to anyone. These chapters, riveting and extremely well written, are interspersed with analysis that calls on expert opinion, advice and explanations that will have you itching to take notes and, quite likely, vowing to change a few habits. I will, for example, never again wear sandals on a plane. Lest you think only hale and hearty young men with extensive and specialized survival training are club members, Sherwood includes in his case studies several examples of normal men and women who found themselves thrust into overwhelming and potentially fatal circumstances and yet survived.
I found the book to be surprisingly uplifting given that the subject matter is things that went horribly wrong. In the course of presenting these disastrous situations, Sherwood is, of course, analyzing what went right. I very much appreciated the nod to that fact that some disasters are simply not survivable and no amount of preparation or personal fortitude will change the outcome. For all other cases there are indeed some commonalities for those who survive, some of which should come as no surprise. Keeping calm, the ability to quickly analyze and react and some form of personal faith. Others were surprising, such as the chapter on how fear can save your life. It is comforting to know there isn't one and only one type of survivor. The lack of one or two of the commonalities Sherwood identifies in no way consigns you to certain death in the face of disaster.
I thoroughly enjoyed the opening chapters of this book. They were well written and completely engaging; riveting, in fact. The expert opinion and analysis was fascinating as well. The section on the role of faith was by far the weakest. There was scant acknowledgment that a belief in God is not a requirement for the kind of faith that can pull a person through an ordeal. Sherwood openly confesses his own religious conversion as a result of his experiences and his research for this book. Whether that affected what I feel is the weakest portion of the argument set forth here I can't say. However, this section contains conclusions that are simply not supported by the evidence and examples cited. The studies put forth as proving the role of religious faith lacked control cohorts. Without those, the conclusions made are not logically permissible. Despite my troubles with the logical flaws of this section, I have no issue whatever with the notion that personal faith can be and frequently is a source of personal strength.
The final section of The Survivor's Club is a web-based section that permits readers to take a quiz that analyzes their personal survival traits. This was not available to me with the Advanced Reader Copy I had but will, of course, be available to people who purchase the final book.
The Survivor's Club is a fascinating and well-written analysis of the traits of people who survive disasters. Highly recommended.
Disclosure: As you probably know if you're reading this, Grand Central Publishing publishes my paranormal romances.
Author: Ben Sherwood
Non-Fiction
Grand Central Publishing
January 2009
ISBN: 978-0-446-58024-3
The Survivor's Club is a fascinating collection of stories about people who survived disasters with subsequent analysis of a question that should be of interest to just about everyone; is surviving a disaster more than luck and, if so, is there a way to quantify what it takes to survive?
The book details several disasters, some of them well known, and the people who survived them; from plane crashes to animal attacks as well as accidents that could happen to anyone. These chapters, riveting and extremely well written, are interspersed with analysis that calls on expert opinion, advice and explanations that will have you itching to take notes and, quite likely, vowing to change a few habits. I will, for example, never again wear sandals on a plane. Lest you think only hale and hearty young men with extensive and specialized survival training are club members, Sherwood includes in his case studies several examples of normal men and women who found themselves thrust into overwhelming and potentially fatal circumstances and yet survived.
I found the book to be surprisingly uplifting given that the subject matter is things that went horribly wrong. In the course of presenting these disastrous situations, Sherwood is, of course, analyzing what went right. I very much appreciated the nod to that fact that some disasters are simply not survivable and no amount of preparation or personal fortitude will change the outcome. For all other cases there are indeed some commonalities for those who survive, some of which should come as no surprise. Keeping calm, the ability to quickly analyze and react and some form of personal faith. Others were surprising, such as the chapter on how fear can save your life. It is comforting to know there isn't one and only one type of survivor. The lack of one or two of the commonalities Sherwood identifies in no way consigns you to certain death in the face of disaster.
I thoroughly enjoyed the opening chapters of this book. They were well written and completely engaging; riveting, in fact. The expert opinion and analysis was fascinating as well. The section on the role of faith was by far the weakest. There was scant acknowledgment that a belief in God is not a requirement for the kind of faith that can pull a person through an ordeal. Sherwood openly confesses his own religious conversion as a result of his experiences and his research for this book. Whether that affected what I feel is the weakest portion of the argument set forth here I can't say. However, this section contains conclusions that are simply not supported by the evidence and examples cited. The studies put forth as proving the role of religious faith lacked control cohorts. Without those, the conclusions made are not logically permissible. Despite my troubles with the logical flaws of this section, I have no issue whatever with the notion that personal faith can be and frequently is a source of personal strength.
The final section of The Survivor's Club is a web-based section that permits readers to take a quiz that analyzes their personal survival traits. This was not available to me with the Advanced Reader Copy I had but will, of course, be available to people who purchase the final book.
The Survivor's Club is a fascinating and well-written analysis of the traits of people who survive disasters. Highly recommended.
Disclosure: As you probably know if you're reading this, Grand Central Publishing publishes my paranormal romances.
Labels: Book Review
posted by Carolyn @ 1/18/2009 09:47:00 PM Permalink
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