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The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why | 
 enlarge | Author: Amanda Ripley
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $13.98
You Save: $10.97 (44%)
New (32) from $13.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 922
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0307352897
Dewey Decimal Number: 155.935
EAN: 9780307352897
ASIN: 0307352897
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
It lurks in the corner of our imagination, almost beyond our ability to see it: the possibility that a tear in the fabric of life could open up without warning, upending a house, a skyscraper, or a civilization.
Today, nine out of ten Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorism, or other disasters. Tomorrow, some of us will have to make split-second choices to save ourselves and our families. How will we react? What will it feel like? Will we be heroes or victims? Will our upbringing, our gender, our personality–anything we’ve ever learned, thought, or dreamed of–ultimately matter?
Amanda Ripley, an award-winning journalist for Time magazine who has covered some of the most devastating disasters of our age, set out to discover what lies beyond fear and speculation. In this magnificent work of investigative journalism, Ripley retraces the human response to some of history’s epic disasters, from the explosion of the Mont Blanc munitions ship in 1917–one of the biggest explosions before the invention of the atomic bomb–to a plane crash in England in 1985 that mystified investigators for years, to the journeys of the 15,000 people who found their way out of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Then, to understand the science behind the stories, Ripley turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts, formal and informal, from a Holocaust survivor who studies heroism to a master gunfighter who learned to overcome the effects of extreme fear.
Finally, Ripley steps into the dark corners of her own imagination, having her brain examined by military researchers and experiencing through realistic simulations what it might be like to survive a plane crash into the ocean or to escape a raging fire.
Ripley comes back with precious wisdom about the surprising humanity of crowds, the elegance of the brain’s fear circuits, and the stunning inadequacy of many of our evolutionary responses. Most unexpectedly, she discovers the brain’s ability to do much, much better, with just a little help.
The Unthinkable escorts us into the bleakest regions of our nightmares, flicks on a flashlight, and takes a steady look around. Then it leads us home, smarter and stronger than we were before.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 The Unthinkable August 28, 2008
This book is really unthinkable amazing!!!
It makes you learning so many things on the subject "human behaviour during catastrophes", which you wouldn't expect.
It's nearly all stories-interesting examples from whom to collect and understand theory.
I strongly recommend it to anybody interested on the subject.
Wow August 24, 2008
Such an in-depth study of the human psyche. Great read. I highly recommend this book.
What If???? August 23, 2008
Everyone does it. Bored at work, staring out a window. Or late at night, unable to sleep. The "what if" game.What if the unthinkable thing ever happened, what would you do? Could you handle it? Would you survive?
THE UNTHINKABLE by Amanda Ripley is based on just this intriguing premise and she takes us into the world of several different heroes and heroines who, yes, they did just that. They survived. But more than that, Ms. Ripley slips into analytical mode to help us understand the reasons behind their sudden bursts of courage, often breaking free of an otherwise ordinarily unremarkable normal life.
THE UNTHINKABLE was an engrossing read, one that I would recommend for many reasons. Entertainment, of course. Information, always a plus. But more importantly, it gave me a sense of awareness. Of how sudden all things precious can be plucked away from us and while we can never truly plan for that, a sense of awareness is always a valuable thing, not to be taken for granted.
As any student of history would sadly agree.
"The Unthinkable" - A must read! August 18, 2008
"The Unthinkable" logically deconstructs disasters and examines who survives and who doesn't. It provides a fantastic framework for examining risks in your life, and thinking about how best to surive these risks. It is not a doomsday book about stockpiling food in your basement bunker, but instead deals with a way to think about these situations beforehand, so that you will be better mentally prepared.
The book is well-written, and I had trouble putting it down. My wife is currently reading it, and enjoying it also. After reading this book I believe I will react differently if I am ever faced with a looming disaster scenario. I believe that everyone should read this book, and I am giving to my parents to read next.
The Unthinkable made Thinkable August 15, 2008
Amanda Ripley's "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Srikes and Why," is a tale told that might just keep you alive. The "3-D's" (Denial, Deliberation and Decisive Moment) provide structure for her narrative. These are the stages that human beings typically pass through when some catastrophic event actually occurs. I would have preferred that Decisive Moment be called simply "Decision," but that is a minor point.
Although it sounds simple and corny, being prepared really does improve one's odds of survival. To have thought about what might happen when a disaster strikes, to have a plan, to have practiced the plan are the way-steps to putting yourself into survivor mode.
Ripley takes the reader through a wide variety of modern disasters and catastrophic events. The bombing of the World Trade Center, the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Air Florida crash, the London subway attack, earthquakes, fires, the Virginia Tech shootings, Hurricane Katrina to name a few.
For some, the fickle finger of fate will mean instant death without any opportunity for action or escape. However, for most people there are decisions to be made and actions to be taken which can dramatically improve one's ability to survive death or serious injury. Personality traits factor in, even one's body type plays a role, along with an understanding of human evolutionary history are some of the ingredients in the survival stewpot. But any person can learn, prepare for and practice steps that will improve one's own odds of survival.
There is a fresh air of optimism to Ripley's narrative, which I really like. It is not fantasy optimism. The practical and simple things that one can learn and the actions one can plan for in a disaster situation are key ingredients in the survival recipe. Except for an unlucky few, most of us still have opportunites and choices when the unthinkable does happen.
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