The Unthinkable

This book is so interesting! I learned so much about the complexity of human behavior and why we act certain ways during a disaster. This book is a must to read because it teaches you so much about how to survive when the unthinkable happens. It offers personal stories from a wide variety of disasters, like fires, hurricanes, tsunami's, shootings, crowd-crushing, driving, etc. I feel more prepared to handle a disaster now.

This book has stayed with me over the years and I find myself telling people tidbits out of it with regularity. I personally do safety things out of habit that I read in this book a decade ago- when I'm on a plane, in a hotel, in a movie theater– that's how profound her research is. This book is a must read for anyone. Full stop. I just bought a copy of it to reread recently. This time I will read it slowly and soak up all of the incredible information she has amassed from all the people she interviewed.

The writing and reporting were fine, but I was expecting a book that had more specifics about what to do in the case of an emergency or specifically what others did (that I could learn from). This is more about how your brain works in a crisis.

Amanda Ripley is an excellent journalist and writer. EVERYONE MUST READ THIS BOOK. It's just excellent.

According to my records here, I've listened to this 4 times since 2009. It's still awesome and I think everyone should read it. It's both fascinating and I think useful although I hope to never have to utilize any of the usefulness.