A Paranoid's Ultimate Survival Guide: Dust Mites to Meteorites, Tsunamis to Ticks, Killer Clouds to Jellyfish, Solar Flares to Salmonella [Paperback]

Patricia Barnes-Svarney (Author), Thomas E. Svarney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2002

This entertaining book enlightens the reader to the hidden (and sometimes not-so-hidden) dangers of our world, from what's lurking at your next picnic or on a kitchen sponge to bad bullfrogs and the dangers of burning backyard barrels. The authors do more than just list the possible dangers we all face in and outside our home. They also help the reader judge the severity of these lurking threats and offer suggested remedies and solutions. A concluding chapter is devoted to resources on the Web that will bring you up to date on what is known about each hazard. If you're feeling paranoid, "A Paranoid's Ultimate Survival Guide" will show you why you have good reason to feel the way you do, and teach you how to cope with the very real threats around us. As your mother warned you, even paranoids have enemies.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-In a highly entertaining, avuncular "for dummies" style, the authors provide brief, if sketchy, information about threats that range from "dust mites to meteorites, tsunamis to ticks, killer clouds to jellyfish, solar flares to salmonella." The far-ranging material is organized into eight chapters, each with a chatty but informative introduction, on such subjects as geology, climate, space, travel, medicine, and the environment (indoors and out). As the title promises, each warning is accompanied by advice on "judging the danger" and "help from danger." Sidebars and photos further enliven the proceedings. The lighthearted approach might be distressing to those who have actually suffered some of the disasters described, but it should appeal to most readers. For those who have grown up in a culture in which urban myths and media misrepresentations encourage anxiety without offering a sense that the individual can affect the outcome, this book provides a much-needed antidote. Endnotes provide a starting point for further research on each topic.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The Svarneys help readers maximize anxiety with alarming statistics . . . but minimize worry with scientific but easy-to-understand evaluations of risk . . ." -- Dallas Morning News, September 1, 2002

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Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573929719
• ISBN-13: 978-1573929714
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,382,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blending humor with authentic hazards, December 4, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Paranoid's Ultimate Survival Guide: Dust Mites to Meteorites, Tsunamis to Ticks, Killer Clouds to Jellyfish, Solar Flares to Salmonella (Paperback)

Blending humor with authentic hazards, this tells how to cope with feelings of terror over everything from dust mites and meteorites to solar flares and poisoning. These are everyday hazards for the most part: the authors assess the severity of these threats and offer suggestions for overcoming them.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book left me scratching my head .. . ., January 26, 2007

By 

mcHaiku "nmi" (Brown County INDIANA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Paranoid's Ultimate Survival Guide: Dust Mites to Meteorites, Tsunamis to Ticks, Killer Clouds to Jellyfish, Solar Flares to Salmonella (Paperback)

. . . and wondering how Reviewer mcHAIKU survived all the trauma of Wars & Pestilence and lived to be 80 without becoming paranoid. (?) My blithe attitude may have to make an about face with one granddaughter studying in the San Andreas Fault area, another beginning studies in the vicinity of the New Madrid Fault, plus a family living in Indiana's Tormado Alley.

This book may be referred to with unhappy frequency. For 'head-scratching' there is plenty to be learned on pages 208-214, some of it rather revolting. The authors are practiced information-gatherers & they also offer lots of remedies. That's to balance the scary parts. It helps to have a good index & plenty of references in the EndNotes, to which you can add by stuffing your copy with newspaper & magazine clippings.

This reader is careful now to heat water for ONLY two minutes in the microwave, and my eye will scan more carefully the labels of toilet cleaners. The fire-builder in the family will be quizzed about chances that our wood-burning stove is a potential threat for carbon monoxide poisoning. I do applaud the authors for their challenge to adults on page 252, to "TURN OFF THE TV & GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY!"

The book is formatted to encourage you to THOROUGHLY read all sections. In a race for time to get this re-mailed to the studious one in Santa Cruz, I admit to some skimming. I'll doubtless give up and order another copy. Who of us doesn't have a hang-up or two, anyway?