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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Not much more than a pamphlet.", March 1, 2001
This review is from: Survivor II: The Field Guide (Paperback)
Is it just me or is Mark Burnett getting further and further detached from reality (delusional as Rich Hatch would say)? Has he become so attached to his dramality projects that he no longer relates to the common masses who watch his shows? Does he not realize how obvious it is that he either wrote less of this book than his first one or that he wrote most of it and that's why it's just an extended brochure? SURVIVOR: THE ULTIMATE GAME was an interesting book. It contained a lot of behind the scenes information and though you can't believe everything you read, it was intriguing. Even if you weren't a fan of the show you can pick up that book and have an enjoyable read. Not so with SURVIVOR II: THE FIELD GUIDE. If you have never seen an episode of either Survivor, you'll probably not enjoy this book. A lot of the stuff found in here can be found in the encyclopedia. The chapter dealing with the end of the first show was a nice way to begin the book. The chapters dealing with the history of Australia, famous survivors, and the dangers of the outback were informative. Unfortunately, the character backgrounds and etcetra of the new contestants is lacking. There really isn't much here. There are a few tidbits scattered throughout, but for the most part, the contestant info (which should be the most interesting part of this book) is lacking. All in all, the book lives up to what the first few episodes of SURVIVOR II turned out to be: lots of movement, but not enough character.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Keep this next to you while you watch the show., January 30, 2001
This review is from: Survivor II: The Field Guide (Paperback)
This book will be extremely helpful to have next to you while you watch the show, especially at the beginning, before you get to remember all the contestants. It has has profiles, quotes and a psychiatrist's evaluations of all these people and even has what they think their strategy is going to be.There's a map and a scoresheet, too, if you really want to follow along. The part with the contestants' strategies in their own words is pretty amusing, because they all believe they're going to win, and think that just because they watched the last season of Survivor, that they're not going to make the same mistakes. It was also kind of cool to read the chapters by Mark Burnett about how the show got started and the fallout after the first Survivor finished.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Revealed at Last! How Jerri planned on winning the game..., May 14, 2001
This review is from: Survivor II: The Field Guide (Paperback)
"Survivor II: The Australian Outback" is over and done with, so why read "The Official Companion Book to the CBS Television Show"? Because if you were a devotee of the show you will find it interesting. The first section, "Survivor: Borneo," provides Mark Burnett's comments on the end game of the first "Survivor," looking at the last days, final tribal council, wrap party, and the show's premier as a prelude to casting the second series. The chapters providing "A Short History of the Land Down Under" and "The Playing Field" are concise but interesting looks at the playing field for the game with color photography similar to what we got during the series. The information on "The Contestants" in Chapter Four is arguably more interesting to read after the show rather than before hand. The comments of the Casting Director and the Psychologist about Jerri, Colby and the rest of the cast are wonderfully ironic given the way the game played out. This is even truer about the final chapter on "Strategies," where we learn how each of the sixteen INTENDED to play the game (Jerri wants to "find a way of not being so controlling"). The Sixteen Strategies for Winning "Survivor" laid out by Burnett are certainly fodder for discussion around your own tribal fire. But let's face it, the great thing about this Field Guide is reading about Jerri's intentions and self-image and comparing it with the "edited" product. You might get similar enjoyment reading about Tina, Elisabeth, Roger, Keith or whoever you favorites were (to win or to hate), but I cannot believe that there is anything as choice as what we see about the Wicked Witch of the Outback who insisted everything anybody did in the game was a strategic move, except, of course, for some of her kinder, gentler moments. This book would certainly be a fun read for anyone suffering from Survivor withdrawal.
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