Customer Reviews

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(66)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Wow, what a book. Contains all kinds of cool stuff I've always wanted to know. Heres a partial list of whats in the book:-How to jump from a bridge into a lake or river.-How to jump from a multi-story rooftop into a dumpster.-How to run on top of a speeding train.-How to leap from a motorcycle into moving car.-How to deliver a baby in a taxi cab.-How to land an airplane.-How to survive if your parachute fails to open.-How to survive machine gun fire from a passing car.-How to get to the surface if your scuba tank runs out of air.-How to escape quicksand (even if your up to your neck).-How to ram a car.-How to break down a door (exactly where to kick.)-How to break into and hotwire a car.-How to do a 180 degree turn with your car (also known as a bootleggers turn).-How to fight sharks, grizzly bears and mountian lions without any kind of weapons. -How to beat the living hell out of an attacking alligator (where to hit him that will stop him instantly).This is dead serious material. I have no idea why it would be in the humor section of the bookstore. Buy it, learn the material, weave some fantastic tales for the grand kids and become the family legend. I enjoyed this book so much I bought 3 copies for my 'very tough' beer drinking buddies.

This calendar is the perfect gift for the office bound weekend warrior, trivia buff, outdoors-person, or survivalist nut on your holiday list.

How to fend off a shark attack? How to jump from a five story building into a dumpster? How to survive a hostage situation? I have to ask myself...who in the world (outside the Navy SEALS) needs to KNOW this stuff? Well, heck, not me. But I LOVED reading this book.

This book DOES have some critical information in it that everyone should have learned in grade school but too many of us forget; practical stuff like tornado safety, fire escape, or how to avoid being hit my lightning.

Most of us daydream occasionally about a life with more excitement and adventure. And who hasn't wondered about how one would survive a several hundred foot plunge into a river al la "The Fugitive"? And how much training (and insanity) did it take to become that guy on "The Crocodile Hunter"? The one thing that I wonder most about all this is who these "experts" are who came up with the information on, say, "jumping off a five story building into a dumpster". How do they know how to escape a mountain lion attack or the best way to ram a car out of one's way or how to dodge a bullet? Trial and error? The mind boggles.

Hopefully, no one reading this book will ever have to actually use it. In spite of the scare factor, however (or perhaps because of it), this is one VERY interesting, fascinating, funny book, and great for passing around at parties. It has a "you have GOT to be kidding me" factor that is just fantastic.

In any case, the Worst Case Scenario Calendar is so amazingly, marvellously surreal, you have to own it just for the cachet factor. And frankly, its as close as I EVER want to get to this kind of `adventure".

As a contributor to this book (unpaid) I was rewarded by the authors with an autographed copy. Upon opening it I was delighted with what could only be described as a "What would I do?" guide for potential Walter Mittys.

How to take a headpunch, how to wrestle an alligator/shark, how to avoid gunfire, how to escape quicksand, how to land a plane, how to jump out of a moving car, how to get onto a moving freight train and how to survive a sinking automobile (my contribution) are but a few of the entertainingly written and illustrated topics.

What guy, sitting in a darkened theater watching Arnold, Sly or John Wayne for that matter, hasn't wondered "How would I get out of (or survive) that situation?" This book answers them all!

I purchased several copies for male friends and family members who I know all secretly want to go on a search and destroy mission with Chuck Norris or dig for buried treasure with Indiana Jones.

I have to confess, I've never found any manaul so amusing! For all you writers and D&D adventures, this guide helps you learn how to deal with all-too-often-occurences with your charcters. Unfortuantely, these things can happen in real life too, so one must be prepared. Now, I wouldn't expect to be able to walk into the cockpit and just take over from this book, but I might be able to radio for help, and (at worst) not-so-leathly land the plane.

Though all joking aside, there are important things written in this book that everyone should know how to do. Like escape from a sinking car, deal with down power lines, ecsape bears; mountain lions; and bees, and of course; identify a bomb. It is a lovely travel size, perfect to stuff in your backpack or purse. (It would be assumed you'd read it BEFORE heading out... It would be rather awkard trying to hit the alligator and read at the same time...)

Thankfully, one should never really need such information, but should such a tradgey arise, at least you would have been prepared! I do not recomend to live (or die) by this handbook, but if you ever just wanted to know how to survive if your chute doesn't open...

Other than that, the authers attack the subject with humor and jovaility in such a way that makes it a good read whether you ever need the advice or not!

I am a little confused by reviewers that describe this book as funny. It may be misleading, because the information contained in this handbook is real, serious, and written by consulting experts in different fields.

Now, maybe what they find funny is the included scenarios, because it is really a bizarre selection. I will clasify them in two categories:

Useful: Information you really need to know. Such as

* How to break down a door

* How to escape killer bees

* How to perform a tracheotomy

* How to survive a snake attack

* How to treat frostbite

Entertaining: You will probably never be even close of needing this stuff, but the information is amusing

* How to survive if your parachute fails to open

* How to escape from quicksand

* How to maneuver on top of a train and get inside

* How to jump from a building into a dumpster

* How to leap from a motorcycle to a car

The book is easy to read, as there is no techno language, there are lots of illustrations, and the information is divided in bullets.

An excellent conversation topic and reference guide. Highly recommended.

When I was a kid, I had my brother tie me up so I could practice the art of escaping from restraints. Just in case I was ever tied up by bad guys, with a ticking bomb taped to the chair. I practiced parachute failure landings by jumping off the roof, spent a night in a snow fort, studied lock-picking, "shadowed" my sister and her friends... I so wanted to be a secret agent. I grew up and did not join the CIA, nor did I become a Mafia hit man but reading 'The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook' reminded me of the day when I wanted nothing more than to be that man of action. Ah such is the stuff of dreams... most of the advice is to stir fantasies up. Some of it could really come in handy some time, like hot-wiring a car or how to survive an encounter with a mountain lion. I love the industructable binding, I plan on taking the book with me on camping trips to read choice nuggets outloud. Good stuff. One caveat though, don't try and peel the stickers that are on the cover like I did -- I know it's tempting but believe me -- leave them alone, the glue that was left behind was "survival glue" and when I used rubbing alcohol to get it off, the ink in the cover came off, but the glue just spread out.

This is a fun book; the kind of thing you'd want to get your dad for Father's Day. It'll get you thinking like James Bond or an action hero in no time, which is fun, but don't necessarily view this book as gospel. They don't call it "worst-case scenario" for nothing! The book is small, like a field manual, and can easily fit in a backpack or jacket pocket, as intended. Once you get past the disclaimer at the beginning (amusing in itself), the book is broken up into five sections: breaking/entering and escaping; how to fight (and fight off, whether alligators, killer bees, bulls, bears, swordsmen, etc.); jumping/evading; emergency surgery; and survival troubleshooting.

The book breaks the various topics down into simple, straightforward how-to's, sometimes accompanied with helpful (?) graphics. Experts were apparently consulted on these various topics, but you have to wonder when these would come up, or perhaps hope they never come up at all!

Some of my favorites are "How to jump from a building into a dumpster", "How to survive if your parachute fails to open" and "How to deliver a baby in a taxicab". This book is certainly amusing. I hope sequels to it come out, exploring ever-worse scenarios. I doubt if it'd be much use in a real crisis, because this kind of stuff has to be practiced, and, barring full-time employment in Gatorland, when are you going to have the opportunity to wrestle free of an alligator - when would you want to?

Regardless, it's a fun book. Your dad or grandfather will certainly get a kick out of it. I don't mean to seem sexist with that recommendation, but this is such a guy's book. How many women really worry about how to leap from a moving motorcycle to a moving car?

When I first saw this book listed, I thought "who on earth would buy that?" Well, turns out that would be me, buying it as the perfect gift for my ex, for Father's Day. [Let's just say, "average Joe with a touch of Dudley Do-Right."]

Of course, before wrapping it I had to read the whole thing through, cover-to-cover, and later wrestle it away from our almost-9 year old, who said it was scary, funny and interesting. I think he only gave it up because he knew he could finish it later.

True, many of the worst-case scenarios in this won't happen to me - I can't picture how I'd get into a situation where I'd have to leap from a motorcycle to a car, deal with a charging bull, or have to survive if my parachute doesn't open. Then again, if it happens, I'll be ready!

And it just might be possible that I'll need know how to treat frostbite, survive at sea, use a defibrillator to start someone's heart, survive an earthquake, make a fire without matches or avoid being struck by lightening. Now I know - and maybe one of the important things I know is that you CAN survive from some pretty awful things!

One of the most amusing parts of the book is in the intro, where the authors warn us - insist, actually -- that we consult a professionally trained expert before trying anything in this book. Good advise, if you happen to have one with you when that mountain lion attacks.

But as they say in the preface, "You never know" and "be prepared".

If you want to save your money for retirement, as one reviewer advises, I'd say that's fine. Buy it as a gift for the traveling student or co-worker or for that information-addict on your gift list.

Better yet, put this little book on your own Wish List!

A very entertaining read. I'm not sure I'd follow all the advise, even if I did find myself in one of these crazy scenarios. But the book is the ultimate coffee table, waiting room time killer. True or not, it's a very entertaining read. More cotton candy than steak in the brain food department. It's a way for all of us who have wondered what we'd do "if" to actually think through the scenarios in more detail, and the authors provide plenty of that. But the bottom line the book makes clear in just about any situation is that survival or just plain old success requires making the best use of your resources and never giving up, and that applies to all of life, not just crocodile wrestling. So the book has a more universal appeal than many of the negative critics give it credit for.

It is a bit odd that this book is found in the humor section of your better bookstores, when there isn't anything funny about the situations the book describes. Getting jumped by a bear can't be much fun, and I thnk having your parachute malfunction is no occasion for chuckles. And the guide is written in matter-of-fact style, no silliness or goofing around to be found.

So why is this book listed in the humor section? Well, imagine asking these questions with a straight face-- "How to survive a bull attack". "How to win a sword fight". "How to jump into a dumpster". Or imagine someone asking you these questions and honestly expecting a quick, helpful answer. You'd laugh. But the authors of this book didn't laugh. They actually asked the experts and found the best way to increase you odds of surviviing some of life's nastier surprises. While there is probably no certified "expert" on how to beat off an attacking great white shark, the advice given is as good as your gonna find, and if it increases your odds by 1%, well, that might be enough to save your bacon.

It's fascinating reading, and not at all silly. You may never have to jump from a motorcycle into a moving car, but you may find yourself lost in the woods on a cold day, and this guide gives good, simple advice on how to make it through in one piece. And if you ever have to jump from a bridge into a river (always a real possibility here in Pittsburgh) knowing that you should point your toes and clench your buttocks prior to impact may save you some real unpleasantness.

All in all, a kinda useful and definetely interesting book. I wouldn't spend six hours a day memorizing the whole thing and lie awake at night wondering if TOMORROW might be the day you'll be forced to beat back a mountain lion, but to be sure it's an entertaining read.