Product Description

The unabridged first audio edition of the runaway bestseller that USA Today described as: "This is a no-nonsense, no fooling around guide with straightforward information. But fear not. The authors have enough perspective to acknowledge the campy appeal of an armchair guide for the anxious." Providing frightening and funny real information, this indispensable guide is the definitive handbook for those times when life takes a sudden turn for the worse.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #682482 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05
• Format: Unabridged
• Original language: Spanish
• Binding: Audio CD
• 2 pages

From Amazon.com

How to Wrestle Free from an Alligator: 4. If its jaws are closed on something you want to remove (for example, a limb), tap or punch it on the snout.

Though it's being marketed as a humorous title--after all, it's unlikely you'll be called upon to land a plane, jump from a motorcycle to a moving car, or win a swordfight--the information contained in The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is all quite sound. Authors Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht consulted numerous experts in their fields (they're cited at the end of the book) to discover how to survive various and sundry awful events. Parachute doesn't open? Your best bet for survival is to hook your arms through the straps of a fellow jumper's chute--and even then you're likely to dislocate both shoulders and break both legs. Car sinking in water? Open the window immediately to equalize pressure, then open the car door and swim to the surface. Buried in an avalanche? Spit on the snow--it will tell you which direction is really up. Then dig as fast as you can.

Each survival skill is explained in simple steps with helpful illustrations. Most stress the need to be prepared--both mentally and physically. For example, to escape from quicksand, you will need to lay a pole on the surface of the quicksand, flop on your back atop the pole, and pull your legs out one by one. No pole? No luck. "When walking in quicksand country, carry a stout pole--it will help you get out should you need to."

Hopefully you'll never need to know how to build a fire without matches, perform a tracheotomy, or treat a bullet wound. But in the words of survival evasion resistance escape instructor "Mountain" Mel Deweese, "You never know." --Sunny Delaney

From Publishers Weekly
You've just leapt off a building and, noticing a Dumpster below, you thank your stars that you've spent several hours listening to this cassette, and you can now land in said Dumpster without breaking your back. Although it is rather unlikely that you will ever use any of the material presented in the book how to perform a tracheotomy, or bring a plane in for an emergency landing these things do happen every once in a while. To someone, somewhere maybe. So it couldn't hurt to bone up on some skills, right? Though neither written nor read in a humorous manner, the book nevertheless amuses in a strange way; the decision to group numerous bizarre crises into two hours of tape, not to mention some of the particularly far-fetched scenarios ("How to Leap from a Motorcycle to a Car" or "How to Escape from Killer Bees") often exceed our expectations of absurdity. You can imagine needing to know CPR some day, but how many of us will have the opportunity to wrestle free from an alligator? As a man who has seemingly leapt into Dumpsters and jumped into moving vehicles (or had a stunt double perform these things), Reynolds seems a wise choice for a reader. Unfortunately, his presentation is flat and unenthusiastic, and it sounds like he's reading the material for the first time. Misplaced emphases render several passages difficult to understand. However, Reynolds's familiar voice, combined with the offbeat material, affords some camp appeal in the tradition of outdated high school safety films. Based on the Chronicle paperback.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Initially, this seems like a tongue-in-cheek self-help manual for bizarre situations, and while some of the disastrous encounters might seem farfetched, many will prove to be likely misadventures. Those most apt to be needed by ordinary folks include how to break down a door, how to deal with a downed power line, how to escape from a sinking car, how to treat frostbite, and how to avoid being struck by lightning. For the more adventurous souls, technical assistance is provided for how to escape from quicksand, how to land a plane, how to survive if your parachute fails to open, and how to get to the surface if your scuba tanks runs out of air. For every wild scenario (such as how to maneuver on top of a moving train) there is an equally plausible explanation for something probable, such as how to treat a leg fracture. There are some surprising bits of advice that are contrary to what most people believe such as not sucking out poisonous snake venom from a victim's wound, which will then poison the rescuer. The authors consulted experts in each field in order to provide the most accurate advice possible. Both Piven and Borgenicht are writers and editors and have experienced some dangerous encounters of their own. While some chapters will generate chuckles, others will make you pause to take notes, as you never know when you might find yourself in dire straits. Sure to be a big hit with teenage boys and adventurous types. Read by Burt Reynolds, this book is highly recommended for all public libraries. Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll., Kansas City, MO
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Kill two birds with one stone!
Turn otherwise wasted down-time into a great learning opportunity. Although there is no specific advice for how to kill two birds with one stone in the book, our bathroom guests have enjoyed learning about other survival situations while attending to their duties.

A sturdy cover and compact size makes this book especially suited to a harsh bathroom environment. Highly recommended!

Instructions on day to day life, well maybe not day to ....
This handbook gives the reader instructions on aspects of everyday life from how to deal with a snake bite to how to jump from a motorcycle into a moving car (something most people do quite frequently). How to hot wire a car or kick in a door is a must for any want to be criminal. Some of the things in here you're not real likely to use but it is interesting to read up on how they are done.

Lot of things you're more likely to be taught the correct way when partaking in the activity itself by actual instructors such as what to do if your air tank doesn't work while scuba diving both for people never likely to partake in some of the activites in this book who may be interested in what if questions then this book can suffice. It is pretty unlikely you are going to whip this little book out of your pocket as you are plummeting to earth when your parachute doesn't open and things like that but this book is an interesting read on what the ideal thing to do is.

A better book is the later version of this by one of the same authors of this book called The Action Hero's Handbook which also includes a lot of humour and acts as if the reader wants to be an action star in movies.

Danger is my business, and business is good
In my line of work, you have to know how to survive. From fending off sharks, escaping from killer bees, treating bullet wounds, to surviving poisonous snakes, danger is my business, and business is good.

In The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht describe step-by-step instructions with pictures on dealing with the situations above, and many more.

This 176 page book is broken up into five chapters, each dealing with situations of a particular vein. The first chapter, Great Escapes and Entrances, includes escaping from quicksand, breaking down doors, ramming cars, and escaping from sinking cars. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have to do that...

Chapter two titled The Best Defense gives tips on dealing with bears, mountain lions, charging bulls, how best to take a punch and winning a sword fight. I once had to deal with a bear armed with a saber, so this chapter was especially handy, as I got to combine two skills into one.

Chapter three discusses Leaps of Faith, or how to jump from things, onto things, and into things without hurting yourself. Ever see those movies where one person is chasing another on top of a speeding train? Now you can learn how to jump from train car to train car without completely destroying yourself because you fell between the cars and got caught under the ouchy wheels.

I found chapter four, titled Emergencies, to be quite useful as I now know how to perform a tracheotomy. Forget that foolish Heimlich maneuver stuff..."Sir, are you choking?" Also learn how to use that cool hospital machine with the paddles that people always yell "Clear!" and then slap them on some unconscious person.

The last chapter deals with Adventure Survival. What would you do if the pilot of the plane you were traveling in suddenly collapsed? Well, with the help of this book, you can land that baby in confidence. Parachute won't open? No problem...lost in the desert? Got you covered...

Even though I make a lot of jokes, all the techniques listed within these pages are culled from expert sources in the various fields. There is even a forward written by "Mountain" Mel Deweese, a Survival Evasion Resistance Escape instructor. (I love to take a peek at his resume') All in all, a fun, quick, informative read that may give you the tools to save yourself from a dangerous situation someday.