Rating: 
Summary: Worthless at best, dangerous at worst
Review: I picked up this book looking for real-life advice on dangerous situations, but instead found advice that was either 1) obvious to anybody with a brain; 2) useless because few people if anyone would get in the situation (surviving a swordfight, anyone?); or 3) simply inaccurate. For some odd reason this is a bestseller. I think this says more about desperate readers than good writers.
Rating: 
Summary: Commonsense for idiots
Review: The Worst Case Scenario is a very simplified picture-driven reference book for all of life's potential disasters. And it's great. Each waiting banana skin is treated with at most eight bullet points and a few illustrations. There are bits on surviving hazards in adventure sports, wilderness trips, kidnapping, car crashes, quick sand, fights etc. ..... all things that the ordinary couch potato would likely never experience. (One reviewer below describes how bored he is writing his review since it was such a boring book. Says it all really, doesn't it). But in the end, is there any point in forking out your hard earned cash for some very, very simple survival tips? Of course there is. You never know, you might just read something here that will come in very useful one day. And that's the whole beauty of this series. Life is full of unexpected problems and the people who survive are the ones who are prepared. How many readers know why you should open the door or smash the windows when your car is in a river and sinking fast? How many know why a stick will save your like in quicksand? Not many. Couch potatoes beware. This book might add years to your life.
Rating: 
Summary: Great info but...
Review: Most of the survival techniques are interesting but hardly useful to one with little experience. For example, I'm sure that I would still employ the flailing around and screaming technique to try and escape from the jaws of an alligator, even after reading the expert's advice.
Also, four of the entries I think need help:
To deal with a charging bull, run at 90 degrees to the direction of his charge. That is according to the rodeo clowns.
Jumping into a dumpster back first may be ok if the setup has been created by a stunt coordinator and the manoeuvre is performed by a stuntman. For the average person jumping into the average dumpster, feet first has to be safer and aiming for the pavement may be safer still.
Moving down the top of a train in motion is best done by jogging. Don't knock it until you try it. This I know from personal experience gained as a 12 year old. Skeptics can test this method to some extent inside a train, especially one on bad track.
The last is my favourite. As a skydiver, I refer to Joe Jennings as "sky god". His brain, however, was surely in the clouds when he wrote "How to Survive If Your Parachute Fails to Open". Without any pre-planning the technique described would not and could not happen. This is simply the description of a nightmare common to many skydivers.
Rating:
Summary: Funny!
Review: We found this little book in a Cracker Barrell store! We laughed so hard just thumbing through the topics, we just had to buy it. It completely cracks us up. They situations are so hilarious, like how to do a fast 180 turn in your car!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent handbook for basic survival needs
Review: When I've visited national parks or dived in tropical oceans I've often wondered how to fend off a shark if it showed up, how to escape a bear on ground, fight a cougar etc. because they are possible crisises that may occur when you're in an unknown enviroment or situation. Of course there's always your common sense, this book is no substitute for that, but I must be honest and admit that my common sense doesn't tell me what to do if my fellow man can't breathe because he has a throat obstruction and the Heimlich maneuver doesn't relieve him of it.
Apparently you perform a cricothyroidotomy, which basically consists of finding the indenation between the Adam's apple and the cricoid cartilage, making a small incision there, inserting a small tube and carefully giving a few breaths. Before I read this book my fellow man with a throat obstruction would've been dead within minutes if no experts were around, but now I actually know what to do if there are no experts around.
The whole book is like this and it has many illustrations that accompany the step-by-step instructions.
There is, of course, also the humorous aspect of reading about how to survive various dire situations, but the context in the book is, like it or not, necessary to know, and I've seen no other book that explains it so well.
Rating:
Summary: Be prepared!
Review: I bought this book for my husband who likes to hike and explore the new state of CO we have been transplanted to. He is an aspiring mountain climber and explorer. Because we live at the very base of the CO mountains, my husband goes hiking to extremes almost every sunny weekend. For our 5th Anniversary this year, I bought him some fabulous hiking books to inspire him, but I bought "The Worst-Case Scenario" Survival Handbook because I love him. I worry, and frankly it's already rough enough that we have bears going through our garbage, foxes teasing our shih-tzus, and mountain lion attacks where we live. This is all new to a former New Yorker like me! The book is great. I learned a few things myself. I thought the most critical scenarios for us to learn were: How to survive a poisonous snake attack, How to escape from a bear, How to escape a mountain lion attack, How to treat frostbite, and most of all, How to survive being lost in the mountains. Some of the survival techniques were a little silly, but hey, you never know! No matter where you live this book can be helpful. Even if you are a city-goer, you might like to camp out once in a while. There is something in this handbook for everyone. Some of the things I really enjoyed about this small book were its weatherproof cover and easy access to the problem you are dealing with. The book is meant to be taken seriously. The information comes directly from expert sources-stuntmen, physicians, EMT, bomb squads, survival experts, locksmiths, and avalanche patrolers , and many more. In all it includes 40 real life survival scenarios. Perfect for a young boy or girl scout. My husband may be an adventurer, but he isn't Indiana Jones just yet. On the bonus side, I often travel alone to different foreign countries, knowing some of these survival techniques gives me peace of mind too. I know I will personally benefit from this book. Just last week i took the garbage out, only to have a coyote staring me face to face!Go Hiking. Go Climbing. Go Camping. Roam the desert. Just be safe. I would like to give thanks to Anthony Hopkins character in the movie "The Edge" for giving me the idea for this book in the first place...
Rating:
Summary: Great Info for things that WILL never happen...
Review: and if they do you need help LOL... its great book to have laying on a coffee table for a converstaion peice... not very helpful in real life... onless ur james bond and were not so
Rating:
Summary: Great Entertainment, but not completely accurate
Review: I got this book for Christmas and I must have spent 2 days glued to it. Some of the techniques and skills presented are not totally correct but all seem to give the general idea of what to do in case of an emergency. The people who are referenced are all qualified professionals capable of writing the type of information mentioned in the book. As a former paramedic student I know that some of the medical procedures are not 100% accurate but give the general idea. I'm assuming that many of the other sections are the same. This book is a great gift for the person who has everything. Don't take the information too serious. Remember thi is not an istruction manual.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the money . . .
Review: As something to flip through while browsing in the book store, this is okay. Just okay. Out of all the possible scenarioes these guys could've chosen they chose stuff like, "How to Take a Punch"? "What to Do If Bitten by a Snake"? YAWN! In this thin (!) book, the authors Piven and Borgenicht tell you in a straightforward manner what to do in certain life-and-death situations. The authors add no humor or life to their topic. They just lay it out as if they were writing a manual for the magazine pocket of an airplane seat! "In case of fistfight, lean into the punch. Turn head slightly to cushion blow. Etc., etc." As a gag gift, this might be humorous for about 15 minutes. Then, it will end up in the back of a closet. As anything else, well, it's not worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Light, brief, but on the money
Review: No, this book is not the final authority on survival; and while it is humourous (how many of us expect to be bitten by an alligator?) the information is good - and accurate. Certainly there are more in-depth books (and manuals) on survival. However, the authors have compiled accurate responses on how to survive any number of situations - granted, most of them are far fetched ... but what if? For example, the "how to preform a tracheotomy" (more accurately a "cricothyroidotomy") is absoutely correct in its explaination and diagrams. Ditto for fractures, frostbite, and snakebites. In the final analysis, lighten up people - being caught in the extreme situations described in the book is outlandish - and therefore the thought of it is funny. But the survival techniques described are the real deal. (Lets hope we don't have to use them.)
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