Rating: 
Summary: Never take personal security for granted.
Review: I've been relying on advice from this book and "Most Dangerous Places" for several years now. Although I wouldn't call it my "gospel" there are a lot of useful pieces of information that could save your life. Although I am not constantly exposed to life-threatening danger, my experience shows me that most accidents and mishaps occur to tourists because they drop their guard or get complancent. My advice is simple. Don't be paranoid, but never take personal security for granted - even if you are just going to the local shops...
Rating:
Summary: Never take personal security for granted.
Review: I've been relying on advice from this book and "Most Dangerous Places" for several years now. Although I wouldn't call it my "gospel" there are a lot of useful pieces of information that could save your life. Although I am not constantly exposed to life-threatening danger, my experience shows me that most accidents and mishaps occur to tourists because they drop their guard or get complacent. My advice is simple. Don't be paranoid, but never take personal security for granted - even if you are just going to the local shops...
Rating: 
Summary: Better than anything the Army taught me.
Review: My bookseller knew I was an ex-Infantry officer told me of this book. I read the first couple of pages and was hooked. I have shown it to several ex-Infantry friends, and we all agree, drop SRE (survival resistance and evasion) school, and just give everybody this.
Overall, it's a great feel-good type of book. Just like my new beverage of choice called s o y f e e. It's made from soybeans that you brew just like coffee. Caffeine-free, you'll find it at www. S oycoffee.com. As entertainment it's tops, and as a real world view of what's out beyond surburban America it's right on the money.
Rating: 
Summary: we're left with little choice...thus this book sells
Review: The fact that we have little choice of material in this genre is the main reason a book like this sells. Sure, some of the information is entertaining, that's for sure, but mostly it's full of fluff, inaccuracies, and scant on precious details which would allow a novice or newbie to actually put the information to good use.
The fact that there is a lot of info on simpler topics (such as water purification and other 'jungle survival' stuff) doesn't quite make up for the fact that many of us will be roaming around the cities and villages of the developing world, and could use a little know-how in that area. Some is indeed offered, but it is riddled with factual error and often illustrates many a misconception on the part of the author.
RYP is definitely a powerhouse of knowledge on the subject of third-world travel, but this book almost looks like an early attempt at the topic, and definitely needed a LOT more work and research before publication.
But alas, there's not a whole lot out there to choose from. If you're going to the bush/desert, there are better guides out there. If you're going to the city, save your cash and do a web search instead.
Rating:
Summary: Use common sense
Review: This book is long on humorous one liners and short on specifics. The amount of useful, hard, practical info could be put into a small pamphlet. It was a fairly enjoyable light read (I used it as a bathroom reader, sorry Robert) but I have in the past and plan in the future to travel to some of these places he mentions and I feel no better prepared for them. Perhaps it is good he does not instill a false sence of security in people by giving them clever 1,2,3 recipies for difficult situations. The one theme found throughout the book is "use your common sense." This is good advice, but then, I already knew that.
Rating:
Summary: Use common sense
Review: This book is long on humorous one liners and short on specifics. The amount of useful, hard, practical info could be put into a small pamphlet. It was a fairly enjoyable light read (I used it as a bathroom reader, sorry Robert) but I have in the past and plan in the future to travel to some of these places he mentions and I feel no better prepared for them. Perhaps it is good he does not instill a false sence of security in people by giving them clever 1,2,3 recipies for difficult situations. The one theme found throughout the book is "use your common sense." This is good advice, but then, I already knew that.
Rating: 
Summary: Swiftly put together
Review: This book was to hastly put together, the author needed to do more research on the subjects contained in the book. Some of the topics and there advice seemed to be far fetched or not true at all.
Rating: 
Summary: For DP fans
Review: When I came out of Afghanistan last year I got a call asking if I would write a survival guide "for the rest of us" , It seems a big New York publisher liked what they saw in Dangerous Places but didn't really think that their readers wanted to travel to the front lines on their vacation. I thought it was a good idea. After I found out that most hikers die in car accidents, the most dangerous animal in a national park is the family pet and that more people are killed by deer than bears I got into the project. So here it is, a survival guide for folks who wonder just what its like to be lost, hungry, threatened, attacked, cold and scared. The book that I wish I had before I was blown up, shot at, frozen, crashed and mugged. I reccomend this book for those who are setting out for extended backpack trips in developing countries, doing a little off the beaten path exploring or just want their loved ones to come back alive. Hey I do, so I must have learned something. Stay safe RYP
Rating: 
Summary: I never knew survival could be so intelligent,cool and funny
Review: Where else can you learn how to survive a grenade blast and a bad tortilla in the same book? Pelton (who is the author and obviously survivor of the World's Most Dangerous Places) takes a very different look at teaching how to stay alive and healthy. Instead of focusing on how to skin a moose he explains that bugs are far more nutritious and easier to catch. He deals with the real and not imagined perils of flying, war zones, kidnapping, the outdoors and of course travel. Unlike other manuals who assume you are hunting or on a secret military mission, Pelton shows us how to pack, how to bypass carry on rules, which seat is survivable, what food will sustain us, which people will kill us and what attitude will benefit us. Very sharp, very funny and unlike books that prey on people's fears. This book is written by a man who is afraid of nothing but careful of everything. Buy it for yourself, anyone you love and for a great read on that long plane flight to a third world hell hole. An instant classic (like his other guide to war zones) that will reset the standards for survival and travel guides.
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