Rating: 
Summary: Quick Read, Interesting, But Ending A Bit Weak
Review: After reading Dr. Kamler's book, it is obvious that he is a rarity among his colleagues, delving into the most bizarre realms on Earth (and beyond). The author gives spectacular examples of human endurance and why the body functions as it does in these situations. Dr. Kamler explains bodily functions in a concise and easy to understand way (for those of us not trained in medicine) however I found the end of the book a bit weak. I won't give it away though, because overall I enjoyed the topic and writing style. This book is probably good for someone out of High School, at a College reading level.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprising reality attention grabber
Review: I have to start off by saying I picked this up as a random purchase while at a CD/book sale at my company. pretty much an impulse buy after already getting a DVD that I sort of wanted, and cheap. Well...I think this is the first book I've picked up in a while, and maybe the first non-fiction one in even longer. It is definitely amazing. The idea that it is all firsthand stories, most from specific life experiences, is great. The detail and accuracy (i'll have to assume being that I'm not a doctor) is killer, and makes you think about what you really are capable of. Also a great reminder that we're living an illusing within the safety of civilization's confines for the most part. The best thing is how you can learn to cope with extremes that you otherwise might just overreact and die if you don't keep a cool head and have some knowledge such as what is touched on in here. I just wish it wasn't so short, cause it was great to have something like this to read.
Rating:
Summary: This is what "survival" really means!
Review: I make my home in a place that can challenge the human body. Alaska is a land of extremes-altitude, cold, sheer geological scale. Human survival in the Alaskan outdoors is dependent upon proper clothing and equipment, careful planning, and physical conditioning. But even then, people make mistakes and end up in trouble. Sometimes, they end up dead. How does the human body cope with the effects of exhaustion, the extremes of hunger or thirst, the crushing pressure of the ocean's depths, and the burning heat of the barren desert? Microsurgeon Kenneth Kamler, MD has forged a career out of understanding the body's reactions to these extremes, and the medical procedures that can help when things go wrong. Dr. Kamler was on Everest in 1996 during the tragic climb profiled in the books INTO THIN AIR and THE CLIMB, and in his own 1998 book A DOCTOR ON EVEREST. He treated climber Beck Weathers, the climber left for dead near the summit who survived terrible frostbite to his hands and face. He has performed intricate hand surgery in the mud of a rainforest jungle, and has treated a patient in an underwater habitat on the ocean floor. In his new book SURVIVING THE EXTREMES: A DOCTOR'S JOURNEY TO THE LIMITS OF HUMAN ENDURANCE, Dr. Kamler writes compellingly of the mental and physiological elements that combine to determine who lives and who dies when the human body is faced with extremes of altitude, temperature, heat, cold and pressure. This book is fascinating, compelling, and explains what the concept of "survival" really means within the context of the body's ability (and failure) to cope with extreme environments. Do not miss it!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I've been and probably will be again in situations along these lines. It's good to know some of these things.
Caught a typo where he describes the Jerboa having a tale (instead of tail). A gaffe where he says that proteins are the keys to genes. (Should be DNA, although proteins are integral to the form and functioning of chromosomes.)
All in all a great read. I was surprised he didn't mention Cabeza de Vaca's ordeal of survival walking across from Florida to Spanish settlement in Mexico almost 500 years ago after being shipwrecked.
I've had the thought sometimes of working on a field medicince support book that would give directions for how to make a scalpel, how to anesthetize a patient, and things like that in primitive conditions. I thought about that after spending some time with a Russian born and trained former military physician who knew a tremendous amount about how to walk in with nothing at all but bare hands and knowledge. I don't have all that knowledge, but somebody should compile it.
Like the old guys would say - "Never say die kid! Just get up again, no matter what."
Rating:
Summary: Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of
Review: Physiological constraints confine our bodies to less than one-fifth of the earth's surface. Beyond that fraction lie the extremes. What happens when we go to them?" "Dr. Kenneth Kamler has spent years observing exactly what happens. A vice president of the legendary Explorers Club, he has climbed, dived, sledded, floated, and trekked through some of the most treacherous and remote regions in the world. A consultant for NASA, Yale University, and the National Geographic Society, he has explored undersea caves, crossed the frozen Antarctic wastelands, and stitched a boy's hand back together while kneeling in knee-deep Amazonian mud." "The words extreme and survival have lost some of their value from overuse and media hype. By showing us what happens when life is at stake and the body's capacities are put to their greatest test, this book reminds us what these words truly mean. Divided into six sections - jungle, high seas, desert, underwater, high altitude, and outer space - Surviving the Extremes uses firsthand testimony and documented accounts to illustrate what goes on in environments where our instinctive survival strategies must become fully engaged. These stories reveal how infinitely complex are the workings of the human body - and also how heartbreakingly fragile. At the core of this book is a request for the source of our will to survive and the haunting question of why some can and others cannot summon its awesome and nearly mystical power at their moment of greatest need
Rating:
Summary: Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of
Review: Physiological constraints confine our bodies to less than one-fifth of the earth's surface. Beyond that fraction lie the extremes. What happens when we go to them?" "Dr. Kenneth Kamler has spent years observing exactly what happens. A vice president of the legendary Explorers Club, he has climbed, dived, sledded, floated, and trekked through some of the most treacherous and remote regions in the world. A consultant for NASA, Yale University, and the National Geographic Society, he has explored undersea caves, crossed the frozen Antarctic wastelands, and stitched a boy's hand back together while kneeling in knee-deep Amazonian mud." "The words extreme and survival have lost some of their value from overuse and media hype. By showing us what happens when life is at stake and the body's capacities are put to their greatest test, this book reminds us what these words truly mean. Divided into six sections - jungle, high seas, desert, underwater, high altitude, and outer space - Surviving the Extremes uses firsthand testimony and documented accounts to illustrate what goes on in environments where our instinctive survival strategies must become fully engaged. These stories reveal how infinitely complex are the workings of the human body - and also how heartbreakingly fragile. At the core of this book is a request for the source of our will to survive and the haunting question of why some can and others cannot summon its awesome and nearly mystical power at their moment of greatest need
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected.
Review: This is a book mostly on elementary anatomy. If you are looking for exciting and suspenseful stories, buy another book. There are a lot of fabricated scenarios and theories from past events rather than actual live experiences as indicated on the book jacket. This book was written in National Geographic style. The majority of the book describes the environment of each situation. I purchased the book to read about the real life threatening situations, not to read about the landscape or anatomy.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: This is a book that ascertains that the human will and spirit,when challenged, can overcome insurmountable odds in the harshest of environments. Dr Kamler has written it in a very succint, easy to read manner. His scientific explanations on the physiology of the human body are very clear in plain English. The book takes us to the deepest ocean depths, vast expanses of the Sahara, Mt Everest and the dense forests of the Amazon.
The only minor complaint that I have is in a chapter where he talks about Mt Everest. He talks about an Indian (from India) team that was ahead of his group and he talks about the Indians (South American) in the same chapter. He refers to both groups of people as "Indians". It confused me but it did not deter me in reading further.
This book is a must read for anyone who loves the outdoors and nature.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating book, misleading marketing
Review: This is one of the most interesting books I have read in ages. I'll agree with the other reviewer that the jacket information is misleading. This isn't really a "thriller" as conventionally defined. The author shares some first person as well as historical anecdotes but this really is an incredible biology book, interweaving physiology with some evolutionary biology. A very thoughtful and well-written book! It leaves the reader with jaw-dropping respect for the human body and its ability to adapt to extreme situations. It also touches on the adaptations other animals have to routinely live in environments which are totally inhospitable to humans. It is just too bad that people are disappointed in it because it isn't what the jacket says it is. I have taught basic survival classes for teens and I'm really glad to have this book to recommend because it is a different slant compared to what is out there in survival literature. My teenage daughters read Into Thin Air in high school English and I just wish I had this book before the younger one did her paper last month on dehydration!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating book, misleading marketing
Review: This is one of the most interesting books I have read in ages. I'll agree with the other reviewer that the jacket information is misleading. This isn't really a "thriller" as conventionally defined. The author shares some first person as well as historical anecdotes but this really is an incredible biology book, interweaving physiology with some evolutionary biology. A very thoughtful and well-written book! It leaves the reader with jaw-dropping respect for the human body and its ability to adapt to extreme situations. It also touches on the adaptations other animals have to routinely live in environments which are totally inhospitable to humans. It is just too bad that people are disappointed in it because it isn't what the jacket says it is. I have taught basic survival classes for teens and I'm really glad to have this book to recommend because it is a different slant compared to what is out there in survival literature. My teenage daughters read Into Thin Air in high school English and I just wish I had this book before the younger one did her paper last month on dehydration!
|
