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Summary: BEST collection of survival stories I've ever came across!
Review: "True stories of Castaways and Other Survivors" This is a superb mix of 20+ different types of survival stories. From the Poor Englishman who landed on a barren isle that "had neither springs nor streams and was utterly devoid of vegetation: no grass, plants, or trees" and managed to live for a full year and be rescued -to- The Headhunter's Casket, which in part reads, "...two issues should be examined and resolved. The first involves an individual's responsibility or guilt for actions taken to ensure his survival. The second has to do with the lasting effects of ordeals." It is truely some of the best reading and information, of this type, I've EVER come across.
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Summary: if you like tales of survival...
Review: I read this back in the 80's, quite an antidote and/or complement to depression and/or rainy days. Not your typical summertime beach read. Gives one a feel for what extreme conditions many of our human ancestors have had to handle during our million plus years of evolution. Though someone mentioned 'Into Thin Air' as a possible antithesis of this book, try the same author's (Jon Krakauer) 'Into the Wild', that might actually inspire you with an alternative view of the human predicament and potential, in the same way this book does.
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Summary: Cool! It's back in print!
Review: I read this back in the 80's, quite an antidote and/or complement to depression and/or rainy days. Not your typical summertime beach read. Gives one a feel for what extreme conditions many of our human ancestors have had to handle during our million plus years of evolution. Though someone mentioned 'Into Thin Air' as a possible antithesis of this book, try the same author's (Jon Krakauer) 'Into the Wild', that might actually inspire you with an alternative view of the human predicament and potential, in the same way this book does.
Rating:
Summary: if you like tales of survival...
Review: I wondered if people were ever REALLY trapped on desert islands for years (a la Gilligan and "Cast Away"), and if so, what would it do to them psychologically? This is the perfect book to answer that. Some folks have spiritual revelations, some give up the idea of god altogether, some go crazy. And who survives, and who dies of panic or bad planning? All incredibly interesting. Stories range from pirate mutinies to a woman trapped under her car on a snowy road... oh, and those Japanese soldiers in WWII who didn't know the war ended! What a lot of good stories.After reading this, I had this strange period of looking at the world from the point of view of a castaway... "what is useful to me in this situation? What can be salvaged here?", which was interesting, to say the least. Any book that gives you a new way to think deserves 5 stars!
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Summary: Puts blackout stranding at La Guardia into perspective
Review: Irony in real life can be very rich. I'd borrowed this book from a friend and chain-read up to about halfway through "The Delicate Question Which" before setting off for a quick 4-day vacation. The blackout happened while we were in the air, and noone told us anything was wrong until we landed and had to ask why the monitors were blank. Cell and pay phones worked sporadically if at all, and there was no power, but thankfully there was water. The upshot was that I never got farther than the connecting airport (La Guardia) and after spending a night on the cold hard floor, pooled with 5 other people and hired a $800+ limo to drive us the 250 miles home. The limo broke down in the Poconos, but we managed to rent cars in Scranton. As of this writing there are apparently STILL people stranded at that airport, waiting to get out. I'd forgotten all about the book until I arrived home, tired, sore, and sad about my misadventure. I rediscovered it sitting where I'd left it, and was immediately re-immersed into stories of truly dire straits. While some reviewers have said they consider the book dry, I really enjoyed the historical context of the stories, and thorough treatment of the epilogues. The author has uncanny insight into what might have really happened, based on what was said and NOT SAID by the survivors, and delves into the individual personalities involved. It is fascinating to learn what happened to these people after they were rescued; how society reacted to them, how they reacted back. I found it very hard to put down. It sure put my own recent experience into perspective! At least noone had to resort to eating anyone else. "Abandonded Journeys, Desperate Souls" would have been a great title for it. ;-)
Rating:
Summary: Puts blackout stranding at La Guardia into perspective
Review: Irony in real life can be very rich. I'd borrowed this book from a friend and chain-read up to about halfway through "The Delicate Question Which" before setting off for a quick 4-day vacation. The blackout happened while we were in the air, and noone told us anything was wrong until we landed and had to ask why the monitors were blank. Cell and pay phones worked sporadically if at all, and there was no power, but thankfully there was water. The upshot was that I never got farther than the connecting airport (La Guardia) and after spending a night on the cold hard floor, pooled with 5 other people and hired a $800+ limo to drive us the 250 miles home. The limo broke down in the Poconos, but we managed to rent cars in Scranton. As of this writing there are apparently STILL people stranded at that airport, waiting to get out. I'd forgotten all about the book until I arrived home, tired, sore, and sad about my misadventure. I rediscovered it sitting where I'd left it, and was immediately re-immersed into stories of truly dire straits. While some reviewers have said they consider the book dry, I really enjoyed the historical context of the stories, and thorough treatment of the epilogues. The author has uncanny insight into what might have really happened, based on what was said and NOT SAID by the survivors, and delves into the individual personalities involved. It is fascinating to learn what happened to these people after they were rescued; how society reacted to them, how they reacted back. I found it very hard to put down. It sure put my own recent experience into perspective! At least noone had to resort to eating anyone else. "Abandonded Journeys, Desperate Souls" would have been a great title for it. ;-)
Rating: 
Summary: An ultimate "What if" book
Review: It is amazing the situations that men and women have been in over the centuries. These are not simple situations either, they are life and death episodes where it is certain that the smartest, fittest and luckiest come out alive. The book is a rich resource of stories going back to the 1500's to the present. Some of the earlier accounts were more difficult to assimilate due to the language dialect. Each of them portray significant human courage and vulnerability. For personal reasons, the reader may be more drawn to one that another. It is certain that a significant effort was made to render the historic presentation accurate. Some of the more astounding survival encounters are revealed generating the awesomeness of what the human being will go through to hold on to the fragile life line of their tomorrows.
Rating:
Summary: An ultimate "What if" book
Review: It is amazing the situations that men and women have been in over the centuries. These are not simple situations either, they are life and death episodes where it is certain that the smartest, fittest and luckiest come out alive. The book is a rich resource of stories going back to the 1500's to the present. Some of the earlier accounts were more difficult to assimilate due to the language dialect. Each of them portray significant human courage and vulnerability. For personal reasons, the reader may be more drawn to one that another. It is certain that a significant effort was made to render the historic presentation accurate. Some of the more astounding survival encounters are revealed generating the awesomeness of what the human being will go through to hold on to the fragile life line of their tomorrows.
Rating:
Summary: Great Content Packaged in Frustrating Format
Review: Leslie functions through a method of story telling where he gives away his powerful punch-line, each time, right up front. This becomes wearisome by dissolving reader anticipation; however, the strength of his content does begin to overshadow this shortcoming. "Risk and Recreation: A Chronology" is undoubtedly the strongest aspect and worth the read entirely. A good composite of interesting survival stories.
Rating: 
Summary: If you are really into survival stories....
Review: Then I would not recommend this book. I've read a bunch of survival books etc, but this one I could not even finish as it was just too long and boring. There was only a couple of interesting passages, but the rest is something you can easily live without.
You can always give it a shot, but don't have your hopes up too high.
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