Rating: 
Summary: Deep Survival: consistent with experience
Review: Having survived a pretty serious mountaineering accident myself a few years ago, I found the book absolutely fascinating and very consistent with my own experience both as a climber and member of a volunteer mountain rescue organization. I was familiar with many of the survival stories profiled in the book as an avid reader of mountaineering, exploration, and rescue literature. However, this book really helped answer a number of lingering questions I have had about survival, particularly those related to my own accident--about how/why I reacted the way I did and how it led to my own survival. I think the book (particularly the last chapter) will be a very useful addition to the mountaineering and rescue training literature. I will certainly be using portions of this book in upcoming climbing and rescue training that I help design and conduct. Bill Romberg
Alaska Mountain Rescue Group
Rating:
Summary: Can a book save your life?
Review: Here's what I learned from this book: A day may come when I will be in the woods (real or metaphorical), and I will be lost, or injured, or out of food and water, and I will have to summon from within myself what is necessary to survive. Equally important, I will have to suppress urges to act out of panic, fear or other irrational forces that can make matters worse, maybe even lead to my death. The toughest part: I will have to know the difference between the two. Having read this fascinating explanation of how my brain is likely to work in survival situations, I think the odds are more in my favor now. Thanks to Gonzales' gripping stories of real-life drama, tied together with compelling scientific explanations, I now have a much better sense of what that old saying means: "my mind's playing tricks on me." If I ever do find myself in a survival situation, I hope that I remember the lessons learned in this book, because those lessons, as Gonzales shows, can truly be a lifeline.
Rating:
Summary: Page-turning look at emotional intelligence
Review: I don't know how this book rates compared to books on survival, but it's now at the top of my recommended reading list for anyone who wants to learn about emotional intelligence. In particular, the first few chapters provide the most compelling and lucid descriptions I've ever read of the complex interaction between mind, body, and emotion. When he starts bringing in the work of EQ greats like Antonio Damasio and Joseph LeDoux, I knew he'd done his homework. Gonzales answers the question we all ask when confronted with the hazardous and foolhardy acts of our fellow humans--What were they thinking? You have to read chapter 2 to find the answer--it's worth it. His background as an adventure journalist gives his writing punch; he creates suspense and drama in every chapter and helps us learn from the harrowing experiences of people who did and did not survive. This book also makes a no-brainer gift for anyone on your list who is inclined towards high-risk activities--flying, climbing, rafting, sailing. They'll thank you for it.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping book
Review: I loved this book. Once I started, I couldn't stop reading it, and couldn't stop talking about it. Like so many people, I've always been interested in stories of people who show incredible tenacity and survive disasters. I always wondered if I would be able to survive if I were ever in such a circumstance. It had never occurred to me that there is a common set of characteristics every survivor has, and it was fascinating to read about them. (And nice to know what you need to do, just in case you're ever in such a situation!) It was more than just a set of exciting stories; it was philosophy. The writing was lovely and the conclusions elegant.
Rating:
Summary: Great Work
Review: I picked this book up because I was in the Marine Corps during the "Police Action" in Panama and in Desert Storm in 1990-1991 and I was curious about some of my actions to during those times. I was braced for disappointment, but to my surprise, I was unable to put the book down until I sadly reached the end. I learned a lot about myself and human reactions to our surroundings.
Laurence Gonzales has written a masterpiece in my opinion. This book contains vital information for people aware enough to pick it up.
What this book is not: A "Solider of Fortune" "How to survive a Russian attack" 1980's hype sensationalism.
What this book is: A deep look at what separates the people who live and those that die in life threatening situations.
I have to say that this is one of the best books I have ever read. If you have lived a "Survival" situation, it will help you understand yourself, if you have not, it will help you know how you need to think to pull yourself (and others) through.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: I was fascinated to read Gonzales's insights into the nature of humans under mortal stress. The approach is part psychological, part neurophysiological, and part common sense. Reading the prologue alone made me feel that I had been in the presence of heroes.
Entertaining, thoughtful, insightful, and instructive.
Rating:
Summary: Profoundly effective read
Review: I was hooked when I read the inside cover. Gonzales will try to explain why a guy in a raft would say "I'm going to pick up the car." Then jump into the ocean to be eaten by sharks, and then explain why a person with no survival skills could survive the jungle. What could explain these differences in catastrophe? Does Gonzales, a very experienced adventurer, succeed? No! Catastrophes are too complicated, nature is too capricious, and no one can fathom why someone was given -divinely or otherwise- the mental fortitude to survive while another surrenders. Gonzales admits this, but he does better. He shows us that many of those who survive have a mental profile that helps them survive and he encourages us to find this resilience which we all have by varying degrees. He does this through pages of wisdom. So there are 15 chapters, each presenting a main lesson, and a fantastic tale of accidents, catastrope or survival. Minor points in each chapter is supported by 'minor' stories. Thus Gonzales masterfully weaves several stories in each chapter. The stories presented are just awe inspiring. Let me give whet your appetite. Two raft guides steer their boats down a raging river. One notices entire trees racing by and has enough, the other doesn't and dies. A teenage girl falls a mile from an airplane with just her high heels and her dress. She survives, but now must face an inhospitable jungle below. SCUBA divers drown underwater with plenty of air in their tanks. Gonzales does not get into the 'gadgetry' lessons of survival. There are no techniques about how to apply first aid, or rappel a cliff. Instead, Gonzales presents psychology and the neurology of why we make mistakes, why we sometimes do 'bonehead' acts, why some seem to be lucky to never get into trouble, and what it takes to persevere through indomitable odds; the 'survival personality'. He also discusses tightly interlocking safety systems and 'adventure plans' that give us a false sense of security and can exaggerate the problems that they are trying to prevent! Gonzales draws heavily from a few science books which are accessible to most readers. I suspect those who have read this book, may already have read them: -The Emotional Brain by Joseph LeDoux
-Descartes' Error by Antonio Damasio Both these books are very good, and I recommend them. It is not necessary to read them first to enjoy Deep Survival, but reading all three books, will be more enriched. So 'armchair' academics will delight in this original -albeit, light- application of science. Gonzales so masterfully writes that Nature just IS, but the inner world may be against us. So while we cannot control our outside world, we can construct an inner world which will increase our chances of survival. And let me try to abbreviate them here: -Be prepared. Have the proper training.
-Be humble. Observe and adapt your knowledge, Nature is not a textbook.
-Stay calm and don't rush.
-Have a loose plan and be ready to change or lose the plan.
-Enjoy nature with each small step.
-Do it for others There are about 20 points scattered throughout the book, then nicely summarized in an appendix. These points are illustrated with clear, and non trivial examples. This may very well be the best self-improvement book I've ever read. In addition, Gonzales presents us with other facts and statistics. He discusses the mental stages of being physically lost. He mentions children between the ages of 1-6 having the highest survival rates and why is this consistent with survival psychology/neurology. This wisdom can be applied to anywhere. I have used it in competitive events and it has helped me. I'm pretty sure any outdoors person, adventurers, thrill seekers or vacationer will reread passages from this book before they go out on their journeys. Just like me, the book will have a positive affect on you. I think -for me- it may very well be permanent. I hope that is enough for you to buy this book. Right now, I want to discuss some of the negatives. These are minor, but important points which may enrich or aggravate your reading. So you may want to skip it. I wish this book contained the pictures of the locale of disasters and potential disasters. The lesson that we consistently underestimate nature would be very effective to show an inviting picture of a Hawaiian beach and a caption stating that swimming on this beach will kill you. I'm not exaggerating. Gonzales is too contradictory. A survivor must be one with his world, but a paragraph later, it's important for the survivor to have a private world, and an outside world. A survivor must have empathy for those injured. Yet pages later, the same survivor cuts his friend's rope to save his own hide. Gonzales talks about balancing the rules of survival, but these contradictions are not what he intends, and there are more than just these two. Gonzales admits that nature is capricious; not only do you need to survive, you need luck. But, luck is not emphasized enough. It can't because chronicling survival versus death means one-sided results. Still Gonzales could give forensic stories of survivors who did everything right, and still died. Also remember, not many panicked survivors will readily admit they timidly escaped. Finally, you will mentally compare yourself with these survivors. And, you might ask yourself if you actually want to hike with a survivor. Do you want to be on a raft with a person who wishes an injured person to bleed to death? Do you want to rappel with someone who will cut your rope to save his butt? Do you want to be friends with someone who wishes a cripple will fall off a cliff to make things more convenient for him? I realize by reading this book, I do not have all the qualities of surviving. I'd be the one landing on an exploding grenade to save my comrades and Gonzales would then extol my comrades for surviving. What I'm trying to say is that I sometimes wish Gonzales would tone his prose down. Survivors may be the 'real heroes', but we need all personalities for our species to survive; from the survivors to the martyrs to the techno-geeks which make the med kits and the radios that rescue survivors. Ultimately, nature doesn't give a damn if you are a survivalist or not. Interestingly, the two climbers in the rope cutting incident survived, and continue to climb. It's not mentioned whether the climbers have climbed together since. In summary, Gonzales book is excellent. And deserves multiple readings. Every page is filled with wisdom and science coupled to a vivid story that makes the lesson stick. The lessons you learn will stay with you regardless if you adventure or not. You will awe Mother Nature and be humbled by her. But remember the negatives I mentioned, and you will fully appreciate one of the underlying messages Gonzales has conveyed: that, life is extremely precious. So, savor it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was very excited when I first started reading this book because the concept is so promising. I was expecting story after story of outdoor adventures gone bad along with an analysis of why the people did (or didn't) survive. Whatever this book is, it definitely isn't that. I gave up on this book after four chapters, so maybe it gets better later on, but the parts I read were very haphazardly put together. Accounts from real life survival stories are intermixed with the author's philosophy on survival physiology. In addition, the author often makes back references to small facts from earlier scenarios, which is very disrupting to the rhythm of the story. I would recommend reading the annual "Accidents in North American Mountaineering" series instead.
Rating:
Summary: Deep knowledge for the layperson
Review: I'm not an extreme outdoorsman; the extent of my outdoor adventures consists of a bit of fishing and camping well on the beaten path (where, as Mr. Gonzales shows, you can still get into very bad trouble). Nevertheless I've experienced some rare situations, as probably nearly everyone has, where I've been outdoors and suddenly in danger. This book does a great job of explaining in layman's terms what happens psychologically and physiologically to folks who find themselves in those types of situations, and more importantly how you can work to maintain control when your life may depend on it. The real life examples used are utterly fascinating and kept me totally engrossed. Mr. Gonzales has has written a highly illuminating book on the nature of the human animal at its deepest core.
Rating:
Summary: Should Be Required Reading for All U.S.C.G.Personnel
Review: It is one of those books that you regret finishing. I wish I had taken it slower, more thoughtfully, and taken notes. But I couldn't stop reading it. I'll have to go back and do it again.
Mr. Gonzales (Who has made my top twenty list of people I want to meet), explains what survival is better than anyone I have ever read or learned from....and as an "Aviation Survival Technician", I do this stuff for a living. Add "Deep Survival" to the 20 books I'd take with me to live on an island.
Seriously, add it to your cart.
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