Rating: 
Summary: The 4 stars are for interest....
Review: .....but the information contained in this book was not of tremendous value to the common traveler.While I learned a lot, I was hoping to get more run-of-the-mill, everyday travel advice. There was some of that in the book (such as having a list of alternate flights with you when you go to the airport, as well as the phone numbers of the airlines; if you are traveling with someone on a plane, pack half of your stuff in each other's suitcase. That way, if one suitcase gets lost, you are not without anything at all). I also learned that most fire ladders only go up seven stories (from the street), so if I am in a hotel, I will request a street-side room below the 7th floor. I also found out how to escape from a rip tide, emergency braking for a car, and how to avoid a common scam at an airport X-Ray machine. I did not really need information about jumping from one rooftop to another, removing a leech, crossing a piranha-infested river, surviving a trip over a waterfall, escaping from a tsunami, or catching fish without a rod. This information that I did not need was, nevertheless, interesting to read. Almost as good was reading about the various experts whom the author consulted in order to write these scenarios.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful, fun read!
Review: A lot of the topics probably will never apply to us in our whole lifetime, i.e. how to control a runaway camel, how to cross a piranha-infested river, etc., so I could simply read them & laugh out loud. It contains useful info, though, such as strategies for packing & flying. I'm not a frequent traveller & could've used those tips, especially since I just got back from a vacation. Of course, I had thumbed throught the table of contents prior to my vacation (and prior to purchasing it), & the topic "how to survive an airplane crash" did not appeal to me at that time--it made me antsy as I was about to go on a plane! I did not want to visualize or even think about airplane crashes at that time! :) But hey, I bought the book afterwards, & I love it.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, fun read!
Review: A lot of the topics probably will never apply to us in our whole lifetime, i.e. how to control a runaway camel, how to cross a piranha-infested river, etc., so I could simply read them & laugh out loud. It contains useful info, though, such as strategies for packing & flying. I'm not a frequent traveller & could've used those tips, especially since I just got back from a vacation. Of course, I had thumbed throught the table of contents prior to my vacation (and prior to purchasing it), & the topic "how to survive an airplane crash" did not appeal to me at that time--it made me antsy as I was about to go on a plane! I did not want to visualize or even think about airplane crashes at that time! :) But hey, I bought the book afterwards, & I love it.
Rating:
Summary: Practical yet funny
Review: At last, a book that teaches me how to escape a mass riot in a foreign country. I got this book because it had good reviews and seemed to be interesting. It is, its a practical, humourous, book. Its written in a serious manner, but there is obvious humour behind it, some of the topics you encounter are so obsurd its remarkable how these guys thought of the situation. It's a funny book that one day might save your life, what other book can you say that about? 4 Stars. Not as good as some of the other books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: The Wanna Be Indiana Jones Handbook
Review: Being that I have found these Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbooks in the humor section at the bookstore, would give an indication as to what they might entail. They're not quite like an instructive first-aid guidebook with very short, basic, right to the point instructions, but it still takes each subject rather seriously. At any rate one can still learn a thing or two that would be good to remember in the occasion of possibility. A likely example would be the simple idea of counting seats on the plane or doors in the hotel that are along your route to the emergency exit. If visibility is impaired by smoke applying this knowledge would give vital seconds to your quest for safety. Also included are some emergency phrases in four languages (Spanish, French, German and Japanese) and a brief notation of gestures to avoid in certain places, plus a summary of travel tips. All this might seem like basic travel wisdom, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded incase one forgets. As the book series so eloquently puts it, you never know, just expect the unexpected. Topics range from how to foil a scam artist, survive a mugging or mass riot, how to escape from being tied up, how to ram a barricade, jump from roof top to roof top or lose someone following you, how stop a car without brakes or escape from a car hanging over a cliff edge, how to crash land a small plane, control a runaway horse, survive a sandstorm, tsunami or a trip over a waterfall, how to survive when lost in the jungle, how to find your way without a compass, how to survive in frigid water or escape a riptide, make a snow shelter, deal with leeches, piranhas, scorpions and tarantulas, catch food, find water, and many, many more. The only thing missing is how to use a bullwhip. But I was greatly disappointed to discover absolutely nothing on what to do in the event of a tornado or hurricane. Imagining someone consulting their Worst-Case Scenario Handbook while in a hostage situation or trying to stop a runaway passenger train just makes me chuckle at the very thought. But at the same time it's spooky to think that it could happen. It's a handbook set apart from the rest and I would recommend this travel edition along with the original Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook to anyone who is an adventure enthusiast and would love to enrich his or her clever & crafty know-how on such survival tricks. A great gift idea for something slightly unusual and potentially useful. It provides good, sound information but read it more for it's amusement and entertainment. Take it along with you wherever you go, it'll make a great conversation starter. If nothing else, "the pages can be used as emergency toilet paper if you're really in a jam." - page 18 [review author: tilley_traveler]
Rating:
Summary: It's Survival of the Wittest
Review: Don't take this book too seriously and you'll love it! It's a fascinating survival guide, with accurate and real information--the folks who say it doesn't tell you enough are missing the point. It tells you just enough to make you laugh, help you through some difficult situations, and maybe save your life. A great gift for the guy in your family--I know, I'm one. And, to respond to the reader who says that train cars do have ladders, read more closely--passenger cars do not, and that's what they're talking about!
Rating: 
Summary: Not really enough to bet your life on but fun to read
Review: I bought this book mainly because I also have the authors first book The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook. Both books are fun to read and in a desparate situation they might help you save yourself but as they say, Don't try this yourself. There isn't really enough information on any of the subjects to really do safety training justice ( a whole book would be needed for each one to do that)so buy it in the spirit of curiosity with a touch of education. If you're on a limited book budget stick with their first book.
Rating:
Summary: Best Handbook
Review: I got this handbook for my birthday and I have been laughing ever since. Though some people probably bought this because they actually wanted to know the answers to all those things. I got it because it was just hysterical. All the answers are literal and probably the best known way to survive things that are described. I have heard some of those things before so they are not made up or anything. But the assortment of things it describes are just really funny. And after you read it, if something might happen to you, you would know what to do.
Rating:
Summary: Not for anxious travelers
Review: If you are a nervous traveler (armchair or actual), this book will put you over the edge. You could memorize these scenarios and their protocols, but more likely you will not. The phrases-for-the-terrorized section is my favorite. It includes multilingual versions of requests such as "Please do not hurt me" and "Please take me to a clean hospital," as well as a variety of courteous pleas that one might imagine would be of use in a dire, horrific emergency. But what, really is the point? It's entertaining and bizarre and silly. Also great reading for the Indiana Joneses - or the Walter Mittys - of the world who would never (for example) need to stop a runaway camel or save themselves or another in a fall through ice - because we just would never be there in the first place. The sources are impressive: the scorpions information comes from an entomologist who is also an Army major, and the section on surviving a swim among the piranhas credits a leader of Amazon (the river) tours. Each terrible possibility and its antidote seems well-researched. Not a good travel gift for any but the toughest folks, but nerve-wracking fun nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: Mildly entertaining only
Review: Initially thought the idea of the book funny, but in the end I was disappointed. I think this is because the book has no real story to tell, just lots of instructions on how to survive certain (very unusual) situations and drawings to go with it. The best part is the introduction where the author tells of how he survived Mt. Kilimanjaro - now that's a story! The rest is just a bit dull and rather a lot of common sense and mediocre ideas.
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