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Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why |  | Author: Laurence Gonzales
Brand: W.W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $1.85
as of 7/30/2010 13:15 CDT details
You Save: $14.10 (88%)
New (60) Used (168) Collectible (1) from $1.85
Rating:  206 reviews
Media: Paperback
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Pages: 318
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0393326152
Dewey Decimal Number: 613.69
EAN: 9780393326154
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
WILD WEEKENDS IN UTAH
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 206
 Deep Survival is a great book July 22, 2010
George Williams (Washington, USA)
This book is, believe it or not, a page turner if you are interested at all in human behavior under the strain of a survival situation--why we do the things we do that get us killed or help us survive. I wasn't a quarter of the way through the book before I ordered Mr. Gonzales' second book. Buy this book--you will not be disappointed.
Most Excellent July 13, 2010
Micki from FL (Florida, USA)
This book forever changed the way I look at the physical world. A must read for any adventurer.
 Okay - Could have been so much better July 10, 2010
bergsteiger (US)
This was one of those books that was okay but could have been so much better. Mr. Gonzales is a pretty good writer and storyteller. Sometimes he is overly repetitive, but I suppose this can be understood in the context of his trying to make specific points. Those points relate to the title and he does a decent job of sticking to that theme.
However, my first turn off was his psuedo-scientific attempt to sell his points. He makes postulations on why certain people survive and then backs them up with some references to brain structure and how it functions, ego pumping anecdotal stories of things he has done, philosophical works, and conjecture. I imagine this is how an early text of phrenology reads. Or in a modern day setting, it is like talking to an old man who gives you the "logic" of a point based on his experiences in a world of 50 years ago, non-contextual bible quotes, a scientific article he read once, and the commentary from a singularly opinionated broadcaster.
The next big turn-off was the need to wrap himself in the book. The author had no real survival experience yet he keeps relating things to himself. Likewise there are several sections where he talks about his time on an aircraft carrier and how jet fighter pilots function, which to me was only peripherally related to survival and seemed to be in there more for him to say that he had flown with pilots on a carrier.
Ultimately though, his points seemed reasonable in terms of how to survive a situation where you are stranded (on a mountain, at sea, what have you). And he admits that luck plays a big part in it too, which I think is important because even folks with the right internal wiring, pre-planning, and supplies still go down when the circumstances turn against them.
If the ego boosters and mumbo-jumbo could be stripped from this book it would have been really good. Mr. Gonzales is obviously well steeped in the recent history of survival situations and tells the stories pretty well. As it stands though I have to give this one 2 stars (probably really 2.5 but Amazon doesn't allow me that option). If you really like the outdoors and survival scenarios then pick it up, otherwise this is another one to leave on the shelf.
Introspection July 9, 2010
W. Tapp
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I picked this book up as a lark while heading out on a flight. Most of the their garbage on the bookshelves seemed no better than this book. What started as an impulse buy turned into something much more.
I was fascinated by the approach the author took with this book. It is not just some grunt survival guide or a simple review or critique of situations people have fallen into. It was more of an example (sometimes graphic) of what gets people, even highly trained people, into very bad and deadly situations.
I did notice and was intrigued by the fact that I was really reading many different dimensions of communication or storytelling and educating at once. The author was communicating some deep psychological insights, telling a story and explaining or digging deeper into his own person - he was writing to draw insight for himself and others into his own past. As I read this I found that I too began a level of self introspection.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in survival, human nature or even those people who are responsible for others. As a Scouter and someone who is often in the field with boys that need to be protected from impulsive behavior I find this book to be invaluable insight into thought and action.
As a side, my wife picked this up after I finished. She is a survivor of cancer and battles with survival regularly. I intend to query her about what she feels or thinks after this book. Sometimes survival isn't that scary thing in a far off place, sometimes it is right at home.
Great Book June 24, 2010
Douglas Larsen (North Liberty, IA)
Loved this book. Found it hard to put it down. The way he describes our basic instincts and reactions is very accurate and the stories used to convey the consequences of these reactions are incredible.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 206
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