July’s pick was Amanda Ripley’s, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why. This was mostly a collection of unique stories from survivors, or the family of people involved in disasters, and an attempt to deep dive into behavior, thought process, and result of said individuals. Hurricanes, gun battles, planes, 9/11 – all offer unique battles yet produce universal actions from those involved.
If anyone has ever read Daniel Kahneman’s, Thinking, Fast and Slow, this book felt like an application of the theoretical in Kahneman’s book. In a real disaster situation, will you be a hero? Will you freeze? Will you take action? Will you help others? Many of these questions are taken on throughout the book and Ripley offers a narrative, backed up by scientific and psychological research, experimentation with herself, and advice from those that experienced disasters first hand on what might we do in a situation like those presented throughout the book.
One of my favorite arguments throughout the novel was that of globalization and what that means in the context of modern day disasters and even suggest, we, as evolving humans, might be putting ourselves in even more danger through our progress and continuing reliance on technology.
I think this was a very informative read – something to keep in the back of your head and if so inclined, to take extra measures to feel as prepared as possible if we ever face any disaster (hopefully not). 7/10 – recommend.