A Review of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes – and Why

by Catherine Austin Fitts

One of my favorite books is Laurence Gonzales’ Deep Survival .

Laurence has joined me on The Solari Report — I highly recommend this interview to subscribers – Deep Survival. Deep Survival is about who lives and who dies in traumatic wilderness experiences. Beautifully written, it has profound lessons for all of us in this day and age.

Consequently, I was skeptical when a subscriber whom I hold in very high regard suggested that I read Amanda Ripley’s The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes – And Why.

Ripley’s study of how people behave in disasters – plane crashes, tornados, floods, fires, bombings — and what we can learn from it is quite well written and very useful. Since most of us do not spend time mountain and rock climbing, Ripley covers many of the life threatening experiences that we are more likely to encounter.

Ripley’s investigations underscore in most disaster events that we are essentially on our own for the most critical period. That’s not all bad given that the kindness of strangers and volunteer heroics mark many responses in such times. However, as Ripley points out there is a lot we can learn from disaster experience and this knowledge can increase our chances of helping ourselves and many others if disaster should come.

On a day when the world feels like it is coming apart at the seams, reading Ripley is a positive action that makes us better prepared. While enjoying a well researched and well written book, I was rejuvenated by the quiet heroism that marks the human condition.