Taught me something about myself..... I would be DOOMED.

Taught me something about myself..... I would be DOOMED.

I found this book to be an excellent and informative look at the psychology differentiating "survivors" and "non-survivors." Gonzales draws upon a number of death-defying tales, personal anecdotes, scientific research studies, and classic intellectual works in an effort to determine what (if any) steps could help an individual or group of individuals survive in a given situation. The writing is fascinating at times, makes a ton of sense logically, and weaves a diverse set of experiences into a coherent set of directives for the reader. My only criticism is that the overabundance of personal stories and a bit too much repetition in the name of tying the points together detracts from the message, but overall a great and exciting read. ( )

The premise behind the book is interesting and some of the stories that the author uses to illustrate his points are compelling. However, the author's writing style was somewhat disjointed and appeared to be an attempt to artificially inflate the drama of the already compelling situations that were being referenced. I was distracted and pulled out of my reading experience every time the author related personal anecdotes to make a point. It was as though the author really wanted to write a gripping memoir about all of the "death-defying" things that he had accomplished but he couldn't find a publisher so he wrote this book and peppered it with as many of his adventures as possible. ( )

I have written before about my love of travel and adventure books. Often, these are more accurately about misadventure - an expedition gone wrong, a plane crash, a shipwreck. Some people live, some die. Why did Robert Falcon Scott lose every member of his expedition, while Edmund Shackleton brought all of his crewmembers - including a stowaway - home safely? Why do experienced climbers die on "beginner" mountains while four-year-olds, lost in the woods, are found unharmed? Deep Survival attempts to answer some of those questions by looking at what goes into making someone a survivor.

Gonzales has lived a fascinating life and has ample experience to bring to this subject, but this isn't a book about survival techniques. You won't find tips on how to navigate by the stars, how to find water in the desert or keep warm in a blizzard. You will learn how we create emotional bookmarks, how we create mental maps that guide us, even when we don't realize it. You'll learn the importance of Positive Mental Attitude, even if the experts can't tell you exactly what comprises that attitude. These things are actually far more important, because they are lessons that you can apply to your everyday life.

My full review is here. ( )