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Review
'This book will grab you from the first page and keep you riveted through the end. Sherwood has chosen a viscerally compelling topic and written it brilliantly. Oh sure, THE SURVIVORS CLUB could save your life--but what matters more to me is that it's a wonderful read, the kind that makes whatever life you're living feel that much more worthwhile.' - Martha Beck, columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Meet the members of The Survivors Club . . .
The man who swam for 17 hours after falling off a cruise ship
The grandma who lifted a car to save a child
The woman who fell 33,000 feet without a parachute - and survived
In The Survivors Club, Ben Sherwood sets out to discover what it is that helps ordinary men and women beat danger and death. What strengths do survivors share? What is the science of resilience? And what are the secrets of beating the odds?
This fascinating and inspiring book combines astonishing true stories, the latest scientific research and the author's own adventures inside the US military's elite survival schools to prepare you for the challenges not only of everyday life, but also for the unexpected in whatever form it takes.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a book that starts out well with hard facts and figures but wanders off into the realm of speculation and anecdotes when the facts begin to dry up. The problem seems to be that after all his travels and research the author didn't have any solid data of his own so he starts to draw some pretty tenuous conclusions. Several of the chapters are bookended with the stories of researchers who have endeavoured to prove some incredible fact about survival rates (left-handers live shorter lives than right handers, people with "positive" sounding initials live longer) only for the author to admit that these are at best controversial, and at worst completely unproven theories. The chapter on religion is especially frustrating in this regard; as expected the author is fairly skeptical of the idea that prayer or belief can be beneficial to survival but seems unable to simply admit that his conclusion is "I don't know" and tries to force an answer that perhaps religion is of benefit despite having little evidence outside of anecdotes. The huge great elephant in the room is that he is speaking to the survivors, so of course they are likely to claim to have received some benefit from their faith that helped them overcome terrible adversity. It's as if the author has never heard the line about the "opium of the people". Sometimes it's actually quite insulting and a little bit ugly; take the two pilots who ejected from their jet at well past the speed of sound. One died instantly, torn apart by the aerodynamic forces. The other was terribly injured but survived in his life raft until help arrived. The simple facts are that he was lucky - he was a different build to his colleague, and a fortunate wave washed him into the liferaft. And the author does acknowledge these points but then spends pages pontificating on the man's faith in God and how it may have helped him. He even brushes over the man's mention of the strength he got from thoughts of his family. Not a mention of whether his dead colleague was a man of faith too.
Despite these frustrating flaws it does have some interesting nuggets scattered about it though most of these are from "proper" researchers (ie: people with more than just stories) and people with expertise. And if you have never encountered any of these factoids and ideas before (I have read a few books previously on air safety and the psychology of fire safety) then I can imagine that some of this knowledge may be useful for daily life. Certainly the simple advice that merely thinking about potential scenarios, and how one might escape in the even of disaster boosts one's chances is something everybody should consider. Compared to the advice of those in the know, and those who have spent lifetimes studying the mechanics of surviving, the author's own 'Survivor IQ' at the book's conclusion is superfluous to requirements. I barely skimmed over it.
So it's mostly a book of anecdotes and these are gripping, life-affirming, uplifting, inspiring and all the other words. There are some very brave people with extraordinary stories to tell. And if it does save your life one day then it was money well spent.
Despite these frustrating flaws it does have some interesting nuggets scattered about it though most of these are from "proper" researchers (ie: people with more than just stories) and people with expertise. And if you have never encountered any of these factoids and ideas before (I have read a few books previously on air safety and the psychology of fire safety) then I can imagine that some of this knowledge may be useful for daily life. Certainly the simple advice that merely thinking about potential scenarios, and how one might escape in the even of disaster boosts one's chances is something everybody should consider. Compared to the advice of those in the know, and those who have spent lifetimes studying the mechanics of surviving, the author's own 'Survivor IQ' at the book's conclusion is superfluous to requirements. I barely skimmed over it.
So it's mostly a book of anecdotes and these are gripping, life-affirming, uplifting, inspiring and all the other words. There are some very brave people with extraordinary stories to tell. And if it does save your life one day then it was money well spent.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Most of us have often read a news story and thought , "How in the world did he do it?" How did someone survive an almost fatal accident? How could someone pick herself back up after a devastating emotional blow and not only go on living but do so happily, creatively? The best name for those who overcome apparently unsurmountable obstacles is survivors, and this book is full of their stories as well as advice on how we can overcome if , or better said when the need arises.
A former executive producer of ABC's Good Morning America and the author of two novels, Ben Sherwood explains that there are two questions at the heart of his book, "(1) What does it really take to survive? And (2) What kind of survivor are you?" Few amongst us do not want to know the answers to those questions.
Try to imagine the worst possible scenario - would it be "a woman doused with gasoline and set on fire by her husband"? How about being run over by a 21 ton truck or living through the attack on Pearl Harbor? " Sherwood has interviewed hundreds who not only endured crises but triumphed over them. There is much to learn from survivors who tell us what they wish they had known before they looked in the face of death.
The author shares some very simple things that we can do to increase our years, such as choosing the safest seat in an airplane, the best place to have a heart attack, and realizing why birthdays and holidays are as beneficial as we'd like to think. Personally, I wanted to learn the secrets of the French woman who smoked cigarettes and ate chocolate every day yet lived to the estimable age of 122.
Also included in the book is an access code to an Internet based Survivor Profile Test. It takes about 15 minutes, and you may be surprised at what you learn about yourself.
While many of us don't consider ourselves joiners there is one group we'd all like to be in and that's The Survivors Club.
- Gail Cooke
A former executive producer of ABC's Good Morning America and the author of two novels, Ben Sherwood explains that there are two questions at the heart of his book, "(1) What does it really take to survive? And (2) What kind of survivor are you?" Few amongst us do not want to know the answers to those questions.
Try to imagine the worst possible scenario - would it be "a woman doused with gasoline and set on fire by her husband"? How about being run over by a 21 ton truck or living through the attack on Pearl Harbor? " Sherwood has interviewed hundreds who not only endured crises but triumphed over them. There is much to learn from survivors who tell us what they wish they had known before they looked in the face of death.
The author shares some very simple things that we can do to increase our years, such as choosing the safest seat in an airplane, the best place to have a heart attack, and realizing why birthdays and holidays are as beneficial as we'd like to think. Personally, I wanted to learn the secrets of the French woman who smoked cigarettes and ate chocolate every day yet lived to the estimable age of 122.
Also included in the book is an access code to an Internet based Survivor Profile Test. It takes about 15 minutes, and you may be surprised at what you learn about yourself.
While many of us don't consider ourselves joiners there is one group we'd all like to be in and that's The Survivors Club.
- Gail Cooke
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Very interesting book which looks at the theory of surviving an aircrash amongst other things. The first four or five chapters were very useful for a personal safety trainer, such as myself, who teach people about how to react when confronting violent or aggresive people. It was also very useful to show how people who dont like to complain about safety issues are often the ones who die first! There are some wonderful, very unexpected stats which I now use in my courses. The last few chapters were a little irrelevant for me but interesting in their own way. This book is good for the paranoid who think they are going to die on every journey, but the real benefit is for professionals who are teaching people about keepting safe in all situations.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
struggle to get interested
This book has been around for several months and i have not got past chapter two ... it goes on and on with promises about how it is going to reveal some really interesting facts... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. R. G. A. Thomas
Would you survive?
Despite our disproportionate fear of improbable disasters and the awe we hold those who survive them there is relatively little research into the psychology of what we collectively... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. J. C. Clubb
A great book...unless your on a plane...or ferry to Estonia...which i...
I'm only half way through this but i'm loving it...except for i bought it Manchester Airport then got on plane and now i'm on a ferry from Helsinki to Estonia. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. M. G. Bancroft
Poor
I was expecting a rational guide to surviving. Where to sit on a plane, that sort of thing.
It started like that but quickly went off track. Read more
It started like that but quickly went off track. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Tony G
Overpriced
I don't understand why the kindle edition costs more than a new paperback, and is only £1 less than the hardback.
Published 21 months ago by Carlos Jackal
The Survivors Club
After reading this book I am still not sure that I like it or not. It explains how to survive life threatening situations. What to do in Fire. Where to sit on a plane etc. Read more
Published on 2 May 2009 by A. Carroll
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