The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why
by: Amanda Ripley
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It lurks in the corner of our imagination, almost beyond our ability to see it: the possibility that a tear in the fabric of life could open up without warning, upending a house, a skyscraper, or a civilization.
Today, nine out of ten Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorism, or other disasters. Tomorrow, some of us will have to make split-second choices to save ourselves and our families. How will we react? What will it feel like? Will we be heroes or victims? Will our upbringing, our gender, our personality–anything we’ve ever learned, thought, or dreamed of–ultimately matter?
Amanda Ripley, an award-winning journalist for Time magazine who has covered some of the most devastating disasters of our age, set out to discover what lies beyond fear and speculation. In this magnificent work of investigative journalism, Ripley retraces the human response to some of history’s epic disasters, from the explosion of the Mont Blanc munitions ship in 1917–one of the biggest explosions before the invention of the atomic bomb–to a plane crash in England in 1985 that mystified investigators for years, to the journeys of the 15,000 people who found their way out of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Then, to understand the science behind the stories, Ripley turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts, formal and informal, from a Holocaust survivor who studies heroism to a master gunfighter who learned to overcome the effects of extreme fear.
Finally, Ripley steps into the dark corners of her own imagination, having her brain examined by military researchers and experiencing through realistic simulations what it might be like to survive a plane crash into the ocean or to escape a raging fire.
Ripley comes back with precious wisdom about the surprising humanity of crowds, the elegance of the brain’s fear circuits, and the stunning inadequacy of many of our evolutionary responses. Most unexpectedly, she discovers the brain’s ability to do much, much better, with just a little help.
The Unthinkable escorts us into the bleakest regions of our nightmares, flicks on a flashlight, and takes a steady look around. Then it leads us home, smarter and stronger than we were before.
It lurks in the corner of our imagination, almost beyond our ability to see it: the possibility that a tear in the fabric of life could open up without warning, upending a house, a skyscraper, or a civilization.
Today, nine out of ten Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorism, or other disasters. Tomorrow, some of us will have to make split-second choices to save ourselves and our families. How will we react? What will it feel like? Will we be heroes or victims? Will our upbringing, our gender, our personality–anything we’ve ever learned, thought, or dreamed of–ultimately matter?
Amanda Ripley, an award-winning journalist for Time magazine who has covered some of the most devastating disasters of our age, set out to discover what lies beyond fear and speculation. In this magnificent work of investigative journalism, Ripley retraces the human response to some of history’s epic disasters, from the explosion of the Mont Blanc munitions ship in 1917–one of the biggest explosions before the invention of the atomic bomb–to a plane crash in England in 1985 that mystified investigators for years, to the journeys of the 15,000 people who found their way out of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Then, to understand the science behind the stories, Ripley turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts, formal and informal, from a Holocaust survivor who studies heroism to a master gunfighter who learned to overcome the effects of extreme fear.
Finally, Ripley steps into the dark corners of her own imagination, having her brain examined by military researchers and experiencing through realistic simulations what it might be like to survive a plane crash into the ocean or to escape a raging fire.
Ripley comes back with precious wisdom about the surprising humanity of crowds, the elegance of the brain’s fear circuits, and the stunning inadequacy of many of our evolutionary responses. Most unexpectedly, she discovers the brain’s ability to do much, much better, with just a little help.
The Unthinkable escorts us into the bleakest regions of our nightmares, flicks on a flashlight, and takes a steady look around. Then it leads us home, smarter and stronger than we were before.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Worth reading- good book with practical usefulness
This book is worth reading and can help people in many ways, such as to better understand behavior in emergency situations, be less judgmental of other peoples reactions in emergency situations and be better prepared if an emergency happens to you. Ripley managed to keep my attention and provide a learning experience that can be applied in future situations.
Rating: - This book may save your life!
You can't say that about many books but it's true that this one might actually make the difference between life and death.Amanda Ripley has created one of the most exciting non-fiction books I have ever read and I recommend it without hesitation.I am giving this book to all of my friends as soon as it comes out in paperback.I teach CERT classes (Community Emergency Response Team) and I have added many of her disaster stories to my lessons. This book is an easy read and a real "page-turner" ... Read More
Rating: - The Unthinkable addressed
Part of creating and supporting a survival mind set is the individual capacity to accurately perceive and assess potential problems before they become problematic.This book reaches into this realm of accurate assessments and dismantles the process--through real examples.
There is as much misconception about survival as in any pursuit man chases along pristine academic lines.This book, while intelligently done, avoids sterile academic presentations, explanations, and best-guessing ... Read More
Rating: - Unthinkable? I certainly hope not.
Bad stuff happens. What you do when it does could be a matter of life or death. "The Unthinkable" sits on my bookshelf alongside Gavin DeBecker's The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence. The takeaway from both of these invaluable books is not to be paranoid or fearful, but to be prepared. To get your mind right before something happens, whether it's a minor traffic accident or a major disaster. If you've already contemplated what might happen and what you might do ... Read More
Rating: 
- Good but don't go hunting with the author
This book is quite good, particularly if you'd like to evaluate yourself and understand how well you might do in a life-threatening emergency.
One criteria, which is used to predict how well those being tested for admission into our military's Special Forces will do, is especially intriguing. You're asked if you've experienced three symptoms:
1. Things seem to move in slow motion.
2. Things seemed unreal, as if in a dream.
3. You had a feeling of separation from ... Read More
- Worth reading- good book with practical usefulness This book is worth reading and can help people in many ways, such as to better understand behavior in emergency situations, be less judgmental of other peoples reactions in emergency situations and be better prepared if an emergency happens to you. Ripley managed to keep my attention and provide a learning experience that can be applied in future situations.
- This book may save your life!You can't say that about many books but it's true that this one might actually make the difference between life and death.Amanda Ripley has created one of the most exciting non-fiction books I have ever read and I recommend it without hesitation.I am giving this book to all of my friends as soon as it comes out in paperback.I teach CERT classes (Community Emergency Response Team) and I have added many of her disaster stories to my lessons. This book is an easy read and a real "page-turner" ... Read More
- The Unthinkable addressedPart of creating and supporting a survival mind set is the individual capacity to accurately perceive and assess potential problems before they become problematic.This book reaches into this realm of accurate assessments and dismantles the process--through real examples.
There is as much misconception about survival as in any pursuit man chases along pristine academic lines.This book, while intelligently done, avoids sterile academic presentations, explanations, and best-guessing ... Read More
- Unthinkable? I certainly hope not.Bad stuff happens. What you do when it does could be a matter of life or death. "The Unthinkable" sits on my bookshelf alongside Gavin DeBecker's The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence. The takeaway from both of these invaluable books is not to be paranoid or fearful, but to be prepared. To get your mind right before something happens, whether it's a minor traffic accident or a major disaster. If you've already contemplated what might happen and what you might do ... Read More
- Good but don't go hunting with the authorThis book is quite good, particularly if you'd like to evaluate yourself and understand how well you might do in a life-threatening emergency.
One criteria, which is used to predict how well those being tested for admission into our military's Special Forces will do, is especially intriguing. You're asked if you've experienced three symptoms:
1. Things seem to move in slow motion.
2. Things seemed unreal, as if in a dream.
3. You had a feeling of separation from ... Read More
