The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why
Written by Amanda Ripley
Read by Kirsten Potter
unabridged
http://www.amazon.com/Unthinkable-Survives-When-Disaster-Strikes/dp/0307352900
Duration : 9 hours 33 minutes
Sample Rate : 22 KHz
Channels : 2
Bitrate : 43 kbps
Codec Profile : MP3 VBR V7
Tool : LAME3.98r
Quote:
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.
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.
Quote:
If you encounter a fire, explosion, plane crash, or terrorist attack, your chances of survival might depend on how your brain reacts or what preparations you make. Using major disasters such as 9/11, Haj stampedes, and a club fire in Kentucky as examples, Ripley examines the psychology of individuals and groups confronted with life-or-death situations. Kirsten Potter's narration is straightforward and clear. She emphasizes important words with short pauses and injects a bit of irony here and there. Above all, she catches Ripley's obvious enthusiasm for her subject. The author put herself into simulated disaster situations; Potter does likewise for listeners. J.B.G. ¿ AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2008]
Download File Size:168.21 MB
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