Mark Hartzer's Reviews > The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why

Probably 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the anecdotal stories and background, but perhaps I was disappointed at the lack of a clear "do this, not that" summation. Much of this is common sense, and we've heard it before.

The most important thing I got out of the book, is that it is an extremely common reaction to "freeze" when faced with a sudden/unexpected disaster, and it is common among all animals. Ripley makes a convincing case that it is an evolutionary adaption, and I think she is correct. Humans will look to see what others are doing when disaster strikes and will tend to seek consensus. This leads to "milling" behavior before people start taking action.

Short version: Read the emergency instructions and know where the emergency exits are on your flight.