Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why - Hardcover

"Laurence Gonzales has masterfully woven together personal survival stories with the study of human perception to reach rock-bottom truths about how to live with risk." -- Peter Stark, author of Last Breath: The Limits of Adventure "A gripping and thoughtful investigation of the greatest adventure of all-survival. Through riveting tales of disaster and endurance, Gonzales explores the icy mental clarity that characterizes survivors." -- Jerry Kobalenko, author of The Horizontal Everest: Extreme Journeys on Ellesmere Island "Should be required reading for anyone venturing off the beaten path." -- Jeff Randall, Peruvian Air Force School of Jungle Survival "Deep Survival provides a new lens for looking at survival, risk taking, and life itself. Gonzales takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride that ends with rules of survival we can all stand to learn. Equally important, he answers the question: what is the value of taking risks. I love this book." -- Jed Williamson, editor, Accidents in North American Mountaineering "Professional rescuers will love this book. It goes to the heart of the instincts that drive us to risk our own lives to save others. Gonzales tells us what we subconsciously know-anything is possible." -- Jacki Golike, Executive Director, National Association for Search and Rescue "Deep Survival is by far the best book on the many insights into epic survival stories I have ever read." -- Daryl Miller, Chief of Mountaineering, Denali National Park & Preserve "A feast of excitement and wonder. Makes complexity and chaos come alive...fantastic accounts of danger and death." -- Charles Perrow, author of Normal Accidents "A fascinating look into why we are who we are." -- Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Enough

After her plane crashes, a seventeen-year-old girl spends eleven days walking through the Peruvian jungle. Against all odds, with no food, shelter, or equipment, she gets out. A better-equipped group of adult survivors of the same crash sits down and dies. What makes the difference? Examining such stories of miraculous endurance and tragic death-how people get into trouble and how they get out again (or not)-Deep Survival takes us from the tops of snowy mountains and the depths of oceans to the workings of the brain that control our behavior. Through close analysis of case studies, Laurence Gonzales describes the "stages of survival" and reveals the essence of a survivor-truths that apply not only to surviving in the wild but also to surviving life-threatening illness, relationships, the death of a loved one, running a business during uncertain times, even war. Fascinating for any reader, and absolutely essential for anyone who takes a hike in the woods, this book will change the way we understand ourselves and the great outdoors.