| | |  | | Home » Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life | | | | | | | Description: | | With the same sharp eye, quick wit and narrative drive that made "The Game" a bestseller, Neil Strauss takes us on a white-knuckle journey through America's heart of darkness as he scrambles to escape the system. As the economic downturn, continuing climate change and the prevailing terrorist threat prove that the dangers facing our world loom larger than ever, Strauss decides he's had enough. Soon he is investigating ways of getting second citizenship on the island of St. Kitts, protecting his assets offshore, and making friends with an elite group of billionaires who are thinking exactly the same thing. Strauss' thirst for survival becomes more extreme as he prepares for The End Of The World As We Know It. He trains with guns, learns American Indian tracking skills, hides caches of supplies and acquires a special forces motorcycle to help him 'bug out'. When The Shit Hits The Fan, this book might just save your life. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Neil Strauss | | Paperback:
| 432 pages | | Publisher:
| It Books | | Publication Date:
| March 10, 2009 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0060898771 | | Product Length:
| 8.24 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.58 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.17 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.05 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.1 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.2 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.05 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 184 reviews |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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325 of 346 found the following review helpful:
 Not as advertised.Apr 01, 2009
By Ada Cole
"Autodidact"
I read an excerpt of this book on Tim Ferriss's blog, and I bought it on the presumption that it would answer some of the questions set forth. Namely, how are wealthy people preparing for potential economic emergencies and how will Neil, a not-so-wealthy author, use that information to prepare himself? Tim Ferriss talks about how he gets "in" with the author to find out about the "mysterious 5 flags." He later summarizes the book as follows:
"Neil's new book, Emergency, teaches you how to become Jason Bourne.
Multiple passports, moving assets, lock-picking, escape and evasion, foraging, even how to cross borders without detection (one preferred location: McAllen, Texas, page 390)-it's a veritable encyclopedia of for those who want to disappear or become lawsuit-proof global citizens."
That is not at all what this book is actually about. It has more in common with 'Travels with Charley' than 'Bourne Identity'
What this book is not:
1. A manual that dwells on options. Example, the only solution Neil offers for economic safeguarding is wiring $500,000 to St. Kitts and buying property there, and later becoming a citizen. Not a scalable solution.
2. About currency, passports, swiss banking etc. - basically all the topics about becoming a "lawsuit-proof global citizen" or opening up your personal options internationally are glossed over. The law firm in charge of "lawsuit proofing" Neil is under investigation by the end of the book.
3. A practical guide to anything really that can save your life, unless you take it to be advice that you should take a half dozen survivalist courses and practice sleeping in your backyard.
What this book is:
1. Aw-shucks musings about his girlfriend, who he presents as nails-on-chalkboard ditzy and selfish, but gosh darn it, if ya look at it the right way, downright wise! If the phrase "I'm going to Kendra's" will somehow save your life, then perhaps this is the book for you.
2. A page turner - all in all a pretty good story. I read it in one sitting without too much boredom.
3. FULL of celebrity name dropping and other very dishy stuff about his billionaire friends. "When I saw Leonard Cohen..." "When I crashed Tom Cruise's bike..." "I looked over toward President Clinton..." "Trisha (Yearwood) wanted us backstage..." Lots of glam setup for a story basically about a guy learning to camp.
4. A classic 'city slicker wises up' type story with the feel good ending that Neil decides to help people at the end by becoming an EMT. It even features the "begrudging respect" when someone he initially dismisses turns out to have some value in their "potato head."
5. Very heavily weighted toward caching/stashing food, emergency toilets, camping, foraging, knife and gun skills, tracking etc. However, all of these topics are approached anecdotally, as in "I can identify over 700 kinds of tracks" with only one photographic example, and no real segue into how this relates to anything.
All in all it was an entertaining read, but I wouldn't recommend it to perform as advertised because there isn't anything in it that is truly useful.
106 of 128 found the following review helpful:
 Not bad for city dwellersMar 10, 2009
By adp113
The book is a good read for its entertainment value. Sure, with enough money you can really do and buy whatever you will want or need. Some of the things in the book are basic boy scout things. If you were not a boy scout, or you lived in a big city all your life you will learn lots from the book. If you grew up hunting, fishing, and camping you will do alright if stuff gets that bad. Beware, Neil is heavy on the George Bush bashing so if you are tired of that...... well.... maybe not your type of book.
The second half of the book is much better than the first half. Most of the cool stuff is after the halfway point. After looking up some of the things he bought and was taught, it was an expensive endeavor for sure. Learning to shoot a handgun cost him more than $2,000. The Rokon, more than $5k. The biggest thing I walked away with, from the book, was that it is probably a good idea to teach/introduce your kids as much non-book knowledge as you can while they are young. Fear is learned, lack of understanding comes from lack of experience, and little kids are like sponges.
Although I gave it a 3, I do recommend the book. After all, given the times we are living you might just have to use some of the things in the book.
93 of 118 found the following review helpful:
 What will you do when WSHTF?Mar 12, 2009
By BanjoAndy
Truth can be stranger than fiction, and that's the case in Emergency.
Neil Strauss wonders what he would do if the world as we know it failed to function as it does currently. What would he do if an event the magnitude of 9/11 or Katrina took place in his hometown? No more electricity, iPods, takeout food or Seinfeld reruns.
The book begins with him as a typical "city boy", knowing nothing about survival. In similar fashion to The Game he seeks out the best of the best to learn the skills he feels he needs to survive. And also similar to The Game he takes all this knowledge and moves beyond it, creating his own interpretations.
At times while reading this book I was tempted with ideas ranging from calling my financial planner to see about moving my money to something more secure to thoughts of leaving the country. Other times I was laughing hysterically.
This was one of those books that I just couldn't put down. Within 24 hours of purchase I had read all 418 pages. It was entertaining, it made me laugh and it made me think.
Highly recommended to any American living in 2009.
34 of 43 found the following review helpful:
Great Book: Informative, Interesting, ExcitingMar 11, 2009
By Legion
This book is amazing. Neil does a great job as usual. The random lessons drawn by Bernard Chang, like picking pad locks with soda cans and escaping in a car chase are awesome.
If you enjoy tales of the possible apocalypse and 101 ways to survive them then you'll devour this book.
If you enjoy learning about survival techniques then this book will point you in the right direction by giving you some basic lessons and the names of some great men who teach these arts.
If you want to learn about what it takes to get a second passport you'll find this book informative.
If you enjoy hearing the continuing adventures of Neil Strauss then you'll be entertained the whole way through.
I loved it. You will too.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 Highly entertaining and provocative...Mar 22, 2009
By C. Wilson
"The Enlightened Caveman"
Having perused the previous reviews, let me start by disagreeing with two negative, and recurring, responses to Emergency.
1. Contrary to the obviously wounded righties out there, Strauss' politics in this are irrelevant. It's obvious that he's no fan of Bush, but he makes a point to note that his focus on "escape" came from observing the momentous events that took place from 2000-2008 (causation Bush, or no). Since he pushes no political agenda, we should take him at his word.
2. This book is not meant to be a survival manual. Anyone who evaluates it on that premise has entirely missed the point. In saying, "this book could save your life," Strauss, I think, is being somewhat tongue-in-cheek on one hand and very serious on the other. He's tongue-in-cheek as a send up to a real life survival manual, and he's serious because the insights he gleaned along his journey clearly have saved his life (figuratively speaking).
Now let me agree with one negative review point.
1. I did feel that the book was a bit unbalanced. Granted, there was a backstory that needed to be told to provide context for why Strauss would do all of the things he did. However, it didn't have to be 100 pages long. 25 would have sufficed. And I also agree that more should have been included in the later parts of the book - particularly the wilderness survival and personal self defense.
That said...
I really loved this book. I've entertained notions of needing an escape plan for many years, so this subject matter appealed to me instantly. Having read The Game and Don't Try This At Home, I knew I'd enjoy Neil's take on it.
What I like the most about The Game and Emergency is that they both have that classic moral revelation component that is essential to good fiction. (Seems like lots of nonfiction writers don't see the value of that in their work. Strauss does.) Neil, as a character, evolves throughout both books, and ends up a completely different person than he was when he started, and he never ends up where he thought he would. Kind of like life for those of us who are determined to live it. Riding shotgun for that transformation was a blast, and both times, I found Neil's endpoint completely satisfying. He landed where he should have, at least according to my moral compass.
And, of course, I can't neglect to mention my profound respect for how committed Neil is to what he grabs onto. He's a freaking pitbull - pursuing lead after lead and getting so far out of his comfort zone he can't even see it anymore. It's truly inspirational.
So go get this book. Forget about the politics, and have patience with the groundwork. You'll laugh, cringe, and keep turning pages till its done. And if you're open minded, you'll be a little different on the back end. That's money well spent if you ask me.
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