The Survival Handbook

Allen Soroka is assistant law librarian at the University of British
Columbia Law Library.

Peter Darman’s guide to surviving disaster, which joins 30 or so other
survival guides currently in print in English, is a welcome addition
because the author goes beyond wilderness advice and focuses on urban
survival problems too.

Darman has researched this guide thoroughly, even going to military
handbooks for tips and tricks; sidebars featuring advice from the Royal
Marines, the U.S. Air Force, British SAS forces, the U.S. Army, and
similar organizations abound in the book. One useful chapter contains
guidelines for foreign travel. A particularly chilling sidebar sets out
police guidelines for traveling safely on the New York City subway:
“Do not make eye contact with anyone who appears to be looking for
trouble.”

The index is good, the many illustrations and diagrams are clearly
drawn (although readers may be put off by the garish layout often seen
in the sidebars), and the table of contents is intelligently organized.
Above all, the information is sound. This useful, compact handbook
deserves a place in your pack or suitcase.