Best books on survival psychology
Skills only help if you can think straight under stress. These books explain how people actually behave in disasters, and why some survive.
6 books, beginner-friendly first.
Deep Survival
Laurence Gonzales · 2017
Why some people survive emergencies and others don't. Reads like a story but changes how you think in a crisis.
beginner
The Gift of Fear
Gavin de Becker · 2000
Gavin de Becker on trusting your instincts to recognize danger before violence happens.
beginner
Lights Out
Ted Koppel · 2016
Ted Koppel's reporting on how vulnerable the U.S. power grid is to cyberattack. Explains why being ready for long outages matters.
beginner
A Paradise Built in Hell
Rebecca Solnit, Emily Beresford, David Muñoz Mateos · 2010
Rebecca Solnit on how communities come together after disasters. A useful counterweight to every-man-for-himself thinking.
beginner
The Unthinkable
Amanda Ripley · 2009
Amanda Ripley on how people actually behave in disasters, and how to train yourself to respond better.
beginner
Left of Bang
Patrick Van Horne, Jason A. Riley, Shawn Coyne · 2014
How the Marine Corps teaches spotting threats early through behavior and baseline.
intermediate