Everything That Follows Is Based on Recent, Real-Life Experience That Has Been Proven to Work: Professional Survival Solutions

This little book is rife with errors, but is a practical guide written by one who has "been there, done that." I cannot verify much of the book, but I do know a few things.One trivial error that means nothing is on page 31 where the Chinook is called a "CH-43." The Chinook is a CH-47--the HH-43 is a rescue helicopter called the Husky.On pages 110 to 111 the tendency of automatic weapons to kick up and to right has very little to do with rifling "torque effect." Full-auto shotguns have unrifled bores but still will kick up and to the right when fired from the right shoulder. Remember Newton's law--the recoil force is along the bore line, which is angled to the shooter's center of gravity and to the shoulder support--the motion to the right is caused by the recoil pushed on the right shoulder instead of center-line. Experts with automatic weapons know how to compensate for these effects.Pages 34 and 35 talked about firing the Kalashnikov rifle--but overstated the system's reliability while understating the accuracy. An expert rifleman can keep all single shots from a serviceable Kalashnikov with decent ammunition in a man's chest at 200 meters. On the other hand, I have witnessed people who can jam their Kalashnikov. It takes talent, but can be done! Don't trust safety catches. The Kalashnikov safety is positive, will lock the bolt in a forward position so that no cartridge can be stripped from the magazine into the chamber if someone inadvertently moves the bolt handle. The Stoner M16, on the other hand, can load a cartridge from the magazine and possibly fire it if the butt OR the muzzle is slammed hard enough regardless of the safety position.Something else trivial: on page 205 the common mistake of calling the RPG a "rocket propelled grenade" is repeated. The famous RPG-7 and more-modern RPG-18 are "hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher" in Russian. Confusing the issue more are the World War Two RPG-43 and RPG-6 anti-tank HAND grenades, big shaped-charge armor-busting weapons that were hand-thrown against Nazi tanks.When I read "It is possible to vary the fuse length of a grenade...by twisting the knob on the bottom" (page 114) I dug up my copy of US Army Field Manual 3-23.30 Grenades and Pyrotechnic Signals. Some non-US grenades have interchangeable fuses with delays ranging from zero seconds to more than ten seconds for different applications. I haven't seen any adjustable delay hand grenades--and I will admit that I don't know everything.These are the kind of errors that real people with real experience make--and for the most part, they're trivial. The advice on page 113 that "If the situation requires body armor, consider whether you should be there" is wisdom. Ditto for the advice on page 173: "never touch a mine." Anti-tank land mines frequently come equipped with anti-tamper devices intended to kill the engineers tasked with clearing the mine field. Anti-personnel mines may be booby-trapped too--and daisy-chained so that several explode at the same time.I'm not doing this book justice--but sometimes the situation is unwinnable--media relations, for one, and "neutrality" for another. Aid workers change the balance of power in blighted areas. Often, starvation is a weapon used by one or more factions to remove their rivals. Media people have agendas.There is a lot of hard-won wisdom in this little book. Where it is wrong, some research will right things. Reading this little book may be more preparation than the average new aid worker gets before shipping into a troubled area--use multiple sources because even the best will be wrong sometimes.

This is a great book and very useful. There are many day to day how-to things that work, but most of the book is placed in a war zone or 3rd world countries, where the author has spent much of his time. I would suggest get it, and read up on it because a lot of the material is very interesting and may be useful in one way or another, but most of it isn't anything you will be needing on a day to day basis (like how to fly a helicopter, fire an AK-47, etc.)

I read an excerpt from this book in a magazine and was instantly hooked. Such a great read! I've traveled abroad many times and wished I had read this book sooner. It's filled with great insight on how to stay safe and travel smart. I highly recommend this book to people traveling on humanitarian work in high conflict areas throughout the world. Several of my friends have borrowed the book and loved it. I even purchased a few copies during the holiday season to give out as gifts.

Excellent, eye opening work. If you are going overseas to work, no matter in what capacity, you need to read this book, and take it with you.

This book is an outstanding reference for those in the international aid community and others who travel internationally in challenging environments. The advice comes from an experienced practitioner with a long career working with the military, NGOs, and international civil servants in the most challenging contexts. Shepherd-Brown fills his book "Everything that follows is based on recent, real-life experience that has been proven to work" with both detailed instruction and a wide-ranging set of anecdotes from personal experiences.Generally speaking, the book is accurate, useful (particularly to those in the humanitarian aid community and others traveling in dangerous, undeveloped, or disaster-plagued regions). The book ranges from the basic to the arcane and relies on no-nonsense prose to put teach useful skills. Topics are covered briefly, and the text occasionally makes such quick transition as it races from topic to topic that reading it straight through is probably not the best approach.The advice ranges from driving tips for difficult situations (including roadblocks) to repatriating remains, with more topics than any brief review could adequately capture. A very small sample of the varied topics includes: managing international staff, negotiating, land navigation, firing an AK-47, etiquette in the field, coping with natural and man-made disasters. There are extensive chapters on working in the "deep field," "health and hygiene," and "personal security," among others.Unfortunately, the title's claim that "Everything...has been proven to work" is not quite accurate. Errors are inevitable in this type of book, and they can range from the minor to the potentially life-threatening.An example of a trivial error: On p. 37 Shepherd-Barron mislabels what is actually a sheet bend a "reef knot" (reef knot is a synonym for a square knot). The name used is a minor error in the field, as the author describes the purpose of the knot correctly. However, the illustration displays the less secure form of a sheet bend. The more secure form has the two free ends on the same side of the knot when completed.A much more significant (and surprising) error: On p. 10 the author and illustrator commit a major gaffe in describing navigation with a wrist watch. The book falsely indicates that in the northern hemisphere, after lining up the hour hand on a watch with the sun, the direction halfway between the hour hand and noon on the watch will be north. In fact, it's the reverse. The direction will be (roughly) south. Depending upon where one is, that type of error could lead a person deeper into the wilderness, directly into hostile territory, completely away from water, or into some other world of hurt. Errors like this should be corrected before new printings.Direction is given on a wide range of medical topics (CPR, tracheotomy, vaccines, diarrhea, delivering a baby, bullet wounds, mine injuries, toothache, and sexual assault, to name a few). The level of detail varies, but the author is blunt about a few situations where there is nothing an untrained individual can do. In cases like the tracheotomy, I assume that the advice is given for a last-ditch effort away from any trained care where certain death is the only alternative to action. Some of the advice (cleaning wounds with beer, cola, and urine, for example, or providing as much water or sweet drinks to someone who has been severely injured by a mine) are unorthodox. In the latter case, if surgical care is likely, the guidance seems ill-advised because of the risk of vomiting under sedation. Some type of authoritative reference for the more surprising medical advice would be appropriate. Frankly, I would like to see an emergency medical professional's assessment of some of the advice given in the health chapter.That said, taken as a whole, the book is outstanding: quite practical, wide-ranging, and accurate. It fills a real niche for those who travel extensively in challenging environments, particularly those who do so as volunteers, professionals, or others in responsibility. The author's long experience in the humanitarian aid community serving in positions of responsibility in the field benefit the reader, but references for the most unorthodox medical claims would be a most welcome reassurance.

Written by a guy who's been there-done that.A must read for adventure types, will undoubtably save lives if you heed it's advice

Brilliant book must buy