Fun little book that lays out survival schools I might want to attend. ( )

Disaster Diaries is focused on Sheridan traveling around North America learning survival skills that he feels would be useful in an apocalyptic setting. Each chapter explores a new skill set: Stunt Driving, Wilderness EMT, Mental Health, defensive pistol and rifle, building traps and hunting, knife fighting, winter survival, and the list goes on.
I enjoyed the format because for the most part Sheridan was approaching each new skill set as a beginner and he wrote from a beginner's point of view. It reminded me a bit of reading an A.J. Jacobs book (speaking of which, it would be rather fun to read about A.J. Jacobs learning how to build an igloo or how to machete an attacking cannibal). There wasn't really enough information in each chapter to be too useful for someone who is actually wanting to learn these things. This is not an authoritative guide to these skills but it was good summary. It also reminded me of other books that deal with this subject matter and helped reinforce some basic concepts. I thought the book was rather funny in places and it was cool to see someone put themselves through all these grueling classes that I could never afford to take.
Sheridan's writing style implies that he best operates within what some would call traditional gender norms. Sheridan's whole motivation for writing the book and exploring these skills is so that he can feel capable of protecting his wife and newborn son. Even though Sheridan does not come out and say that his wife is incapable of protecting herself, some members of our book club felt that he implied this by leaving out women as active characters in his exploration of various skills. I did not pick up on this personally but I have a lot in common with Sheridan's mind set and identity so it is fair to argue that a bias could be in play there.
Regardless, I found the book to be easy to read and interesting. If you are into prepper books or survival non-fiction texts this would entertain you perhaps but not really teach you much. The last chapter was really the most thoughtful and I wish it could have been the first chapter. Try to make it to the end if you pick up the book but can't quite bring yourself to finish it. Even though Disaster Diaries was not all-encompassing when it comes to survival subjects, it's a fun way to start learning about being prepared for disasters. It was very gratifying to come to a new chapter and get a snippet of some expert's wisdom and be able to say "Oh, I already do that, cool!" or "Huh, maybe I should consider that method or strategy." I look forward to reading Sheridan's new material. Perhaps he will write something about fatherhood soon. ( )

This book was amazing. A must-read for all fans of the apocalypse. I wish Sam Sheridan were my friend so I could be on his zombie team. He will dominate all. ( )

I loved [a:Sam Sheridan|43442|Sam Sheridan|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1343100875p2/43442.jpg]'s Previous books [b:A Fighter's Heart|7040054|A Fighter's Heart|Sam Sheridan|/assets/nocover/60x80.png|73915] and [b:The Fighter's Mind|8137555|The Fighter's Mind|Sam Sheridan|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1282686142s/8137555.jpg|7361738] and I have read quite a few survival/ disaster books as well, so this was right up my alley. And although I found this book very entertaining and well written, it didn't really add anything to my survival reptiore.

If you are looking for an intro into this genre that combines a good personal narrative with really helpful advice, I'd reccomend starting with [b:Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life|5507552|Emergency This Book Will Save Your Life|Neil Strauss|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348919412s/5507552.jpg|5607536].
That being said, Sam Sheridan does a great job pulling you into his story and staying interested in what can be fairly dry material.

Overall I really enjoyed this book but it wasn't quit the comprehensive survival book I'd expected. If you are looking for a fun read with some practical knowledge this would be a great book but I think it has been don better ( )

This book was a great blitz through one man's obsessive quest to be prepared for the apocalypse. It could have been better and longer, but than it might have become obscure. This was a shared diary more than an educational book.

That's not to say that you won't learn some important things from reading this book. There are several topics in this book in which I am already well versed. But there were other topics or tidbits that have made me want to learn more.

If there is a best part of this book, that is it. This book will likely spark your interest for something specific that you'd like to know more about. Then you can do what the author did, find a way to learn more. ( )