Clever Magazine, Vol III, #10 "Worst Case Scenarios " (www.clevermag.com)

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A Clever Book Report:

Worst-Case Scenarios

reviews by the Phantom

A couple of authors have found a way to make a buck while pandering to those little insecurities that nag us while we are just going about our daily routines, or even worse, while we're on vacation. The volumes are called Worst-Case Scenarios, written by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht.

The first volume is simply called The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook. And it's filled with How-To's, such as How to Escape from Quicksand, Wrestle an Alligator, Break Down a Door or Land a Plane. Granted these are not things we would normally need to know, but as the authors explain, they are things it doesn't hurt to learn about.

Bookstores are not exactly sure where to shelve these books and one of the reasons for this dilemma can be found if you turn the book over and look at the back, just under the bar code, where it states: CAUTION: Book will explode of scanned. I'm just guessing here, but I think that's meant to be a joke. So sometimes you can find these books in the humor section. But most of the time they are at the cashier's stand because stores can't seem to keep them in stock long enough to figure out where to put them. However, if you actually manage to find a copy of these books and then read them, you'll find that the information covered appears to be on the level.

The newest volume focuses on Travel. Or How To, for example, survive runaway camels, UFO Abductions (seriously), High-rise hotel fires, Leeches and loads of other fairly relevant information. Under its back page bar code, it reads: CAUTION: Book may not be used as a flotation device.

Worst-Case Scenario
Survival Handbook:
Travel

The World's Most
Dangerous Places

But if you're a true enthusiast of arm chair travel at its nastiest, let me recommend this one: Fielding's The World's Most Dangerous Places by Robert Young Pelton.

This is a truly serious book of nearly 1,000 pages of info on how to make your way (if you must) through some of the world's least desirable vacation spots, like Afghanistan, Chechnya, Congo, and Tajikistan, to name just a few. (Oh, by the way the US is also listed as a dangerous place. Who knew?)

Pelton also goes into minute detail on how to make the best of a number of nasty situations the traveler might stumble into. There are even chapters on guns and land mines, and what to do if you should get arrested. All this information is handed out even before he gets to the dangerous countries. Each country has its own section and its own particular problems and pitfalls.

Pelton's advice is offered in a serious tone. He doesn't recommend that people should visit these places. His main point is that if you must go (for whatever reason), there are precautions you should consider taking. I believe him, even though I won't be going to any of the places he mentions, except the US, of course. But if even, like me, you never intend to visit any of the world's most dangerous places, this book is worth reading just for the heck of it.