• Emergency

  • This Book Will Save Your Life
  • By: Neil Strauss
  • Narrated by: Neil Strauss
  • Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (824 ratings)

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Emergency  By  cover art

Emergency

By: Neil Strauss
Narrated by: Neil Strauss
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Publisher's summary

Terrorist attacks. Natural disasters. Domestic crackdowns. Economic collapse. Riots. Wars. Disease. Starvation. What can you do when it all hits the fan? You can learn to be self-sufficient and survive without the system.

"I've started to look at the world through apocalypse eyes."

So begins Neil Strauss's harrowing new book: his first full-length work since the international best seller The Game, and one of the most original-and provocative-narratives of the year. After the last few years of violence and terror, of ethnic and religious hatred, of tsunamis and hurricanes - and now of world financial meltdown - Strauss, like most of his generation, came to the sobering realization that, even in America, anything can happen. But rather than watch helplessly, he decided to do something about it. And so he spent three years traveling through a country that's lost its sense of safety, equipping himself with the tools necessary to save himself and his loved ones from an uncertain future.

With the same quick wit and eye for cultural trends that marked The Game, The Dirt, and How to Make Love Like a Porn Star, Emergency traces Neil's white-knuckled journey through today's heart of darkness, as he sets out to move his life offshore, test his skills in the wild, and remake himself as a gun-toting, plane-flying, government-defying survivor. It's a tale of paranoid fantasies and crippling doubts, of shady lawyers and dangerous cult leaders, of billionaire gun nuts and survivalist superheroes, of weirdos, heroes, and ordinary citizens going off the grid. It's one man's story of a dangerous world - and how to stay alive in it. Before the next disaster strikes, you're going to want to read this book. And you'll want to do everything it suggests. Because tomorrow doesn't come with a guarantee...

©2009 Stately Plump Buck Mulligan, LLC (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

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What listeners say about Emergency

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting but not great

Neil Strauss writes a moderately interesting book that would have been much better if he hadnt wasted a large part of the book justifying his paranoia about the country by bashing George Bush. In the beginning he clearly establishes his qualifications as being incompetent at anything but writing about music for the New York Times. In the book he chronicles his journey in which he undergoes several years of impressive training to go from total incompetence at practically everything, to being an accomplished survivalist. If you are a committed Bush basher, you may find this book worthwhile. I ended up fast forwarding through a lot of the book to get past the political whining to get to the part that finally became interesting. If you are wanting to read a book to learn skills for surviving a possible catastrophic event, "One Second After", "Patriots", or "Alas Babylon" are much more enlightening.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I judged a book by its cover...and I was wrong!

Purchased this book 4+ yrs ago & left it sitting unread in my Audible library. Initially, my neglect to read ‘Emergency’ was mainly due to authors’ other works, causing me to ‘judge a book by its cover’ and not take it too seriously...figuring it to be a light hearted entertainment piece which I would read ‘someday.’

While recently searching for my next read and re-reading reviews for this book, one particular review resonated with me when they detailed how not only great the book was but how it was ‘different’ from the traditional Apocalyptic/SHTF fare.

I figured I’d give it 10/15 minutes then switch to another book.

Couldn’t put it down.

My experience with authors from this genre (read 50+ SHTF genre) always seemed to be those who grew up hunting or were either former or present military, etc...a completely different perspective than my own.

What I enjoyed about Strauss’ book is he allows the reader to see him starting w/ essentially zero useful skills outside a modern day urban environment and takes the reader along his journey acquiring the skills he feels he needs in order to ‘survive’ a SHTF scenario.

And as an unattended consequence/benefit, we also get to see how Strauss is transformed not only physically....but mentally and spiritually as well.

Great book!







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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome and informative book

Fantastic read. This book covers so many different topics from knives, guns, and all types of survival philosophy. It was interesting to see the transformation of Neil Strauss in his search for survival skills to survive in the (what if). Like his other best seller the Game, Neil Strauss dives into a topic and goes all the way leaving no area unchecked exploring topics from all angles and uses things that are applicable. These things he covers on a deep level studies them, and according to the book masters them. Everything from financial melt down natural, disasters, intruders and whatever it may be. He is by no means an expert in any particular field of survival but his unique research abilities give him a awesome overall perspective that helps readers identify areas and expand there thought process to find thorough ways of reaching there own goals. The only part of the book that I found as a turnoff is mainly a difference in political view as the book is very anti Bush and pro Obama. He seems to think that Obama would do a better job in fixing US security than Bush. However he does not look at the possibility that the Liberal agenda might target many of the areas which he uses as survival means like the ownership of weapons and concealed carry. Overall I give the book a 10, the good made up for the bad in my opinion.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

If you know and love Neil Straus

Then you will love this book like I did. Is it possibly better than The Game? I'm not sure, but maybe.

If you don't like reading about sex, swearing, guns, knives, and survival, you won't like this book. If these are topics that interest you, will love this book.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Emergency... this book will not change your life

At 1:06.08 I have learned about Mr.Strauss' sexual escapades on Dec. 31,1999/Jan. 01, 2000 on Trisha Yearwoods private jet, and his sexual fantasies about his 6th grade teachers breasts.
So far just over an hour into this audio book I have learned it is really nothing more than a nihilistic expose about Mr. Strauss. He should paid me the one credit I wasted to read this drivel.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspirational Page Turner for your Ears

Neil Strauss is a great writer, reader, and story teller.

Like in "The Game" it is fascinating to experience his journey, his life transformation. Similar to the story of "The Game" his dedication to personal growth is inspirational and in both stories he ended up with a new perspective on life that he had not predicted. As I'm sure he would agree, the journey or process of self-discovery, is where the truly important stuff comes out.

I have a new perspective after listening to this book about survivalists. Strauss is kind of like me, an intellectual Jewish kid, whose parents labeled themselves as people who just didn't consider themselves as handy, weren't gun owners or hunters. Makes me want to to change my life a bit. Maybe not buy a gun or get citizenship of another country, but at least be more aware of possibilities.

In any case, I listened to this book in two days this weekend. Couldn't stop listening. It's a "page turner" for your ears. I just wish more of Strauss's books were on audio.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

what I would expect!

well read, and honest, this book is one which I have talked about with friends. I enjoyed it.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A MUST Read

absolutely phenomenal. One of the best books on life, philosophy, helping others, survival and making the world a better and more compassionate place.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not exactly a how to manual

Like other reviewers had said,the first part of the book is more about Neil's obsession with having an escape plan.A second passport is a great idea and it made me think that most politicians probably have them.Neil's interest seemed to deepen after going to Tom Brown's training,where he didn't exactly have an easy time of things.Best of all was the three day test,where he shuts off electricity,water and computer to see if he can survive.His girlfriend seems like she was a handful.The pretty ones always are and so she can't seem to adapt to his crazy obsession with being a man and a survivalist.He convinces her to finally get her drivers license and to take a course on bladed weapons.Neil's live goat killing seems like it was really difficult to deal with,but think how disconnected all of us are from what it takes to get a hunk of meat to our table.I didn't like this book as much as the Game,but the topic wasn't as interesting to me.Nevertheless,it was engaging,compelling and perhaps made me think a bit more of what I might do in an emergency myself.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

interesting, but a bit too heavy on gory detail

First half of this book is quite interesting to hear about all the survival junkies that Neil Strauss hooks up with. Second half is more focused on Strauss's experience trying to become one of them and all of the trials/tribulations of trying to live post-apocalypse. Still, at only 8 hours or so a quick listen that'll probably teach you a thing or two.

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2 people found this helpful