The Devil Never Sleeps

Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters

By: Juliette Kayyem

Narrated by: Juliette Kayyem

Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

An urgent, transformative guide to dealing with disasters from one of today’s foremost thinkers in crisis management.

The future may still be unpredictable, but nowadays, disasters are not. We live in a time of constant, consistent catastrophe, where things more often go wrong than they go right. So why do we still fumble when disaster hits? Why are we always one step behind?

In The Devil Never Sleeps, Juliette Kayyem lays the groundwork for a new approach to dealing with disasters. Presenting the basic themes of crisis management, Kayyem amends the principles we rely on far too easily. Instead, she offers us a new framework to anticipate the “devil’s” inevitable return, highlighting the leadership deficiencies we need to overcome and the forward thinking we need to harness. It’s no longer about preventing a disaster from occurring, but learning how to use the tools at our disposal to minimize the consequences when it does.

Filled with personal anecdotes and real-life examples from natural disasters like the California wildfires to man-made ones like the Boeing 737 MAX crisis, The Devil Never Sleeps is a guide for governments, businesses, and individuals alike on how to alter our thinking so that we can develop effective strategies in the face of perpetual catastrophe.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Juliette Kayyem (P)2022 PublicAffairs

OK

Interesting life story and personal experiences, great book references, lacks deep insights for leaders

Clear, concise, practical & compelling

I enjoyed this extended version Julia's work heard on CNN & Boston Public Radio.

Valuable information

While I listened to Juliette’s audiobook, I also followed along with the hardcover and used a highlighter to note points. Her instructions are sewn together as a story with key points relevant for all and in everyday life. I also had my son listen/read as a way to share the very useful and valuable information regarding daily life challenges and proactive planning that Juliette seeks to inculcate. Gratitudes!

Birds eye view & some earned lessons learned on DR

Birds eye view & some earned lessons learned on Disaster Recovery with a sprinkle of how this happened where

An important and thoroughly engaging book

This book, superbly read by the author, is thoroughly engaging and entertaining, even as it manages to provide critically important advice and wisdom. Juliette Kayyem is a national treasure, and this book gives all easy and enjoyable access to her sage advice and guidance.

Thought it would have more useful info

Reviews many contemporary disasters and looks at the mistakes made. Didn’t feel like the book gave truly practical advice.

Not Much New

I have a background in insurance and a natural interest in risk management, so I was looking forward to listening to this book. Unfortunately it is quite repetitive and has little new to say. The ‘you are here’ and ‘devil always returns’ trops are getting pretty annoying. I am returning the book.

No Idea

As an Emergency Management professional of 20 years, I honestly have no idea what the purpose of this book was other than to set the compete with the Bible in saying the word 'devil' and to perhaps provide some awareness towards past disasters and business continuity events. Definitely a missed opportunity to propose needed changes at all levels of emergency management.

mediocre at best

overall has the feel of a lot of ramblings and self gratifying stories of the authors involvement in disaster management.

the performance was marginal and hard to listen to as the author's tone comes across as somewhat harsh slash biting - like you're being yelled at.

There are occasional interesting details about previous stories related to disasters in recent history.

Decent foundational concept but lacks balance

The foundational concept is solid but the author goes to the extreme of assuming that everything possible must be done to avoid a boom. She seems to make no mention of balance of finding where to focus efforts, when too much preventative effort can bankrupt you, etc. the extreme reaction Ian is off putting to what could be a very good topic.