I had two different clients in the same week recommend this book to me. As both clients are really top-notch school safety practitioners, I ordered the book right away and devoured it as soon as I got it. Though the author is not an emergency manager by trade, she is an excellent researcher and writer and did a most admirable job. I gained several new and important insights from her book and recommend it highly for those who have school crisis planning responsibilities. Unthinkable – Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why provides an invaluable perspective that can help school safety professionals save young lives.
Note: I have written Saturday book review blogs and scheduled them for posting through the end of 2012 and wrote this one back in early June. I noticed that it was scheduled for posting on the 21st and realized how relevant this book is to the horrific attack at the theater in Aurora this week.
As we listen to the accounts of survivors of the attack and how they recalled their actions and decision-making during the terrifying attack, the author’s work helped me to better understand some of the reactions seen in these types of mass casualty events be they man-made or involving accidents, fires or natural disasters.