Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why

This book holds a great deal of intellectual and academic information. Intertwined with the elevated language and concepts of Chaos and Accident Theories are myriad stories of survival. Everything from cringe-worthy accounts to humorous narrative taken from the accounts of those who lived despite mounting situational adversity. I found this book triumphant and hopeful, yet challenging and “nichey.” Of course, as with most non-fiction, this book gathers a fair amount of the author's life and experiences. However, in this accounting the author used his personal life as proof and morale authority, lending weight to his research and findings. Gonzales has another book that I will likely read very soon. I enjoyed the way this book challenged my mind and forced me to look beyond my day-to-day personal philosophies and reach a bit higher trying to understand another's. While I don't agree with everything anyone writes carte blanche, I did find a number of his concepts both revelatory and novel. As I find a great deal of pleasure in outdoor recreation, I was able to pull from personal experience myself and place his lessons against a benchmark of my own; despite knowing I have not survived a few days in the winter, on the mountain, with a broken leg, six miles from freedom.