I’d like to know more about the capabilities and limitations of AI, a rabbit-hole that I have only recently stumbled upon, but which I am tumbling down hard. Particularly, how to best use it for language acquisition as I am currently learning Chinese and would like to increase my literacy so I can open myself up to a whole new world of books.
I’m also curious about pratfalls and physical comedy all of a sudden.
Over the years, I’ve read many books about survival in extreme or unexpected situations. Here are five of my favorites.
THE UNTHINKABLE by Amanda Ripley [Full Review]
What I like about this book: Ripley focuses heavily on the topic of mindset while exploring a wide range of survival situations from being stranded in a lifeboat to being in the Twin Towers on 9/11. It’s a fascinating – as well as educational – book.
SURVIVAL AT THE EXTREMES by Kenneth Kamler [Full Review]
What I like about this book: This book focuses on surviving in all the places humans are not adapted to, places where one cannot live for long without ongoing technological support. These places include Mt. Everest (with which the author has personal experience,) the ocean, and the harshest of deserts. Kamler is a medical doctor and the book, therefore, does a good job of explaining the limits of human physiology.
EXTREME FEAR by Jeff Wise [Full Review]
What I like about this book: Wise’s book examines how fear can work against us in challenging situations (e.g. causing one to freeze at the wrong time) and what methods have been developed to overcome such crippling or inappropriate fear responses. This book is not entirely about life-and-death survival, but it does have a lot to say that is relevant to the subject.
INTO THE WILD by Jon Krakauer [Full Review]
What I like about this book: This book is not like the others. There are no physical or mental techniques for survival described in it, nor discussions of physiology. Rather, it is an extremely well-written cautionary tale about a young man who goes out into the wilderness and gets in over his head. It is highly readable food-for-thought.
98.6 by Cody Lundin [Full Review]
What I like about this book: This is the closest thing to an actual survival manual on my list. But it’s written in conversational, folksy style that makes it easy to read, despite the daunting subject matter. As the title suggests, Lundin’s central premise is that one must keep the body burning at its appropriate temperature, or else…
Decidedly less funky, and the consolation that I would no longer be caught humming embarrassing earworms, like Sweet Caroline, would be thin.
rustic farmhouse,
weatherbeaten & askew:
no answer to knocks.
![Great Mormon Butterfly [Papilio Memnon]](https://berniegourley.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/img_0372.jpg)
Great Mormon
flaps its wings spastically,
yet hovers in place.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 