Tag archives for laurence gonzales
Deep Survival: How to Build a Fire
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on October 6, 2009 After a million-plus years of tinkering, we’ve finally found a foolproof way to make fire. (Just ın time for winter.) Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep Survival No one knows exactly when humans first mastered fire, but there’s evidence that it was more than a million years ago. In the 1960s the paleoanthropologist F.…
Deep Survival: Most Airplane Accidents Are Survivable – Here’s How
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on September 3, 2009 This year, 500* people have died in airline accidents. Here’s how to avoid being the next. Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep Survival; Illustration by William Duke Flying is a daring undertaking: Whether you realize it or not, you’re putting yourself in a Coke can full of explosive fuel going nearly three-quarters…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
Anne Frank’s Extraordinary Act of Survival
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on June 9, 2009 Anne’s Great Act How a young girl hiding in an attic, writing in her journal, transcended what it means to survive. Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep Survival; Illustration by Marc YankusIf she had lived, Anne Frank would have turned 80 this June. Hers was an extraordinary…
Deep Survival: Anne Frank’s Extraordinary Act of Survival
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on June 8, 2009 Anne’s Great Act How a young girl hiding in an attic, writing in her journal, transcended what it means to survive. Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep Survival; Illustration by Marc YankusIf she had lived, Anne Frank would have turned 80 this June. Hers was an extraordinary…
Deep Survival: Lessons From an Oil Rig
Why Dangerous Places Are More “Safe”
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on April 21, 2009 Text by Laurence Gonzales Occasionally, I Iike to visit some place where the objective hazards appear so great that I can remind myself what paying attention really means. The way we behave in environments full of risk is pretty different from how we act in the safety of our world at home. For example, I…
Deep Survival With Laurence Gonzales
Lessons From an Oil Rig: Why Dangerous Places Have Fewer Fatalities Than “Safe”
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on April 21, 2009 Text by Laurence Gonzales Occasionally, I Iike to visit some place where the objective hazards appear so great that I can remind myself what paying attention really means. The way we behave in environments full of risk is pretty different from how we act in the safety of our world at home. For example, I…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
When Times Were Really Tough
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on February 6, 2009 Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep Survival Lucy had a small brain, tiny bones, and wasn’t even four feet tall. But Lucy, the australopith, was a survivor. Many years ago, I read of a discovery that set my mind on fire. An American paleoanthropologist named Donald…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
When Times Were Really Tough
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on February 6, 2009 Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep Survival Lucy had a small brain, tiny bones, and wasn’t even four feet tall. But Lucy, the australopith, was a survivor. Many years ago, I read of a discovery that set my mind on fire. An American paleoanthropologist named Donald…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales:
How to Control Panic
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on January 6, 2009 When we hear the word “panic,” most of us imagine someone running around and screaming. But panic takes many forms. It can be thought of simply as any behavior that occurs when the level of stress or emotion is high enough to prevent conscious thought and deliberate decision-making. For example, most people panic when they…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales:
How to Control Panic
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on January 6, 2009 When we hear the word “panic,” most of us imagine someone running around and screaming. But panic takes many forms. It can be thought of simply as any behavior that occurs when the level of stress or emotion is high enough to prevent conscious thought and deliberate decision-making. For example, most people panic when they…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
Bad news: Disaster is Inevitable (Even on Wall Street). Here’s How to Avoid It.
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on December 4, 2008 Whether on mountains, in air travel, or on Wall Street, disaster is bound to strike. It’s just part of the system. So, how to avoid it? I’m going to tell you a mountaineering disaster story, and it may sound familiar. Risks were taken. Precautions were minimal. Mistakes were made. Conditions deteriorated rapidly. It wasn’t just…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales: Bad News: Disaster is Inevitable. Here’s How to Avoid It.
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on December 4, 2008 Whether on mountains, in air travel, or on Wall Street, disaster is bound to strike. It’s just part of the system. So, how to avoid it? I’m going to tell you a mountaineering disaster story, and it may sound familiar. Risks were taken. Precautions were minimal. Mistakes were made. Conditions deteriorated rapidly. It wasn’t just…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
Why We Crave Risk
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on October 28, 2008 Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep SurvivalIllustration by Paul Blow There are certain foods and drinks that most people would consider empty calories, such as sodas and many kinds of snacks. When we eat or drink them, we feel nourished, when in reality we’re still lacking the…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
Mob Mentality: The Failures of Groupness
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on September 29, 2008 Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep Survival Illustration by David Plunkert The power of groupness is not to be underestimated. It has been the downfall of organizations, blinding them to evidence that was there for everyone to see. In the 1930s, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
Everyday Survival Nationwide Book Tour
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on September 9, 2008 Meet Laurence Gonzales and have him sign your copy of Everyday Survivial during his upcoming nine-city book tour. Monday, September 227:00 p.m. Talk/Signing Bookstall811 Elm StreetWinnetka, Illinois Wednesday, October 1 7:30 p.m. Talk/Signing National GeographicWashington, D.C. Tuesday, October 77:30 p.m. Talk/Signing Tattered Cover1628 16th StreetDenver, Colorado Wednesday, October 8 7:30 p.m. Talk/Signing Boulder Bookstore1107 Pearl…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
How Hypersensitivity Can Save Your Life
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on August 12, 2008 Text by Contributing Editor Laurence Gonzales, author of the books Everyday Survival and Deep Survival Illustration by Arthur E. Giron When Peggy Orenstein, a best-selling author, was told that she had breast cancer, she remarked with odd detachment how curious it was that the colors all drained out of her world. She noticed “how the…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
Everyday Survival: Losing Your Cool Makes You Stupid
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on July 16, 2008 Acting cool is not the same as being cool. As the head of training for the Navy SEALs once said, "The Rambo types are the first to go." Siebert wrote in his book The Survivor Personality that "combat survivors . . . have a relaxed awareness." People who are destined to be good at survival…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
Everyday Survival: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on July 9, 2008 In our August 2008 issue (on newsstands now), we’ve published a new feature by Laurence Gonzales, "Everyday Survival," featuring 14 real world skills for any crisis. Here, we’ve pulled just one of his potentially life-saving tips. Gonzales’s new book, Everyday Survival: Why Smart People Do Stupid Things, will be released in September. Every new challenge…
Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales
Lightning Victim Likely Saved By Wet Clothing
Posted by Mary Anne Potts on July 2, 2008 In the News: Doctors are amazed that a Minnesota man survived being struck by lightning last Friday while trying to save his outdoor furniture. Though the bolt zapped the metal button on his baseball cap and and the steel tips of his work boots, his wet clothing may have prevented the jolt from traveling through…
