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The Unthinkable (Revised and Updated)
Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why
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Narrated by:
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Kirsten Potter
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By:
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Amanda Ripley
About this listen
Unlock the secrets of survival with this riveting expedition into the science of disaster—now revised and updated to address the pandemic, the role of social media in disaster response, and more—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest Kids in the World
Disaster can come in many forms, from earthquakes and avalanches to catastrophic machine failure and acts of terror. And afterwards, when the dust settles and the survivors emerge, we can't help but wonder: why them? Why did they live when so many others perished?
In The Unthinkable, Prize-winning journalist Amanda Ripley, who has covered some of the most devastating disasters of our age, sets out to find the answers. To understand the human reaction to chaos and imminent danger, she turns to leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists, and other disaster experts—formal and informal—from a Holocaust survivor who studies heroism to a master gunfighter who learned to overcome the effects of extreme fear. Along the way, we learn about crowd psychology, the neurobiology of fear, and the many other invisible factors that can make the difference between death and survival.
Seamlessly marrying neuroscience, firsthand accounts, and thrilling investigative journalism, The Unthinkable is a must-listen for anyone who has ever wondered how they would respond in a life-or-death situation—or wanted to increase their odds of surviving one. This revised and updated edition updates all the original research and expands on enormous, slow-moving disasters like pandemics to bring Ripley’s lessons on survivorship into the modern day.
* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF including the Appendix, Selected Bibliography, and Notes sections.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2024 Amanda Ripley (P)2024 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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A lack of quality sleep can hinder your alertness and quality of life while awake, as anyone with sleeping issues already knows. Suffering through sleepless nights does not have to be your reality. Instead you can fall asleep fast and get quality sleep tonight and every night. Hypnosis has been used for centuries to cure many ailments, including the inability to get better sleep. You can help yourself improve the quality of your life with hypnotherapy.
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put me right to sleep
- By Cassandra on 05-08-17
By: Jasmine Harris
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The 6 Habits of Growth
- By: Brendon Burchard
- Narrated by: Brendon Burchard
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
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The world’s leading high-performance coach and multiple New York Times best-selling author Brendon Burchard delivers the six habits of personal growth that will help you create the life of your dreams. Forged from Brendon Burchard’s personal experiences, data from his GrowthDay app, and his many years as a high-performance coach, The 6 Habits of Growth presents the tools you need to construct the life of your dreams.
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Don’t bother
- By B. Sharpe on 10-30-22
By: Brendon Burchard
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12 Months to $1 Million
- How to Pick a Winning Product, Build a Real Business, and Become a Seven-Figure Entrepreneur
- By: Ryan Daniel Moran
- Narrated by: Ryan Daniel Moran
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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By cutting out the noise and providing a clear and proven plan, this road map helps even brand-new entrepreneurs make decisions quickly, get their product up for sale, and launch it to a crowd that is ready and waiting to buy. This one-year plan will guide you through the three stages to your first $1 million: the Grind (months 0-4), the Growth (months 5-8), and the Gold (months 9-12). If your goal is to be a full-time entrepreneur, get ready for one chaotic, stressful, and rewarding year. If you have the guts to complete it, you will be the proud owner of a million-dollar business.
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Good, but a Little Misleading
- By Chris Love on 11-28-20
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The Daily Stoic
- 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
- By: Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Why have history's greatest minds - from George Washington to Frederick the Great to Ralph Waldo Emerson along with today's top performers, from Super Bowl-winning football coaches to CEOs and celebrities - embraced the wisdom of the ancient Stoics? Because they realize that the most valuable wisdom is timeless and that philosophy is for living a better life, not a classroom exercise. The Daily Stoic offers a daily devotional of Stoic insights and exercises, featuring all-new translations.
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Not well made as audio
- By Andreas on 12-27-16
By: Ryan Holiday, and others
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F*ck Him!
- Nice Girls Always Finish Single
- By: Brian Keephimattracted, Brian Nox
- Narrated by: Jerod McBrayer
- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The MANipulator manual. Keep your man interested and begging for more without playing games. So many women get in trouble in their love lives, and 99.9 percent of that trouble could have been avoided if they'd said "Well, f**k him!" a bit more often. Too many women are way too nice and compliant to their men, especially when these men don't deserve that kind of treatment. I, as a dating coach and author of books for women who want to get men, cannot take it anymore.
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...
- By Emma R. on 02-01-18
By: Brian Keephimattracted, and others
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Self Help
- This Is Your Chance to Change Your Life
- By: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Bernstein, Richard C. Schwartz - foreword
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
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Are you ready to unlock the greatest resource of your life? Gabby Bernstein has written the ultimate self-help guide, offering a revolutionary practice to radically shift your core beliefs and connect you to an infallible inner guidance system: the energy of Self within you. In this groundbreaking book, Gabby demystifies the power of Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, taking its life-changing teachings out of the therapist’s office and into your everyday life.
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Self Serving
- By pricefreund on 01-14-25
By: Gabrielle Bernstein, and others
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Don’t read if you have depressive tendencies.
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Wrong
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Eye opening and very informative
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The Shock Doctrine
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In her groundbreaking reporting, Naomi Klein introduced the term "disaster capitalism." Whether covering Baghdad after the U.S. occupation, Sri Lanka in the wake of the tsunami, or New Orleans post-Katrina, she witnessed something remarkably similar. People still reeling from catastrophe were being hit again, this time with economic "shock treatment," losing their land and homes to rapid-fire corporate makeovers. The Shock Doctrine retells the story of the most dominant ideology of our time, Milton Friedman's free market economic revolution.
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If It's Bad for Humanity, It's Good for Business
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What listeners say about The Unthinkable (Revised and Updated)
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Frank
- 10-14-24
Excellent information
This is a very informative book. I felt the author was a bit fawning on the part about the Hajj, though she does criticize the government's response. Overall, a good book. If talk of an aggressive, colonizing religion bothers you, just skip about 5 minutes.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Cody
- 11-02-24
Almost!
Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley is an engaging read, diving deep into how people react in crisis situations. The book’s strength lies in its well-researched examples and analysis, which provide fascinating insights into human behavior during disasters. Ripley’s storytelling makes complex topics accessible and compelling.
However, as the book approaches recent events, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, it takes a turn. Ripley’s stance on masks and vaccines, especially the assertion that vaccines alone saved lives, comes across as heavy-handed.
This bias detracts from the book’s objectivity and leaves readers feeling lectured rather than informed. For those looking for a balanced perspective on crisis response, this book has great moments but ultimately loses some credibility due to personal bias.
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