In Case of Emergency, Read This Blog

In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

New Books Underscore Political Common Ground On Importance Of Community Involvement In Disaster Preparedness & Response

September 21st, 2009 · No Comments

This past weekend, I finished two good books that are definitely worth reading for anyone interested in emergency preparedness and response: Homeland Security And Federalism: Protecting America From Outside The Beltway (Praeger International) by Matt A. Mayer and A Paradise Built In Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise In Disaster (Viking) by Rebecca Solnit.
At a time [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Preparedness Ideas · Preparedness Reports

“The Chaos Scenario” — A New Disaster Book (About The Media) By NPR’s Bob Garfield

September 13th, 2009 · No Comments

A book with the title The Chaos Scenario seems perfect for this blog. The cataclysm described, however, has not happened to a place or a people but instead to an industry. It does though give me a great segue to recommend the new book — whose subhead is Amid the Ruins of Mass Media, The Choice [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Media

In Book, Katrina Task Force’s Gen. Honore Urges U.S. To Move Towards “Culture Of Preparedness”; In Interview, He Says Americans Are Victims Of Our Own Resources When It Comes To Disaster Readiness

September 9th, 2009 · No Comments

The most high profile American associated with citizen preparedness may be Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Russel L. Honore who came to national prominence for his work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In the four years since, Honore has been an outspoken advocate for focusing more national attention and resources on community readiness. In a new book, Survival: How A [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Preparedness Interviews

In New Book, Ridge Points Out Public’s “Homeland Helplessness”; Outlines Citizen Communications Goals He Hoped To Achieve — Which May Well Be Taken Up By Napolitano; Shares “Complacency” Concerns Expressed By Chertoff In His New Book

September 7th, 2009 · 2 Comments

Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge’s new book has garnered headlines over questions whether some in the Bush Administration wanted him to raise the terror color alert for political reasons.
But a bigger theme (and, I would argue, a bigger deal) throughout the book is his frustration with the inability to have a frank and [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Preparedness Reports · Preparedness Resources

In Interview, Ex-Sec. Chertoff Recommends Condensing Color Alerts (“Because We’re Not Going To Get Below Yellow”); Suggests School Preparedness Course (Incl. First Aid, CPR, Mechanics, Firearms Training); Acknowledges He “Would Have Liked To Have Done More” On Citizen Preparedness; Says Successor Napolitano Is Doing “A Very Good Job” — New Book Out Tuesday

August 31st, 2009 · Comments Off

In an interview just before the release of his new book, former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff urges that the terror color codes should be condensed to three levels, calls for the development of a new preparedness course (including first aid, CPR, basic mechanics, and firearms training) for schools across the U.S., acknowledges “he would [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Education · Preparedness Interviews

New Book — “Annie’s Ghosts”

July 31st, 2009 · No Comments

Occasionally, I will have to stretch a bit to tie a post to emergency preparedness. This is one of them, but I can make a connection — though I would have written a post even if I couldn’t find one.
Steve Luxenberg was one of the nicest and best editors I have ever written for when [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Media

In New Book, David Kaczynski Writes About Turning In Brother Ted, Relationship With One Of His Victims

May 27th, 2009 · No Comments

In a compelling essay which is part of terrific new collection, Brothers: 26 Stories of Love And Rivalry (Jossey-Bass), David Kaczynski writes about his relationship with his brother, Ted, the so-called “Unabomber.” In his piece, “Missing Parts”, Kaczynski discusses the “terrible dilemma” he faced when he realized his brother might be a terrorist: “do nothing [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Media

New Book — “The Survivors Club”

February 13th, 2009 · 2 Comments

I just finished reading a new book that I think will be of great interest to many of the readers of this blog. The Survivors Club: The Secrets & Science That Could Save Your Life (Grand Central Publishing), written by Ben Sherwood, examines the questions of human survival in crises — Who survives and who doesn’t? [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Preparedness Resources

Emergency Management Multimedia — Claire Rubin

July 16th, 2008 · 2 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to meet Claire B. Rubin for the first time in Washington. Claire is a long-time emergency management consultant and scholar whose work I have followed in several types of media for awhile, and I wanted to bring them to your attention. She is a co-editor (with John Harrald) of the Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Media

New Book Recommendation — “The Unthinkable” By Amanda Ripley

June 10th, 2008 · 1 Comment

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes — And Why by Amanda Ripley goes on sale today.
I have had a chance to read the book, and I can recommend it wholeheartedly not only to any readers of this blog — who tend think about disasters more than most folks — but also to anyone who ever thinks about what they would do if [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Media