What is Reddit's opinion of The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why?

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I just read a good book for class called The Unthinkable, Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and why. I enjoyed it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AL664C?ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_ts_RGHY74TXV2PEVZRYGFGX

Emergency Management Magazine is a pretty good spot to find some casual articles to read. They've got a podcast called Disaster Zone, too.

Honestly, I think I've had the most luck finding interesting things to learn from LinkedIn. There are a bunch of Emergency Management (and Disaster Management) groups that share a lot of really great information. I mentioned it in another thread earlier today, but the Homeland Security Digital Library is a really solid source of information.

As far as books go, highly recommend the following:

The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley

What is a Disaster? by Enrico Quarantelli (this is the academic EM's bible, imo)

Decision Making in Disaster Response by J.S. Tipper

Anything that Katherine Tierney puts out on Risk Perception or Risk Communication is pretty good. She's got six or seven books, I think.

As far as certifications go, I think you'll find it's kind of a touchy subject. The EM field doesn't require any certifications, and several certifications have attempted/failed to establish themselves as "the" certs. I have my opinions about which ones are actually useful, but it's really going to depend on what you're looking to do.

In terms of books, here are some of my favorites: - The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley

• What is a Disaster by E.L. Quarantelli

• Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson

In terms of articles, it kind of depends on what you're looking for. There are literally thousands of articles on pretty much every subject. Your primary publications are going to be Disasters, Natural Hazards, and the Journal of Emergency Management.

While we're on the subject of articles though, some people consider the work done by Samuel Prince following the Halifax Explosion to be the start of the academic side of the EM field. Essentially, he outlines the criteria for what we now call a complex emergency in his article Catastrophe and Social Change. This study is really where the modern field of EM stems from- all advances made (both operationally and academically) use this study as the first notch of the measuring stick.

There are a handful of EM and Disaster themed podcasts, but it's a very mixed bag. Some of them are pretty naked self-promotion from people/organizations who either used to be important or are trying to be taken seriously as EM though leaders without actually doing much EM. My advice is to find episodes with guests you want to learn from.

Re: resources that are relevant in response/recovery, there's a fantastic course available for free via Johns Hopkins University/Coursera on Psychological First Aid. Alongside the library of FEMA IS courses, this is probably what I've found the most useful.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AL664C/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 I read this book every year and recommend it to everyone I know. It's both heart wrenching and EXTREMELY educational.

> Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why

$1.99 on Kindle, btw.