Emergency

After years of terror attacks, natural disasters and financial turmoil, Neil Strauss, author of The Game, decided that anything could happen and spent three years learning to survive without the system. His account of survivalist preparedness follows him as he gains citizenship of St. Kitts, sets out to move his life offshore, learns to shoot at a ranch called Gunsite, studies tracking and wilderness survival, and learns to fly. Along the way he meets shady lawyers, cult leaders, billionaire gun enthusiasts and ordinary people living off the grid. Comics illustrate survival techniques throughout. The book culminates with Strauss responding to the 2008 Chatsworth train collision as a member of an emergency search and rescue team.

Marvin Liao of 500 Startups counted it among the non-business books he rereads every year, saying their writing and stories give him new perspective each time.