Come Back Alive: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Disasters, Kidnapping, Animal Attacks, and Other Nasty Perils of Modern Travel

by Robert Young Pelton

Welcome to the art of survival!

Come Back Alive is the indispensable and witty guide to avoiding nasty situations, whether on a business trip, an adventure vacation, or a weekend hike. In this book, the author of the classic travel annual The World's Most Dangerous Places, Robert Young Pelton--"Dangerman" ( Toronto Globe & Mail ); "tourist with an attitude" ( Outside magazine); "the patron saint of adventure travelers"  (ZineZone. com)--reveals the secrets that have kept him alive and

in the finding water where it ain't, dehydration and rehydration, copping a nuclear tan
in the trekking, camping, jungle tucker, what to do when there's no bridge
in the when you're tentless and clueless, when dinner's still mobile
in the dressing for excess; building a snow cave, what to do when someone's going hypo
on the surviving adventure travel, from mild to wild
when passive self-defense, active self-defense, better ideas in self-defense
when how to avoid it, how to survive it
during natural hurricanes, avalanches, lightning, earthquakes, and more!
when facing nasty animals that bite you, eat you, sting you, and what to do when Bambi strikes back


You will also learn strategies for adventure travel, urban areas, war zones, terrorism, crime spots, and even the dangers of your own house--the place you're most likely to get into trouble.

Whether you are young or old, man or woman, going on a business trip, a ski weekend, an African safari, or just to the corner store, Come Back Alive gives you the comprehensive and fascinating advice you'll need to protect yourself. No matter where you're going, what you're doing, or how dangerous you want to get, Come Back Alive is essential to your safe and stylish return.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Adventure, Survival

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

Robert Young Pelton is an author, journalist, and documentary film director. He is known for his conflict reporting and interviews with military and political figures in war zones. He reported from the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi in Afghanistan, the Battle of Grozny (1999–2000) in Chechnya, the rebel siege to control Monrovia in Liberia, and the siege on Villa Somalia in Mogadishu. He spent time with the Taliban, the Northern Alliance (pre-9/11), the CIA during the hunt for Osama bin Laden and with both insurgents and Blackwater security contractors during the war in Iraq. He also hosted the Discovery Travel Channel series "Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places" from 1998 to 2003.

Reviews

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still alive !!!

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst I am in no way planning to traverse a desert or the tundra any time soon, it was a really good book to read and now store on my shelf. The tips and advice given are straight talking, a little out of date in some places as it was published in 1999, but still very useful.

[LA · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea how this wound up on my book exchange table at work, but it seemed like an interesting subject. The concept of keeping a cool head in an emergency is universal enough that I thought I'd get something out of a 1999 book. Oops.

If you have never heard that driving is more dangerous than riding a plane, or if you didn't know that the most important part of self defense is learning to lessen your chances of getting in a situation where you'd likely need it, well, I still wouldn't recommend this. It's 2025 -- there are better places to learn this type of information.

A worldview along the lines of "aren't other people so stupid for not agreeing with me and knowing the same information I know" is served with a heaping dose of racism, xenophobia and sexism, and it's all passed off as humor.

I'm going to give Amanda Ripley's "The Unthinkable" a try because now that I'm on the subject, that looks more along the lines of the information I was hoping to find here.

[Bryan Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intrepid adventurer Robert Young Pelton explores the outer limits of his ego and his vocabulary. The resulting work frequently seems better suited to the ultra-macho “Ah wuz thair” style of writing commonly found in the pages of Soldier of Fortune than to a serious book on the potential dangers of travel. However, once Pelton calms down and gets over himself, he actually does manage to convey some useful information here and there. Much of it is on the order of “run away from muggers” and “you can’t start a fire in the rain,” but every once in awhile he comes up with a bit of his experience that the reader might actually need or at least appreciate. If you skip the meandering nonsense at the beginning and the long digression on maps and compasses at the end, you can mine some good stuff out of the rest of the book.

[Dave Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it -- primarily because of the wit of Mr. Pelton. Like so many of the books in this genre the information provided will be promptly forgotten upon the onset of panic yet there are always a few "nuggets" to remember. My take away was that buffaloes kill more people in the United States per annum then do our poisonous snakes. Nonetheless I intend, as always, to panic upon encountering a rattlesnake. This book again is entertaining and well worth the read.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid book, entertaining and informative. Many of the technical tips can be found in the Boy Scouts manual, some with more detailed and updated information. The tone is most fitting for the young or uninitiated interested in an accessibly written primer on outdoor and travel skills.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Written with a great sense of humour, covers everything from what it takes to be a survivor to successfully navigating the more mundane aspects of travel.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool book. Lots of common sense stuff.

[Daniel Mccallister · Rating 4 out of 5]

RYP always bring common sense to the table.