February, 2020 | Ryan's Reading Reviews

Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life by Neil Strauss

Updated November 21, 2021

This book won’t save your life– but it will entertain you. Any maybe give you some survival ideas…

I’ve been a fan of Neil Strauss for years– he’s an excellent writer and I really enjoyed The Game.

So when I saw Emergency on Amazon, I had no hesitation picking it up.

What is Emergency About?

Essentially, Neil Strauss realizes one day, he has no real life survival skills. These survival skills actually scare him since he’s such a beginner, among other things.

In his early years, life in America was safe and easy. It wasn’t until 9/11 that America began to show its vulnerable side.

Conclusion?

The book gives some cool facts and figures about surviving, as Strauss goes through different survivalist subcultures and communities around the country: tracking school in New Jersey, gun shooting school in Arizona, E.M.T. and search and rescue schools in California. I think the most bad-ass part is that he gets a second passport to a country which I will leave unnamed in case you read the book.

I really admire Neil because while most people run away for their fears, Neil faces them head on and this is a story of his own personal development into a skilled survivalist– actually more than that. Because of all the things he put himself through — entertaining stories you can read in this book– he has built a confidence that no one — or no disaster– can take away.

How Many Stars?

4 🙂

It was a good entertaining read, but I don’t know if this is the first book of Strauss’s you should read. If you’ve never heard of Neil Strauss, I’d check out one of his other books first.

My Biggest Takeaway From Emergency

Besides the respect for facing one’s fears to overcome them, it’s amazing how vulnerable we are as a society. Anything can happen at any time. We depend way too much on electricity, internet, and water systems, for instance, and if anything happened to them, we’d be in a wayyyy bigger situation than just an emergency.

Book Details one more time

Title: Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life
Author: Neil Strauss
Publish Date: March 10, 2009
ISBN: 9780060898779 ISBN-13: 978-0060898779

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Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

Updated November 21, 2021

Yo – I don’t really mean to yo you- Make Time is the best time management book I’ve ever read.

The best time management book ever written.

Bold Statement

I know, I know, saying this book is the best book about time ever written is definitely a bold statement. I will now share with you why I think this way.

First, it’s approach is very different from all other time management books like Getting Things Done for example.

Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky (JZ) have a unique writing style. Literally, they have pertinent illustrations and speech bubbles when they are offering their own personal insights. It’s not just boring blocks of text.

They conceptualize two modern time sucks in society today: Busy Bandwagon (the idea that in our society, busy=successful) and Infinity Pools (any content that allows you to consume endlessly; think: news, Facebook, Twitter, NetFlix.)

Make Time focuses on 87 pointers on how you can optimize every day. You don’t have to heed them all, and can choose ones that work for you. They even talk about eating right, exercising, and the best ways to drink coffee!

I also love how the authors give specific examples on how to use your own psychology to modify your behaviors or make new habits without using just willpower alone.

How Many Stars?

5 🙂

My Biggest Takeaway from Make Time:

A Personal, Specific Example

Snippet 31: Trading Fake Wins for Real Wins

I am so guilty of this. When you clean your room instead of going to the gym, that’s a fake win- your intention was to go to the gym and build muscle. Instead, you stayed at home and cleaned your room. Now, don’t get me wrong, cleaning your room is nice, and it makes you feel good, but it wasn’t the right intention. So, you feel good, but you didn’t actually accomplish what you wanted to. Another example of a fake win is clearing your inbox when you should be finishing up a project for work. Cleaning your inbox feels good, but it’s not the goal you set. These are what Knapp and Zeratsky call “fake wins”. The way to combat fake wins, is to get back in your laser focus mode: a mode they tell you how to get into to get the real work done. This is just one of hundreds (or at least 87 ;)) tips of time management wisdom.

BOOK DETAILS ONe MORE TIME

Title: Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day
Authors: Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
Publish Date: September 25, 2018
ISBN: 0525572422 | ISBN-13: 978-0525572428

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Indestructible: The Unforgettable Memoir of a Marine Hero at the Battle of Iwo Jima by Jack Lucas

Updated November 21, 2021

This is the story of Jack H. Lucas. Put simply, Jack Lucas was a badass. He is the youngest person ever in American history to receive the Medal of Honor at the old age of uh…17!

As if that isn’t a big enough feat in-and-of itself, Indestructible is the true story of how Jack Lucas joined the Marines, went AWOL by taking a train away from his assignment to the West Coast, and then stowing away on a ship to get to Iwo Jima. He really wanted to fight the Japanese.

Once he got to Iwo Jima, he jumped on two live grenades to save lives of the men in his platoon. And he lived to tell the tale.

This tough-as-nails marine tells his life story in candor and his writing style often takes you to places you wouldn’t expect. I don’t know how he get away with half the things he did in life. All I know is his story is amazing.

Not to ruin it for you if you decide to read Jack Lucas’s book, as if getting blown-up from grenades and surviving isn’t enough, he overcame lots of other adversities, like, I don’t know– surviving a hit attempt on his life! Oops- I may have given you one plot twist there 😉

How Many Stars?

4.5 🙂

I give this book 4.5 stars. It is an extraordinary tale of sacrifice, survival, grit, and toughness. All in the name of freedom. America!

My Biggest Takeaway from Indestructible

I’m just in awe and amazement of how brave, tenacious and tough Jackyln H. Lucas was. He’s an inspiration. Rest in Peace, Jack.

Book Details one More Time

Title: Indestructible: The Unforgettible Story of a Marine Hero at the Battle of Iwo Jima
Author: Jack H. Lucas with D. K. Drum; Foreword by Bob Dole
Publish Date: 2006 with a new issue released on January 7, 2020
to coincide with the 75^th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
ISBN: 0062795627 | ISBN-13: 978-0062795625

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Believe It: My Journey of Success, Failure, and Overcoming the Odds by Nick Foles

Updated May 29th, 2023

I am a huge Eagles fan, and I’ve always wanted to read Nick Foles’ book, and I just so happened to find myself picking it up and reading it on the 2 year anniversary of SuperBowl 52. (41-33 anyone!?!)

Putting my nostalgia aside – but not putting my Eagles bias aside- I really liked this book. It gives you a great look behind the scenes of Nick Foles’ journey and the journey of a quarterback in the NFL. It both glamorizes and humanizes a player being in the NFL.

For example, Foles gives his reasons as to why he almost retired from the NFL, and how and why he decided to come back. It’s an honest look into a SuperBowl (or do I need to say, “Big Game!” MVP that you don’t usually get, as in my opinion, most players of this caliber are guarded and scripted in the media.

The only downside is that I am not a big religious guy, I think he talks a little too much about Jesus for my liking but hey- to each their own. On a random note, and he sings the praises of Bulletproof Coffee.

How Many Stars?

4.5 🙂

I couldn’t put this book down. Maybe that’s cause I am a huge Eagles fan, but I would definitely recommend this to any NFL fan. For those reasons, I should give it five stars, right? But because of all the religious things, I’m going to give it 4.5 stars. I really appreciate Nick Foles putting himself out there and being real and raw!

Update

I am sad that Nick Foles never really had any more NFL Success after his SuperBowl victory. I really thought he would. Don’t let that stop you from checking out his book though. Especially if you’re an Eagles fan! E-A-G-L-E-S- EAGLES!

My Biggest Takeaway from Believe It

It was really refreshing and interesting to see life in the NFL behind the scenes. And as an Eagles fan, it was cool to relive the Super Bowl one more time!

Also, in 2023, no one knows who Nick Foles is 😉

Book Details one more time

Title: Believe It: My Journey of Success, Failure, and Overcoming the Odds
Author: Nick Foles with Frank Reich and Joshua Cooley
Publish Date: June 26, 2018
ISBN: 1496436490 | ISBN-13: 978-1496436498

Book | Audio | eBook