This weekend I had a chance to review the book Fight, Flight, or Hide. The Guide to Surviving a Mass Shooting [Kindle edition] by John Forsythe. The title intrigued me because, like many security-related scenarios, I feel woefully under-prepared. Understand that this is a Kindle book, not a hard copy book. As I’m getting more and more into online books I’m finding them easy to read, usually much less expensive to purchase (such as this one), and easily included in my digital library.
As for the book, it is broken down into a dozen chapters–though it is less than 60 pages in total length–and covers a variety of areas to consider, from preparing for a mass shooting, to the “roles” one might find themselves in during such an event, as well as chapters on how you might better prepare yourself, what might be your best strategies in the moment, and more.
By and large, I enjoyed the book. The author did what I feel is a good job with discussing such a “touchy” subject. That said, I would suggest that roughly half of the book talks about what I would consider normal common sense when you’re truly fending for your life, such as applying first aid, calling 911, the differences between cover and concealment, situational awareness, and so on. Regardless, it’s still good to hear and be aware of.
The other half of the book provides the author’s viewpoint as to what “role” you might play in such a situation, that being a victim, guardian, or hero. I won’t give away the goods here but suffice it to say that I found the honesty of the descriptions to be a refreshing take on the subject and really got me to thking about the “what ifs” I would need to ask myself if I were ever faced with such a situation.
In fact, that’s a big part of the book: to get you to imagine and think about what you might do, how to provide yourself the best opportunity to stay alive, how you might help others, and so on. He also touches briefly on firearms (especially their differences and what that might mean to your survival), the types of people to look out for (profiling), strategies to attack the gunman, and other thoughts.
Again, I think the book was an eye-opener for the most part and was a descent, quick read. Overall, I would say that Fight, Flight, or Hide. The Guide to Surviving a Mass Shooting is an inexpensive and potentially necessary book to include in your library.
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