The unthinkable: who survives when disaster strikes and why

On 9/11, when Elia Zedeño—who had worked in the World Trade Center for twenty-one years—heard a booming explosion and felt the building lurch violently to the south, she grabbed her desk, lifted her feet off the floor, and screamed, "What’s happening?"
How would you react in a disaster? Would you be paralyzed with fear? Would you panic and lose control? Or might you suddenly discover hidden strengths within yourself?
In The Unthinkable, award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley investigates some of the most harrowing catastrophes in history to uncover how people truly react in a crisis. Through compelling interviews with survivors and experts, she reveals our instinctive responses, explores how the primitive parts of our brain take over under extreme pressure, and demonstrates that we can train ourselves to respond better.
We all have a “disaster personality” that emerges in moments of crisis. In The Unthinkable, you’ll come to understand yours—and one day, that knowledge might just save your life.