How to Survive History

How to Outrun a Tyrannosaurus, Escape Pompeii, Get Off the Titanic, and Survive the Rest of History's Deadliest Catastrophes

By: Cody Cassidy

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

A detailed guide to surviving history’s most challenging threats, from outrunning dinosaurs to making it off the Titanic alive

History is the most dangerous place on earth. From dinosaurs the size of locomotives to meteors big enough to sterilize the planet, from famines to pandemics, from tornadoes to the Chicxulub asteroid, the odds of human survival are slim but not zero—at least, not if you know where to go and what to do.

In each chapter of How to Survive History, Cody Cassidy explores how to survive one of history’s greatest threats: getting eaten by dinosaurs, being destroyed by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, succumbing to the lava flows of Pompeii, being devoured by the Donner Party, drowning during the sinking of the Titanic, falling prey to the Black Death, and more. Using hindsight and modern science to estimate everything from how fast you’d need to run to outpace a T. rex to the advantages of different body types in surviving the Donner Party tragedy, Cassidy gives you a detailed battle plan for survival, helping you learn about the era at the same time.

History may be the most dangerous place on earth, but that doesn’t mean you can’t visit. You can, and you should. And with a copy of How to Survive History in your back pocket, you just might make it out alive.

©2023 Cody Cassidy (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"...An insightful and entertaining look at 15 of the most catastrophic events in world history...A crisp blend of humor, history, and science, this is a crowd pleaser.” –Publishers Weekly

“Highly entertaining . . . Graphs, graphics, and other images make fun, invaluable additions to the text. Not only will this be perfect for those interested in history, humor, and popular science, its highly conversational tone and handy graphs and images will highly appeal to teen readers.” –Booklist

Spellbound by History

Fascinating historical analysis told by an engaging reader and written by an author who did ample research to validate claims. Bravo! I loved it!

Incredible!

This is the kind of book I've always hoped to find. The only downside is that I'm left feeling frustrated after finishing it, wishing there were more books like this in my library!

Novel Novel

No, it's not a traditional novel but what an inventive series of stories/articles! They're outstanding!!

A fun, light romp

Cody Cassidy specializes in light, entertaining explorations of snippets of science and history. In his third book, _How to Survive History_ he examines how to survive some of history's catastrophes if you were a time traveller who showed up at the wrong time. Much like Cassidy's other books, _How to Survive History_ is a fun romp as long as you're expecting are expecting a light and not too deep examination of any particular topic.

The selection of topics is a little eclectic, and you may be left wondering why some events were included and not others. For example, the Sack of Rome and the Fall of Constantinople are both included but not Napoleon's March into Russia.

And, spoiler, in general, take the proper precautions, act quickly, turn the right direction, and you'll probably survive these events.

For the audio version, Dennis Boutsikaris returns as Cassidy's narrator, and he does a fine job of imbuing the text with the proper emotion.

Love the writing style!

I’m sure he can make ANYTHING interesting! I love the narrator too- he is dynamic!

Interesting trip through history

Overall a very fun lesson.
Not super complicated, but has some very good basic science related to several different periods in time.
The positioning of the narration, from the perspective of how one would survive in a given situation from history, is a very fun and entertaining way to learn about different milestones in our past.
Reading was good.
Overall, quite fun, especially if you fantasize about traveling back in time to interesting periods.

Fun to read

Collection of what-ifs with scientific basis. Fun and easy reading. Great book to engage students (particularly high schoolers) and spark interest in science and history.

Interesting and worthwhile

I really liked the format and the narrator does a good job. This probably was a passion book for a well informed historian. Nicely divided into bite-sized stories.

Excellent bite-sized entertainment

This is my 3rd book by this author narrator pair and I've loved them all. This was a great format to use as an excuse to teach the history of these tragic events.

How History Should Be Taught

If every student had a teacher like Cody Cassidy history would be the most popular class in school.
"I know I have a broken leg, Mom, but I don't wanna stay home from school! Mr. Cassidy is gonna teach us how not to become a cannibal's dinner!"
I love history with a passion, but I'll be the first to admit that it can be a bit boring if not handled the right way. Mr. Cassidy knows exactly how to bring the past alive while presenting detailed, factual recountings of what happened and why, His writing style is droll, but never condescending. His device of presenting history from the perspective of a time traveler lets people lower their guard about learning history by having them imagine themselves in whatever historical moment is happening. Rather than the dull, aloof perspective of someone reading an old, boring account of what others experienced, the reader can place themselves in harrowing moments such as standing side by side with the pirate Blackbeard as a prey ship is taken or battling fiercely to stop Rome from being overrun by barbarians. Mr. Dennis Boutsikaris is the perfect narrator for this gem of a book. His voice, pace, and ability to project the author's humor are excellent.