That's the Worst-Case premise in a nutshell. The second edition, out just in time for the peak summer travel season, takes that premise and raises the bar several notches, featuring such scenarios as "How To Control A Runaway Camel", "How To Foil A UFO Abduction", and "How To Escape From The Trunk Of A Car". And while these scenarios seem totally outlandish, the book has more than its share of survival how-to's for situations that, quite possibly, might befall the average traveler -- "How To Survive An Airplane Crash", "How To Survive A Mugging" and "How To Foil A Scam Artist".

It's this mixture of the outrageous and the useful, the humorous and horrific, that make this book (and its predecessor) so eminently enjoyable. Like their earlier handbook, the success of each entry is based on the authors' ability to provide detailed and truly helpful advice on even the most inconceivable of situations. Each situation is dispensed with in the most deadpan, matter-of-fact manner, reducing the greatest of catastrophes to mere obstacles that can be handled with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. It's enough to calm even the most tightly-wound travelers.

The book derives its humor from the imaginativeness of its subject matter: as you finish one absurd scenario, you move onto another that makes the first look commonplace. It's easy to imagine Piven and Borgenicht huddled around a table, giddily trying to outdo one another in concocting dangerous situations. What's especially astonishing about this book, though, is that it provides useful advice for life's worst curveballs while remaining entertaining from start to finish. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel will no doubt join its predecessor as one of the most enjoyable, practical survival guides in print.