Bookworm Speaks!- Roadside Survival by Walt Brinker

Bookworm Speaks!

Roadside Survival: Low-tech Solutions to Automobile Breakdowns

by Walt Brinker

****

Summary: Two hundred million licensed motor vehicle drivers in the United States expose themselves routinely to significant risk while betting that they will not become stranded when they drive.  There are two kinds of drivers: 1) those who have experienced a disabled vehicle (and will again), and 2) those who will for the first time.  Drivers can decrease the chances that they will have a break down and become stranded.  This subject may seem dry and boring – – until you have experienced being stranded and vulnerable to whims of anyone who comes along.  Each year AAA responds to 30 million calls for help from stranded motorists, reflecting only a fraction of the total.  Some folks learn only by experiencing inconvenience, embarrassment, and potentially serious risks.  Others make the proactive choice to learn how to prevent problems and the methods to counteract them should they occur.  This book provides you with the opportunity to avoid the negatives associated with becoming stranded

The Good: Automobiles are such a ubiquitous part of modern society, it is hard to imagine what would happen if they all suddenly stopped working. Like it or not, everyone who uses a car on a regular basis has had their share of problems and breakdowns. 

The author goes out of the way to mention that automotive repair is his hobby and he has been doing this for quite some time, so while he may not be a “professional” in the traditional sense of the word, he has a great deal of experience in this manner. This helps to reassure the reader that they are not just being given advice that had been consumed off a webpage and regurgitated into book format. 

Speaking of format: while the author provides a healthy amount of detail and anecdotes, the author is also very skilled in making the book succinct enough to hold the readers attention and to not make the book seem like a mechanic’s school textbook. This is a very thin book, small enough to be carried in a glove box or a garage shelf.

The little stories that the author sprinkles throughout the pages and chapters add a little variety to the technicalities of the advice. They also help put the advice being said on the page in perspective. Giving advice is all well and good but seeing it put in action adds credibility to what could have butter without any bread underneath it.  

Ultimately though, the best advice that the book gives is how to prevent mishaps from occurring, which can save someone a whole peck of trouble. It is the old Scout Motto: Be Prepared. 

The Flaws: There is very little that could be is said is flawed about this book. The only real one that could be had was that being a manual, the writing is necessarily dry. This can make the book a little dull to read in one sitting like Bookworm did. 

Secondly, a matter of personal preference, but it felt like the author spent too much time talking about tires. Over two thirds of the text at least refers to tire related issues. Bookworm’s experience with automotive repair is very small compared to the author, so the author may be speaking from hard-earned experience when saying tires are a huge problem. Still, when writing something thats, again, necessarily dry like a repair manual, one needs to hold the readers attention and focusing on pretty much one issue throughout the majority of the text can make it boring and takes up time that could be spent on a larger variety of issues. 

Final Verdict: It is a little more difficult to assign a rating to a non-fiction book as books are usually graded by Bookworm on an all-around basis from the story. Since there is no story in this book and it consists of facts, it is a bit more of a challenge. Nonetheless, this book is filled to the brim with helpful advice and amusing anecdotes that everyone who travels by motor vehicle has experienced at least once. This book, along with all the other things listed in Chapter 8, should be a part of everyone’s emergency repair kit. 

Five out of Five Stars. 

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