Emergency Preparedness Books in Something Directory

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Worst Case Scenarios in Something Directory

 

In the summer of 1998, David Borgenicht read a magazine article about a man who’d been forced to land a plane after the pilot had a heart attack. It made him think about classic action movie scenes, and what he would do in those situations. How should he react if he were face to face with a shark, or if he had to jump from a building into a Dumpster? Knowing there were answers to these questions, he decided to write the book. With a title, a few written scenarios, and an outline, he took the project to the Frankfurt Book Fair, where he met with publishers in the hopes of selling the project. But now he had to write it. And he knew he needed a good, strong co-author to research and pull it all together. Through a mutual friend, he met Joshua Piven (though they attended The University of Pennsylvania at the same time, they had never met), and the newly formed team began writing. Josh spent the better part of six months trying to convince experts that he wasn’t some prankster, that he actually wanted the real answers to such questions as How do you safely ram a car? and How do you perform a tracheotomy? Working closely with their editor at Chronicle, Jay Schaefer, Josh and David revised the manuscript until the tone was right. Next, David’s company, Book Soup Publishing (later renamed Quirk Productions), designed and edited the book under Chronicle’s guidance. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook was released in November 1999 with a first printing of 35,000 copies. With Y2K fears looming, people took to the book quickly, and booksellers, reviewers, and clerks used this hook to sell more copies. The response from the book and specialty trade (including such chains as Restoration Hardware and Urban Outfitters) was tremendous, and Chronicle immediately went back to press. Soon, demand from the media took over, and the authors worked the circuit, appearing on numerous radio shows and giving many newspaper and magazine interviews. After a strong Christmas, the handbook hit the Los Angeles Times and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists. Two national TV appearances by the authors in May, along with articles in Time and People, launched it onto the New York Times Best-seller list. Later that year it would cross the million-copy mark, with no signs of slowing down. Chronicle also introduced the first ancillary Worst-Case item, a weekly engagement calendar, which sold more than 100,000 copies. In the spring of 2001, the first spin-off debuted. The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel had a first printing of 500,000 copies, and soon it too became a best-seller. In the fall of 2001, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex was released with a first printing of 450,000, gaining instant best-sellerdom. University Games released a Worst-Case board game, and work began on the Worst-Case TV series to premiere the following year on TBS. Chronicle released several other successful ancillary items (postcards, notecards, an address book, and a journal).

 

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