Cruise Control.

Cruise Control 

Ronald Butcher

Black Whisker Publishing

55 South Verde, Suite 235-153, Henderson, NV 89012

0978535707 $14.95 www.yoursafeplace.com

23-year U.S. Coast Guard veteran Ronald Butcher presents Cruise Control: Your Peace of Mind at Sea, an invaluable, no-nonsense guide to personal health and safety while participating in any sort of cruise. From what to do if one is forced to enter the water, to the importance of the three degrees of S.A.F.E. (the first is Seek Alternatives For Escape and stresses the importance of surveying each area for all its exits upon entering it, before a crisis hits and, say, smoke obscures the EXIT signs), to guarding oneself against thieves or attackers, to sanitation concerns, to international law, Cruise Control leaves no anchor unweighed in its detail. Butcher especially stresses the importance of taking a proactive, rather than reactive attitude towards the safety, protection, and survival of oneself and one's children. Though daunting in its warnings against the risks of falling overboard, assault, infectious diseases, legal trouble or even the horrors of nautical piracy or terrorism, Cruise Control is ultimately a positive book written by an author who truly believes the international cruise industry is beneficial overall, both in allowing passengers to see the world and experience other cultures and in bringing much-needed tourism revenue to struggling nations. Highly recommended to all readers for its general recommendations for taking charge of one's own personal safety (for example, Butcher stresses never to go quietly with someone with a gun--doing so is likely to result in death on the gun owner's terms), and an absolute "must-read" for anyone planning or thinking about a cruise trip.