A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention
Written by Matt Richtel
Narrated by Fred Berman
4/5
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About this audiobook
From Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Matt Richtel, a brilliant, narrative-driven exploration of technology’s vast influence on the human mind and society, dramatically-told through the lens of a tragic “texting-while-driving” car crash that claimed the lives of two rocket scientists in 2006.
In this ambitious, compelling, and beautifully written book, Matt Richtel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, examines the impact of technology on our lives through the story of Utah college student Reggie Shaw, who killed two scientists while texting and driving. Richtel follows Reggie through the tragedy, the police investigation, his prosecution, and ultimately, his redemption.
In the wake of his experience, Reggie has become a leading advocate against “distracted driving.” Richtel interweaves Reggie’s story with cutting-edge scientific findings regarding human attention and the impact of technology on our brains, proposing solid, practical, and actionable solutions to help manage this crisis individually and as a society.
A propulsive read filled with fascinating, accessible detail, riveting narrative tension, and emotional depth, A Deadly Wandering explores one of the biggest questions of our time—what is all of our technology doing to us?—and provides unsettling and important answers and information we all need.
Matt Richtel
Matt Richtel is a reporter at the New York Times. He received the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for a series of articles about distracted driving that he expanded into his first nonfiction book, A Deadly Wandering, a New York Times bestseller. His second nonfiction book, An Elegant Defense, on the human immune system, was a national bestseller and chosen by Bill Gates for his annual Summer Reading List. Richtel has appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air, CBS This Morning, PBS NewsHour, and other major media outlets. He lives in San Francisco, California.
More audiobooks from Matt Richtel
An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inspired: Understanding Creativity: A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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Reviews for A Deadly Wandering
11 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thought provoking
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The dangers of distracted driving can hardly be over-stated. Mobile technology, either in the guise of telephone calls or texting, raises the potential for distraction exponentially. The ubiquity of cell phones and the apparently inability, especially among digital natives (people who have grown up using this technology), to relinquish even for a few minutes the devices that connect them to their friends has led to severe dangers on our roads. Using the case of one particular distracted driver whose inattention led the death of two rocket scientists, this book explores the rise of these new technologies, the science behind how they are affecting our brains and behaviour, and the growing consciousness that collectively we need to do more to curb our deadly distractedness.With its origins in a Pulitzer prize winning series of articles by Matt Richtel, this book deepens and widens the research. It explores the lives of all of the players in the case of Reggie Shaw, whose inattention led to the death of two rocket scientists mentioned above. And it constructs a narrative that attempts to dramatically heighten the tension around the confluence of events that led to the deadly accident and the process of redemption for the principal actor. There is no doubt that Richtel is a capable researcher. And he is definitely a capable journalist. And the issue of distracted driving definitely deserves greater attention. The only question then is whether turning what is in essence an extended magazine article into a book of this length is the best way to go about accomplishing that end. You’ll have to decide that for yourself. But even if I’m reluctant to recommend this book, I do want to confirm, succinctly, its central message: do not text while driving!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5So much has already been said about A DEADLY WANDERING, especially since Matt Richtel won a Pulitzer Prize for this book, I hesitate to repeat. But I will say this: if you talk on your cell phone or text while you drive, even if you use a hands-free device, you may not want to finish reading A DEADLY WANDERING because you won’t like what it says. Richtel would say that you are in denial. If you don’t talk on your cell phone or text while you drive, you know people who do, and this book will absorb you. Maybe you will want to highlight lines throughout the book.I am one of those people who does not use my cell phone while I drive, and I don’t understand how this could be controversial. But Richtel tells the true story of Reggie Shaw, who, at first, proclaimed that he was not guilty of causing the deaths of two people even though he had been texting while he was driving. How could there be any question that he was distracted? And why do people insist that they can multitask while they drive?Richtel proposes that some people are that addicted to their cell phones. And he backs it up with scientific proof.But A DEADLY WANDERING does not read like a science book. The style of this book reminds me very much of Jon Krakauer's books. Here Richtel tells personal stories, some of people directly connected to Reggie’s story, others of the scientists who study the issues Reggie’s story brings up.Everyone should read this.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book is a combination of the story of an accident caused by a young Utah man texting in his car and a study of research into "attention science". It is a story and a sturdy well-told.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Interesting and well written.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A tragic tale that reflects the power technology has over us. I went into this book not knowing anything about this case and the effect it had on texting legislation. After reading all the neurological reasons not to text and drive, I will no longer text while driving. A pretty quick read and one that will stay with you.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is great non-fiction that ought to be required reading for any parent with a teenage driver in the family. The teenage driver ought to read it, too.
The book is based on a tragic accident that took place on a highway in Utah back in 2006. In the accident, 2 brilliant scientists were killed when a car driven by a young 19 year old 'good kid', who had been texting his girlfriend as he drove, strayed into their lane, clipped their car, and caused them to spin out of control. The story is told from multiple viewpoints- his, the law-enforcement people who doggedly pursued justice, his family, and the families of the victims, woven through all of it a history from WWII to the present on the science behind the study of attention. It's a brilliant blend of technology, social science, and real-life events. The book is extremely well-written and researched beautifully, and it should scare you straight every time you think about what can happen when technology (or anything else) takes your attention away from driving.