Skip content
Get two free audiobooks AND support local bookstores Make the switch
Careful by Steve Casner
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks when you make the switch!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Make the switch
Libro.fm app with gift bow

Gift audiobook credit bundles

You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and your local bookstore is supported by your purchase.

Start gifting

Careful

A User's Guide to Our Injury-Prone Minds

$17.50

Get for $14.99 with membership
Narrator Steve Casner

This audiobook uses AI narration.

We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.

Learn more
Length 7 hours 16 minutes
Language English
  Send as gift   Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account

“Gripping, page-turning material . . . a new way of thinking about survival in a world filled with hazards and distractions.” —Charles Duhigg, author of Smarter Faster Better and The Power of Habit

A safety expert reveals why few of us are as careful as we think we are, and what we can do about it.

As doctors and medical researchers work busily to extend our lives, more people each year are figuring out ways to cut them short. In fact, after a hundred years of steady decline, the rate at which people are being injured (or worse) in everyday accidents is increasing. Blame car crashes, pedestrian fatalities, home-improvement projects gone wrong, medical mistakes, home fires—not to mention all the crazy things that kids are into these days. And the problem seems to be spinning out of control.

Steve Casner has devoted his career to studying the psychology of safety, and he knows there’s not a safety warning we won’t ignore or a foolproof device we can’t turn into an implement of disaster. Casner details the psychological traps that prevent us from being more careful. They’re the same whether you’re a pilot, a Hollywood stuntwoman, a parent, or the owner of a clogged dishwasher you’re trying to fix with a screwdriver. Then he shows us gripping real examples of how and when injuries happen, so we know exactly what we should really be worrying about.

Careful arms readers with the latest science on how our sometimes fallible minds work, with countless takeaways to incorporate at home, at work, and everywhere in between. This book will help us keep our fingers attached in the kitchen, our kids afloat at the pool, and our teens safe behind the wheel, and demonstrates the many other ways we can maximize our chances of getting through the day in one piece.

Steve Casner is a research psychologist who studies the accident-prone mind. A NASA scientist by day, Casner also flies jets and helicopters, rides motorcycles and skateboards, and has surprisingly few scratches on him. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and daughter.

Steve Casner is a research psychologist who studies the accident-prone mind. A NASA scientist by day, Casner also flies jets and helicopters, rides motorcycles and skateboards, and has surprisingly few scratches on him. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and daughter.

Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks when you make the switch!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Make the switch
Libro.fm app with gift bow

Gift audiobook credit bundles

You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and your local bookstore is supported by your purchase.

Start gifting

Reviews

Careful illuminates the mental strangeness of accidents. They testify to our duality; they happen when we assert and defy ourselves simultaneously.” —NewYorker.com

“Casner makes an overwhelmingly compelling case for safety. One of the most intelligent and impactful books; everyone should read it.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Riveting and relatable, Casner’s book will inspire readers to take a good look at their own lives and the safety precautions they take on a daily basis.” —Publishers Weekly

“This insightful, easy read is his attempt to show that despite our technology and greater emphasis on safety at work, we face just as many perils to our mortality and good health as our parents and grandparents, who never wore seatbelts and chain-smoked while filling up at the pump.” —New Equipment Digest

“A sharp, concise review of the things that can kill or harm us, how we contribute to the problem, and what we can do together to make us all safer.” —Kirkus

“The book is informative, funny and frightening. After reading, you’ll want to wrap yourself in protective bubble wrap.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Casner convincingly argues that we all need to make a habit of being more careful. A scientist and a natural storyteller, he takes the studies, data, and safety advice we usually tune out and turns it into gripping, page-turning material. This is a how-to-guide for a new way of thinking about survival in a world filled with hazards and distractions.” —Charles Duhigg, author of Smarter Faster Better and The Power of Habit

“We can all relate to Steve’s blooper reel of everyday ways we hurt ourselves.  Careful provides enough science and data to blow you away but the real-life stories will have you laughing. This helpful and hilarious book just might save your life.” —Deborah Hersman, President of the National Safety Council and former Chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
 
“Every day, your most dangerous activities take place on our roads. Your life shouldn't be on the line every time you go to work, school, or the store.  With authority, humor, and vivid examples, Steve Casner will help you to be truly careful and safer on every trip, wherever you're going.” —Mark R. Rosekind, Ph.D., 15th Administrator, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration

“‘Be careful!’ we tell our children, friends, co-workers, and even ourselves. Admirable advice, but completely useless. As Steve Casner explains in this readable and authoritative account, the human mind is powerful and creative, but not well equipped for the unnatural requirements of modern living. This book is the solution, providing solid, practical advice based upon decades of scientific studies and years of practical experience.” —Don Norman, professor and director, director, the University of California, San Diego Design Lab; author of The Design of Everyday Things

“Don’t worry, this book won’t make you more afraid of the dangers in our world. Instead it will empower, entertain and inform, encouraging you to get out there and live a safe life.”BookPage Expand reviews
Get two free audiobooks AND support local bookstores Make the switch