`Alexander's (2016) newest book, How to Write an Emergency Plan, provides readers with practical advice about emergency planning. In this regard, the content of the book is as much about planning processes as it is about the content and structure of an emergency plan. This new book expands on Alexander's previous work on the subject of emergency planning...While Alexander is a Professor of Risk and Disaster Reduction at University of College London and a distinguished academic, his newest book is written for a lay audience and is intended to function as a guide for anyone, anywhere, who has a responsibility for emergency planning. The book is generally jargon free and key terms are defined and topics are properly introduced, making the book valuable for those without formal education or training relating to emergency management. While the book draws from both research and practice knowledge about emergency planning, the book is written in a conversational style with limited references to academic literature...Throughout the book, Alexander presents principles of practice that apply to emergency planning regardless of the context. The principles provide a concise summary of generic rules that should inform emergency planning. An example of a principle offered in the Introduction chapter is, emergency planning is about helping to create a common language and culture, and common objectives, for the organizations and people who respond to emergencies (Alexander, 2016, p. 7). Most but not all sections in the book offer one or more principles that help to summarize and reinforce key best practices.Overall, the book provides considerable guidance related to developing and writing an emergency plan. While noting that context matters and explaining how it matters (e.g., local hazards, legislation), Alexander's approach to how to develop and write an emergency plan is for the most part, context-independent. Further, while the book recognizes mandated responsibility for emergency planning by civil authorities, the idea of emergency management as being a distributed function within society, with other entities (e.g., industry, schools) also having responsibility for emergency planning is acknowledged. In this regard, there is good value in Alexander's newest book for a broad audience who have interest in or responsibility for emergency planning.'Recovery Diva, May 2017