Well under healthy conditions a little paranoia can keep you alive... In this day and age, with international travel what it is, and stability around the world somewhat fleeting.. Having skill sets that go beyond googling can save lives../
These cookbooks, poor man James Bond etc have been around for decades... It's not up to me to decide the reason to employee them. But to simply provide my modern version as it is... And it all boils down to critical thinking and having basic information in your head, regardless if your plane just went down over Syria or Mexico invaded Texas ...