How to Survive the End of the World as we Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times
by James Wesley Rawles
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
This 316-page paperback is truly a survival guide that offers readers a list of survival equipment necessary, how to find a survival retreat, find water, store food, acquire fuel and power your home, use a garden and nourish livestock, acquire medical supplies and the knowledge to use them, monitor and use communications equipment, own a home security system and learn self-defense, possess and use firearms, use vehicles and which ones are best, invest, barter and maintain a home-based business. There is truly a great deal to be learned from this book.
Although it is true that regarding disasters, one size doesn’t fit all, and there are certainly a large number of different kinds of preparations that can be made, depending on the kind and length of the disaster as well as the location and societal issue involved. The point Rawles makes is an important one—preparing ahead for disaster costs very little, but it can save your life. It’s a little like buying insurance.
If nothing else, this book will get you thinking about things that may never have occurred to you. Some of the ideas may seem unrealistic (buying a hybrid car, a diesel pickup, a motorcycle or moped, as well as an electric ATV and a tractor), the idea is simply to get ready before something bad happens.
Although I am unlikely to follow very much of his advice, I found the book practical, useful, and worth reading. To have it in your library for possible use when the time comes may be a great idea (or as a reference to use periodically), but your library may disappear along with the disaster and render the book meaningless (or lost) just when needed the most.
Nonetheless, the book is, as Eric M. Bessette, of Tobyhanna, PA, said in his review of the book, “Well thought out, well written, and well planned. In the easy to read instructions, the author teaches you everything from water purification to food storage preparation.”
This book is available from Amazon.com: How to Survive the End of the World as we Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times
