How to Survive The End Of The World As We Know It: Tactics, Techniques And Technologies For Uncertain Times Review
As part of my investigation into disaster preparedness, I read four books. I'd like to compare them here to help other customers.
The four books can be divided into two groups: practical guides, and the world's gonna end guides.
The first two books are related to what I'd call likely events - hurricanes, flu pandemics, earthquakes, blackouts, food shortages, water contamination, etc. The two that I read are:
- Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family by Arthur Bradley
- Crisis Preparedness Handbook by Jack Spigareli
These two books are similar in their scope. Neither preaches doomsday preparations and both have a wide range of good advice. Spigarelli's book focuses much more heavily on food storage, whereas Bradley's has a more well-rounded handling of subjects and targets family preparation (including the special needs of children, pets, the elderly, and those with handicaps). Comparing the two, I found Bradley's book to be more recent, easier to read, and more comprehensive. The quality of the publication is also better (numerous clear tables, examples, figures, conclusions, etc.). Spigarelli's book has been around for almost a decade and is highly regarded, but feels a bit dated (text looks almost like it was generated on a typewriter, figures are small, tables are not very clear). Not a bad book at all, just dated, and heavily focused on food storage (about 2/3 of the book).
The second set of books are targeted for more drastic, world-changing events - nuclear world war, asteroid hitting the planet, collapse of all government, doomsday stuff. The two books are:
- How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times by James Rawles
- When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes by Cody Lundin
Again, these two books are similar. Both target extreme preparation - massive food and water stockpiles, getting off the electrical grid, living in bunkers, stocking weapons and bartering supplies, etc. Of the two, I found Rawles' book to be better written. Both are recent publications, and I suppose either would do fine. Lundin's does have a color insert in the middle that is nice.
There is some significant overlap between the two types of books, but they are definitely different in their focus. My advice is before buying a book, first decide whether you want to prepare for likely events or doomsday events. For me personally, I found the Practical Handbook for the Family to be the most useful. If you want to prepare for both ends of the spectrum, purchase Bradley's book and Rawles' book. Can't go wrong with that.
Hope this helps!
Available at Amazon Check Price Now!
Related Products
- Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis
- Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
- SAS Survival Handbook, Revised Edition: For Any Climate, in Any Situation
- When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes
- Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival
Customer Reviews
A good book for every home - Michael S. Miner -
Everyone can benefit from the common sense approach laid out in this book. It applies equally well to hurricane preparedness as well as more 'man made' disasters. So you don't need to expect a coming collapse to use much of the info.
The resources are helpful, and the writing is actually laid out in a sensible and easy to read format. I plan to get a copy for all my friends and relatives who live in areas where they are their own first responders.
Being prepared for a far worse situation than you encounter makes life very nice for the day to day annoyances we all would like to avoid. Mr Rawles has made a concise manual on how to go about being prepared and keeping a normal standard of living regardless of the situation.
Be Prepared (It's more than just the Boy Scout Marching Song!) - Allan Carpenter - Cobbs Creek, VA
Excellent and timely book! I continue to buy copies to hand out to family and friends!!
A Complete Guide for the unprepared survivalist - Ronald S Kauffman - Jupiter, FL, US
While Mr. Rawles has really prepared personally for the worst case scenario, there is so much of value for those of us who can't move to the hills of Montana, Idaho and Utah, that it makes reading and keeping this book for a reference and preparation guide extremely worthwhile.
I'm not sure I'll be laying razor wire, but I will lay in a good supply of food, water, medical supplies, protective gear, hard currency, weapons and ammo as my investment in the "just in case" scenario of an EMP or financial collapse of the dollar. This book walks you through all the steps from the basics to the extreme, and may be the difference between being a statistic or a survivor if, as many expect, a major disaster is more likely to be a "when" than an "if" event in America.
Hilarious - Jesse Milharn - Cincinnati, OH
This book is funny. It doesn't intend to be, but it is. The level of paranoia is reaching needing meds level within the first five or six pages. I bought it because it was inexpensive and sounded like it might be interesting, and it has definitely provided hours of entertainment. If you are looking for an actual GUIDEBOOK, look elsewhere. There are no actual descriptions of any processes in it. It just refers you to other sources which makes it rather useless as an actual survival book.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 23, 2010 07:57:15
No comments:
Post a Comment