First published 2009
Former US Army Intelligence officer James Wesley Rawles presents a comprehensive manual for surviving major disruptions to modern life. Drawing from his military background and experience running SurvivalBlog.com, Rawles addresses how families can prepare for scenarios ranging from economic collapse to pandemic outbreaks to terrorist attacks. The book covers practical skills across multiple domains: establishing and fortifying a safe retreat location, preserving and storing food supplies, generating power independently, raising livestock, providing medical care, conducting trade through barter systems, and protecting your household. Rawles offers specific tactical advice throughout, from using burned wine corks as face camouflage to choosing bland foods that won't attract attention when cooked to selecting affordable but reliable bolt-action rifles for defense. The author emphasizes that a single catastrophic event could force ordinary people to become self-sufficient in ways they never anticipated, requiring new approaches to obtaining water, maintaining communication with family members, and securing fuel sources.
Genres: survival, adventure, non-fiction, apocalyptic
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: how-to, survival
336 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books/PenguinPutnam