Book Review: James Rawles "How To Surivive TEOTWAWKI"

SurvivalBlog.com ^ | October 4, 2009 | Travis McGee

[Travis McGee]

James Wesley Rawles is probably one of the foremost survival preparation experts in America today. His survivalblog.com website has more than 135,000 readers, he is frequently a guest on national radio shows, and he has been interviewed in many influential newspapers and magazines. The new reprint of his novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse” has been hovering around the #100 mark on the Amazon ranking list for many months, which is a remarkable record. “Patriots” is a combination of a novel and a survivalism textbook, which made it difficult for the book to excel in both directions at the same time. Despite some shortcomings as a work of literature, “Patriots” has become a serious best-seller, and has gained the notice of the New York publishing industry. I believe this is a reflection of the times we live in, and Rawles’s encyclopedic knowledge of the subject of survival preparation.

Now James Rawles has a new nonfiction book, called “How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It.” The new book works better than “Patriots” as a pure survival preparation handbook. A listing of the chapter topics will give an idea of the subject matter covered:

The Survival Mindset

Priorities: Your List of Lists

Water: the Key Resource

The Deep Larder: Your Family’s Food Storage

Fuel and Home Power

Gardens and Livestock

Medical Supplies and Training

Communications

Home Security and Self-Defense

Firearms for Self-Sufficiency and Self-Defense

“Get Out Of Dodge” Vehicles

Investing, Barter and Home Businesses

James Rawles is what might be described as an extremely avid “prepper,” or a person making serious preparations for “TEOTWAWKI.” This new book is written for those persons who seriously ponder what would actually happen to society if the power grid ever went down…and stayed down. Stayed down for months, years or forever. Rawles actually lives on a retreat property located as he puts it, “somewhere west of the Rockies.” At times Rawles seems to imply that anybody living in a big city or, God forbid, east of the Mississippi River, won’t have much chance of survival if any of the worst scenarios happen: nuclear war, a grid collapse, a deadly pandemic or other widespread calamity.

Because Rawles writes from the hard-core end of the survivalism spectrum, you might think that if you’re not ready to move to a retreat ranch in Idaho or Montana, this book won’t do you much good. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even if the only “preparation” you make is to buy and read this book, you will be far ahead of the blindly-stampeding herd, if “The Schumer Hits the Fan,” and the lights go out.

Maybe this book will inspire you to learn to garden, or take medical or self-defense classes. Maybe you will decide to lay in some long-term food storage, or dig your own well so that you are not dependent on “city water.” Maybe you will decide that you do need to move to a location better suited to long-term survival, if any of the collapse scenarios discussed in this book ever come to pass.

But even if the only preparation you make is to buy this book, you will have made a wise decision. Some day in the future, the information contained in this book might literally save your life, or the lives of your loved once.

[Travis McGee]

Matthew Bracken, AKA Travis McGee, is the author of three novels. They are Enemies Foreign And Domestic, Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista, and Foreign Enemies And Traitors. He is currently writing a new novel, unrelated to the Enemie trilogy.

[VR-21]

Thanks Travis, I’ve been considering the book for a while, and I believe I’ll purchase it today.

[Armedanddangerous]

I ordered my copy on the 30th, to help Jim Rawles get his book in the top of the amazon sales list.

[Osage Orange]

bttt

[Quix]

How about it and the new edition of

A MORE EXCELLENT WAY?

[ChocChipCookie]

At times Rawles seems to imply that anybody living in a big city or, God forbid, east of the Mississippi River, won’t have much chance of survival if any of the worst scenarios happen: nuclear war, a grid collapse, a deadly pandemic or other widespread calamity.

This was my biggest issue with "Patriots". I was in quite a funk for a couple of weeks after reading that book because we live in a city, can't afford to buy and equip a rural retreat, and probably wouldn't last a year there even if we did. He had me convinced that we would die, just four more bodies piled along the side of the road! LOL

[NorwegianViking]

Thanks for the recommendation. I went to Amazon and bought one for around $11 including shipping. I'm looking foward to reading it.

[nevergore]

When it comes, I plan to shoot my neighbors who stocked up on food and water.....

In the meantime, I’m just going to drink beer......

Hey....at least it’s a plan.....

[ReaganGeneration2]

What about NEAR a city, in suburbs or rural NE? Best thing is to be a different kind of community organizer. If the SHTF, pray you live with leaders who understand the need for defense.

[snippy_about_it]

We had some issues with Patriots also. The story was okay but it seemed over done on the product details.

We loved your trilogy. Are you writing anything now?

[webschooner]

I recall reading somewhere, actually, I think it was that fairly famous Argentine blog by the guy of how he survived (in a city) after TSHTF, that you are not necessarily better off in the country as opposed to in the city, and he gave a number of reasons, which made a lot of sense.

If TSHTF and you live in the boondocks, and you think there won’t be hungry and crazy two-legged critters roaming the countryside, then you are dreaming. And can you guard your vegetable garden 24 hours a day, and stay awake 24/7 to guard against home invasions 24/7?

The author of that blog pointed out that once the thugs get in your house in an isolated rural setting, sometimes they will torture, rape, and harass you and your family for days, because there is no house nearby to hear their screams. That is a little harder for the bad guys to pull off in a city with neighbors close by. Something to think about.

If you have never read the blog, you should. It is here:
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2008/10/thoughts-on-urban-survival-2005.html
Grab a cup of java when you have about an hour to devote to reading it. Great read, and it ain’t fiction. It’s one guy and his family and how they lived (and are still) living in a collapsed economy.

[Jet Jaguar]

BTTT

[Travis McGee]

Currently I’m writing a first person POV novel with all new characters, which is unrelated to the Enemies Trilogy. It’s also set in a near-future semi-dystopia, but otherwise it’s not connected to my other books. It’s going to be shorter, maybe 300 pages (compared to 570 pages for the other novels), so I hope to finish in under a year.

[Travis McGee]

Ferfal’s “Urban Survival” essay is extremely valuable. If you are going to be in a rural retreat, it either has to be incredibly remote and hidden, or you will probably be better off in a small town or suburban subdivision, where you can provide mutual self-defense. No single familiy can do it alone.

[Yorlik803]

I am going to buy a motorcycle, ass-less leather pants and roam the countryside like “the Road Warrior”.
I said I had a plan, I didnt say it was a good one.

[henry_reardon]

that scenario was well written about in “lights out”.

[beericus]

I live on the outskirts of a large East Coast City as well. I pretty much figured we would be doomed, but that quote is pretty much confirming what i thought....... LOL oh well, id still like to read the book, cause i have a bad ass truck that could get us outta here a little easier.

[familyop]

"If TSHTF and you live in the boondocks, and you think there won’t be hungry and crazy two-legged critters roaming the countryside, then you are dreaming. And can you guard your vegetable garden 24 hours a day, and stay awake 24/7 to guard against home invasions 24/7?...will torture, rape, and harass you and your family..."

There's no need to miss any sleep. Some city folks are assuming that there won't be:

* Days of traffic gridlock at the edges of the cities.

* Layers of police roadblocks to turn city dwellers back.

* Robbery roadblocks administered by robbers, who "will torture, rape, and harass you and your family."

* Identification lists (license numbers, vehicle descriptions, names, etc.) being made at every fuel stop.

* National Guard policing up illegal campers on public lands (lot of regulations on camping) and local law enforcement taking calls from locals about suspicious campers.

* In the northwest, more mountain lions, bears and wolves each year.

* Much rural law enforcement that is friendly and partial to locals (with documents to prove that they have local properties with homes that include running water, electricity, etc.). ...and general policies against trespassing.

* American rural people who are typically accustomed to shooting predators (see friendly and partial local law enforcement again) and able to hit predators at extreme ranges, able to sieve vehicles with loads of very high sectional density, etc.

* Guard dogs.

* Starlight camera systems (cheap these days) with software motion detection and alarms (including license plate cameras on some roads).

Eventually, some criminals will be able to get into rural areas, but they won't be able to get back out.

[webschooner]

I agree