Usually the reviews help me decide if the book is of any value. Not this time. I know there are more helpful books out there to help in this coming economic collapse.
May 18, 2008

it's construction-oriented

It's not about cultural change or foraging, it's about building stuff to be more independent.
January 27, 2008

An extreme disappointment

If you have never read anything about peak oil or survival perhaps this book will get you thinking. If you have any knowledge of these topics you will find this book very high level and not informative. If Mr. McBay has an understanding of survival, or in a more relevant vein self-reliance, it does not make it to these pages.

Two quick examples: The book is a very light at under 100 pages and he spends 33 of those pages talking about cooling and cooking food. In his post crash world there is a big issue with cooling or cooking food but apparently after grid crash there is no problem actually getting the food. If there is, he does not address the issue. Personally I have become accustomed to eating.

Second, he spends less than 2 pages addressing heat (in the winter). If you live in the North one would hope Mr. McBay would address the topic as a lack of fuel would definitely have an effect. His suggestions are pitiful. Light a fire (great if you live on the third floor of an apartment with no fireplace) and put on more clothes. Brilliant! I need someone to remind me to get dressed. How about a simple suggestion to prepare yourself by getting a high quality sleeping bag that can keep you alive when the temperature goes sub zero. No such common sense suggestions are to be found.

If you want a book on survival then buy one on that specific topic. May I suggest "SAS Survival Handbook". If you want a book on Self-Reliance then buy one on that specific topic. I would suggest starting with "Storey's Basic Country Skills" or "The Self-sufficient Life and How to live It" or "The Big Book of Self-Reliant Living". All these books are tomes of knowledge that may actually help you if hard times come to pass.

November 21, 2007

All The Comforts of Home

This is a concise, little book of basic techniques and mechanics for individually recreating many of the suburban comforts we have come to depend on, i.e. lights, potable water, heat, food, contact with the outside world, etc. It is pretty basic stuff for anyone who has developed skills in these areas already. However, if you are a relatively clueless urban or suburbanite who can't do without the necessities of the 21st century, American lifestyle and don't know how to produce them, you definitely need this book.
October 18, 2007

solar panels are for sissies

This book is just under 100 pages, about a fifth of which is Introduction. The author states he is hoping for a rapid collapse of industrial civilization, via deliberate attacks by a group of 'committed individuals' if necessary. He goes on to give advice on basic long term survival without electricity or plumbing, most of it intended for a rural setting. Emphasis on BASIC. He covers a handful of topics, focusing on what can be built with recycled parts and little experience. I found the writing clear and some of the information very helpful, above all the pages on water filtration and purification--a variety of methods for different situations. Good suggestions for further reading, as well.
October 07, 2007

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)
by Steve Solomon

The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century
by James Howard Kunstler

A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash
Directed by Ray McCormack, Basil Gelpke, Reto Caduff
Starring n/a
DOCURAMA

World Made by Hand: A Novel
by James Howard Kunstler

Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines (New Society Publishers)
by Richard Heinberg