T.M.’s Book Review: The Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson

This is actually three books telling one story that is pertinent to preppers. An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 © 2002  ISBN: 0-8050-6288-2    681 pages The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 © 2007  ISBN: 0-8050-6289-0    791 pages The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 © 2013  ISBN: 978-0-8050-6290-8    877 pages All three volumes have excellent maps, indexes, bibliography, and a flawed endnote system. All three volumes are published by Henry Holt and Co. in New York City, NY All three volumes are available at your favorite bookseller …


Pat’s Product Review: Eberlestock F4M Terminator Backpack

When I was young – quite young – I had a serious thirst for adventure, and I was always undertaking something dangerous – many called it “stupid” or “foolhardy” as I recall. I was very independent (still am) and many also used the term “hard-headed” to describe me and some of my exploits. It’s okay, I believe everyone should follow their heart and their dreams, when possible. Which leads me to my youngest daughter, who just got out of the US Army – where she served as a Combat Medic. Now, those who know me, especially from the past, know …


Letter Re: Why Is Utah Not in the American Redoubt?

Dear Mr. R.: Why don’t you include Utah in your American Redoubt states? I’m asking because we’re right next door [to the Redoubt region] and Utah seems so much like the Redoubt states in so many ways. Just curious. – L.W.J. JWR Replies: Although Utah’s crime rate, taxes, and insurance rates are low and family food storage is quite popular there, the state has several distinct drawbacks. They include: Utah is is not an open carry state. A government-issued permit is required to carry a fully-loaded gun openly. I find that abhorrent. Utah is a predominantly desert state. In the …


Letter Re: Refurbishing Dead Gasoline

JWR, The shelf life of gasoline is one of the lurking problems with the prepper community. With this short article I will show you a simple process to take that lifeless gas and make it usable again. One of the issues with very old (several years) gas is the formation of deposits and gum via oxidation. Ethanol doesn’t help either, except to line the pockets of the Ethanol Lobby. Another issue is water absorption over time. Gasoline is not one cut of hydrocarbons, but a mixture of light and heavy fuels. Over time the lighter elements [“fractions”] evaporate, leaving a …


Letter Re: Remembering Dear Aunt Flow

Dear SurvivalBloggers, I have used folded up cloths as pads for years for my monthlies.  As long as you use a cotton cloth at least as big as a bandanna, bleed-through of a pad is surprisingly not that likely.    Have several, that way you always have a dry one and they can hand wash and hang dry in shifts.  There is no reason why they can’t be as sanitary as the commercial ones.   To wash one, soak it in soapy water.  Once it’s soaked a bit (like 10 minutes), rinse it and wash it again with soap until …


Recipe of the Week:

Old Kimber Girl’s Pear Honey 12 pears (14 if they are small) 4 large apples 2 large oranges 3 pounds of sugar Peel apples and pears. Remove core and seeds.  Grate orange rind and set aside. Peel orange-remove excess pith, remove seeds. Grind pears, apples and orange. Add sugar and cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add orange rind. Cook until thick. Process a you would any other jam. Yield:  Approximately nine ½-pint jars Useful Recipe and Cooking Links: Pear Recipes Spiced Apple and Pear Pie Recipe Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Bad news from the Philippines: “Super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) destroyed about 70 to 80 percent of the area in its path as it tore through Leyte province on Friday…”    o o o James C. mentioned that an important piece to print out for your reference binder was recently re-posted over at Preparedness Advice Blog: Chemical Names, A List Showing the Older Names vs the Modern Names. [JWR’s Comment: Credit for compiling most of this list (nearly verbatim) should be given to Kurt Saxon. He was the first one I know of to have published an earlier edition …



Notes from JWR:

I see that we’re close to logging our 60 millionth unique visit. SurvivalBlog is now averaging more than 320,000 unique visits per week. It is remarkable that we are still holding such a strong market share, even though there are now more than 50 competing blogs. Our archives are continuing to grow, and now approaching 10,000 pages if you were to print it all out. All in all, I’d say that we are doing just fine for a little niche blog. — November 10th in the United States is remembered in the United States as the “birthday” of the U.S. …


Remembering Dear Aunt Flow, by Kali

It is a reasonable assumption that most SurvivalBlog readers are already going to be in the preparedness mindset. Whether you’re preparing for a natural disaster, economic collapse, zombie apocalypse, or something in between you must always have each and every family member’s needs in mind. Most of us start with the ‘generic’ items that everyone needs such as water, food and standard medical supplies. While that is the absolute best starting place for all families, after the basics are accounted for you should then consider any unique or special needs that you may have to provide for. Many of us …


Economics and Investing:

Government to Run Budget Deficits Until 2038; How Can Money Printing Stop? Treasury Will Issue Its First Floaters On January 29, 2014 Shades of 1929: Dow Jones Industrial Average Warning: Margin Debt Hits Record-High $401 Billion Items from The Economatrix: The Top 6 Reasons Why Everyone Needs a Second Passport We Are Close to The End: “The Con Job Is Up” AP Estimate: At Least 3.5 Million People Have Had Their Health Insurance Canceled


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Troy H. mentioned a map, updated hourly, of infectious disease outbreaks and diagnoses from around the world.    o o Billy Graham’s final evangelism campaign has been via a great Internet video. Please watch and share it.    o o o Ray Jason: The Sea Gypsy Tribe    o o o Andre D. suggested: How to Erase Yourself From the Internet    o o o I was recently interviewed by Jack Spirko of The Survival Podcast.



Notes from JWR:

Please continue to pray for the folks in the central Philippines. They got slammed by what might be the highest winds ever recorded for a typhoon at landfall. — Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $8,500+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) …