Category: Book, Movie, and Web Reviews

Survey Results: Your Favorite Books on Preparedness, Self-Sufficiency, and Practical Skills

In descending order of frequency, the 78 readers that responded to my latest survey recommended the following non-fiction books on preparedness, self-sufficiency, and practical skills: The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (Far and away the most often-mentioned book. This book is an absolute “must” for every well-prepared family!) The Foxfire Book series (in 11 volumes, but IMHO, the first five are the best) Holy Bible Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook by James Talmage Stevens The “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course Crisis …


Reader Survey: What Are Your Favorite Preparedness and Self-Sufficiency Books?

I am seeking input from SurvivalBlog readers: What are your favorite non-fiction books that relate to Preparedness, Self-Sufficiency, and Practical Skills? Just e-mail me a list of your top five book titles, with the authors’ names. Oh, and if any of them are obscure or likely out of print, then please include the publisher’s name, city, and year of publication. I plan to post the results of the survey in the blog, in roughly 10 days. Thanks!


Letter Re: “Patriots” Book Sighting in Downtown Chicago

Just an update on your book from here behind enemy lines in Chicago. I ride the “EL” [elevated railway] to work each day and on Monday saw a man reading your novel “Patriots” . I asked where he purchased it, expecting the answer to be Amazon, and was stunned when he said that he picked it up at Borders on State Street in downtown Chicago. I wandered over to the store at lunchtime and, lo and behold, there were two copies in the the new “Mystery and Thrillers” section right next to Ian Rankin’s latest book. There were plenty of …


Letter Re: The Tightwad Gazette Books

James, I have been using the three Tightwad Gazette books, by Amy Dacyczn, for a few years now. While not really aimed at a survivalist audience, it sure fits the bill as preparedness and frugality. Lots of little ideas that may be important when the supply of “stuff” is cut off. The three volumes are available bound together in an omnibus edition The Complete Tightwad Gazette . Regards, – Hunter D.in Alaska


Bicycles in War, a Book Review by by Michael Z. Williamson

I just finished reading the book “Bicycles in War” by Martin Caidin and Jay Barbree. Caidin, of course, is a phenomenal writer, and does a great job of presenting the material. There’s not a lot of technical how to, though there are some useful pictures, and comments about how the Viet Cong, for example, reinforced their bicycles to carry up to 500 pounds of cargo while pushing them. During WWI, entire regiments moved more quickly than marching troops, and quite a few clandestine operations in both World Wars used bicycles, including some by the British Commandos and the SS, behind …


Letter Re: Recommendation for the Book “One Second After”

Hello Mr. Rawles; I’m a long time reader of your blog. I would like to recommend a new novel called, “One Second After” by William R. Forstchen. It deals with an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) event which occurs in the United States. The author apparently consulted with military experts, and it has an afterword by Captain Bill Sanders, U.S.N., and the Foreword is by Newt Gingrich. Though the book is lacking in survival details, it does realistically convey the frightening impact on American civilization. The need for obtaining food is prevalent, and it does show the benefits of having a good …


Letter Re: Buying Kindle Reader for Accessing Survival References?

Mr. Rawles; Given that even the smallest of windmills driving an automobile alternator can keep a 12 volt DC battery charged, and from that you can run a myriad of small devices, what is your opinion of Amazon’s Kindle [mobile book reading screen] for keeping all the documents you might need, like the entire archives of SurvivalBlog? Amazon is now offering “Version 2” [of Kindle] , which seems easier to load with personal documents. Is it worth it as a backup library, or is it too fragile? – Sandy W. JWR Replies: Buying a shiny new Kindle for that purpose …



Letter Re: Getting the Right Training and Preparing Methodically

Dear Mr. Rawles, I wanted to thank you for what you are doing and your work. I think that the reality is that you are saving a lot of people’s lives in addition to helping people to continue to be “in” the world but less and less “of” the world. I have been able, in turn, to pass along to other people a lot of things that I have learned from you and your readers, and I hope help them to focus and remain calm in their preparations. (I have also pointed them all to your web site). Now three …


Two Letters Re: Denominating in Time Versus Dollars

Sir: I bought a cross cut saw on eBay and was wondering how one might sharpen and care for it. I was directed to a USDA Forest Service web site that has a 30 page downloadable document all about cross-cut saws, their use and care. And it is free! Supposedly it is one of the best resources around on this particular topic. Kind Regards, – Jay Jim, The note from SF in Hawaii about the cost of barley versus the work to produce it made me think of one of my favorite tales from Laura Ingalls-Wilder’s book, “Farmer Boy“, about …


Letter Re: A Handy Book for Boys

I’ve only recently become a SurvivalBlog reader, but I thought I’d share some info about a book I’ve had sitting on my shelf for quite some time. I’d never really put any thought into its usefulness until lately. It’s called The American Boy’s Handybook. I first caught sight of it several years ago, way back in Elementary School, when I was just a little cuss, not the full sized cuss I’ve grown up to be. Like the title says, the book itself is geared toward the younger generation, ages 8 – 18+. But there is a wealth of information that …


Letter Re: Recommendation for the Movie “Defiance”

Hello Mr Rawles, Just a quick comment on the new movie that’s out called “Defiance”. It is rated R since it has killing and some cursing but is based on a true story about three Jewish brothers [named Bielski] who lived in Byelorussia at the start of WWII when the Germans [and their Quisling allies] began to round up and murder entire villages and communities of Jews. They decided to live in the woods that they knew so well and escape and resist the Germans…They met others who had escaped to the woods to hide and began to pool their …


Letter Re: Survival Gardening: Growing Food During a Second Great Depression

Hi Jim, Regarding the recent article on Survival Gardening, another useful reference is [the book] Gardening When it Counts; Growing Food in Hard Times, by Steve Solomon, 2005, New Society Publishers. This wonderful book is very practical and comprehensive. It contains ratings regarding how difficult particular vegetables are to grow. Root systems, seed quality and selection, homemade organic fertilizer, tool selection and care, composting, irrigation, and pests and diseases are among the many topics covered. The author has decades of experience in growing his own nutritious food, and it shows. Reading this book can help one to avoid many gardening …


Letter Re: Victorian Era Farm Skills in the UK

James, Thanks for your continued efforts in continuing to bring the right thinking to a troubled world. I have one heads up and one question that you might be able to help with. 1. Heads up : For UK-based readers (and those who have access to UK IP address) you might like to point out to them a series currently running on BBC 2 : Victorian Farm To quote from the BBC site: “Historical observational documentary series following a team who live the life of Victorian farmers for a year. Wearing period clothes and using only the materials that would …


Letter Re: Preparedness Wisdom from The Foxfire Book Series

Dear Jim, I just got my new (old) set of The Foxfire Books. I sat down and began to cruise through the pages of the first one. What a wealth of information! Then it happened. I turned over page 370 and there was a picture of Hillard Green. He is almost 80, (the book was published in 1972) and here is what it says, unbelievable: Excerpt from the facing page: “The last time we visited him, he was busy peeling tomatoes he had just gathered and scalded. He waved us in, put a fresh plug of tobacco in his cheek, …