Category: Book, Movie, and Web Reviews

Reader Poll: The SurvivalBlog Party Mix

On a recent looong drive into town to top off our supplies, the Memsahib suggested this: The SurvivalBlog Party Mix. Our favorite “preparedness” music. What are your favorite survival-theme songs? (Just e-mail us your list.) Here are the top three songs on the Rawles family’s play list. “The Man Comes Around” by Johnny Cash “A Country Boy Can Survive” by Hank Williams, Jr. “Bad Moon Rising” by Credence Clearwater Revival How about you? Please e-mail us your two or three favorites. Thanks.


Letter Re: Free Downloadable Military Manuals and Uncopyrighted Books

Greetings Rawles family! I am a member of a forum online that I think has a real gem for your readers. Gary, the administrator over at Post Apocalyptic Media (which focuses on post-apocalyptic science fiction, but has some preppers as well) has put together a great project. He edited [US military field manuals] (FMs), and other non-copyrighted books taking out information that would not be useful to non-Army personnel (nothing tactical or important, strictly Army procedural things). He then put them together in books with titles like “Survival”, “Survival: Health” which includes FM 4-25.11 First Aid, Emergency War Surgery, FM …


Lessons From Fiction–A Critique of “I Am Legend”, by Michael Z. Williamson

I finally had a chance to see [the 2007 movie] “I Am Legend“, and analyzed it as a writer, and from a technical perspective. I’ve seen a lot of discussion over his [use of a] M4 [Carbine as his primary weapon]. I have to say for that type of fighting, I’d prefer a shotgun. However, a shotgun doesn’t reload fast enough. He might be better off with a good .308 self-loading carbine, if he can find adequate soft-point ammo. In New York City, that’s unlikely. National Guard armories would only have ball ammo, and likely wouldn’t have anything other than …


Letter Re: Recommendation for the Novel “Full Faith and Credit”

Mr. Rawles, As I watch the meltdown of the Carlyle Fund, of Bear Stearns, and of the credit and derivative markets in general, I am constantly surprised at the the parallels of what I watch happening (via CNBC) with what happens in the novel, “Full Faith and Credit: A Novel About Financial Collapse”, by James R. Cook. [In his novel] huge hedge funds fail, and because they have huge counter-party exposure, the government has no choice but to bail them out. The government pumps money into the markets, causing commensurate inflation. And, as we are seeing in reality, the public …


Letter Re: Recommendation for the Movie “Right at Your Door”

Jim, If you haven’t had the chance, I highly recommend the Lionsgate movie titled ‘Right at Your Door’. Without giving anything away, it is about a large scale terrorist attack on Los Angeles . It’s not a traditional disaster movie that tries to cover all the angles, dazzle with special effects and thrill with drama; instead it tells the story of one couple from the suburbs that most should easily relate to. In no time at all, you see the vulnerability of the average person, and the break down of systems we take for granted, how it all leaves us …


Letter Re: Survival Lessons from the Book “The Long Walk”

Dear Jim, The book “The Long Walk” by Slavomir Rawicz is the best book on the human spirit over the elements (both natural and man made) that I’ve ever read. The author and his group escaped from a Siberian Gulag in 1942, crossed the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas, and walked all the way to India. Over 4,000-miles! This was all without the aid of $10,000 worth of gear from the REI catalog, or for that matter, shoes. It’s a perfect combination of some of our standard topics! Government tyranny, survival, hope, ingenuity, teamwork. It was absolutely inspiring! – Frank …


Letter Re: Lessons Learned from Finland’s Winter War

Dear Jim and Family, I got notice through Amazon about an interesting novel: “The Winter War”, by William Durbin This sounds like it would be a good choice for historical fiction, though its listed under the Children’s section. The Winter War (Taalvisota) in 1938-39 details the invasion of Finland by communist Russia. I’ve studied it extensively and its a depressing tale, though heroic, because the Finns eventually lost and the Russian incompetence spurred Hitler to invade Russia, thinking it would be an easy victory and give him access to oil. Hitler might have held on longer if he hadn’t tried …


Book Review: Michael Z. Williamson’s “Better to Beg Forgiveness”

I just finished reading my review copy of Michael Z. Williamson’s latest science fiction novel “Better to Beg Forgiveness“. This fast-paced novel is set a couple of centuries in the future and follows the adventures of a band of mercenaries sent to guard a national president on a war-torn backwater colony planet. The story has some obvious analogies to the current use of “contractors” in Iraq. And it is obvious that in creating the fictional “Ripple Creek” off-world mercenary company, Williamson drew heavily on the real-life experiences of a few Blackwater types in researching this story. This adds an unmistakable …


Letter Re: Reactions to Preparedness Course

Hello Jim, I have been reading SurvivalBlog for a year or more, and have thought about buying the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. When I saw it go on sale for 33% off, I thought more seriously about it, but still procrastinated. This morning I saw that the sale had been extended until December 3, that really got me thinking, but I still hesitated. I sat down to lunch a little while ago and was interrupted by a Jehovah’s Witness that handed me a pamphlet telling me to prepare for the End Of The World As We Know It. …


Letter Re: Reactions to Preparedness Course

Jim: What a coincidence. I’m quite certain, that the amazing e-mail that you received from HH happens to be from my very good friend and colleague. HH is a good man that care’s for his family and friends. He cares so much, that he often risks the ridicule and accusations as he mentioned, to try and help inform and consequently protect his loved ones with the gift of information. People are waking up, and I am one of those people. I was the guy that listened to the wisdom HH was resonating, much of that information came from the “Rawles …


Letter Re: Reactions to Preparedness Course

Jim: Your “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course is an amazing tome of information and I refer to it quite often. I’m thankful to have found it and I’m grateful that there are folks out there, like you and Jim, who are willing to devote serious amounts of time and effort sharing (well, okay, selling for a reasonable price) their knowledge. Hats off to you! Its weird, I’ve shown the course to several people and several ridiculed me for having spent such a sum of money on 220 pages of information relating to some guy’s shopping spree at a big …


Letter Re: Preparedness Course Applicability for Australia?

Hello Mr. Rawles, I was looking to take advantage of your “1/3-off” offer on your “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, but before I spend that kind of money, I was wondering if you could tell me how suitable you course is for non-US conditions, specifically, Australian conditions? How “Americanized” is it, and how difficult would it be to “translate” it into Australian? I really enjoy your blog, and have found your tips and those of your contributors very helpful. Kind Regards, – Richard C. JWR Replies: The course and accompanying audio CD are largely geared toward American and Canadian …


Letter Re: Garage and Yard Sales as a Retreat Logistics Source

Hi Mr. Rawles, I’ve been able to pick up a lot of gear at garage and yard sales. Most importantly, I’ve found many practical books at yard sales and junk stores that sell books for $1 or even just 25 cents each. I was able to pick up a home medical adviser from the 1920s for 25 cents. I have also bought numerous books on small scale farming, canning, food storage, and living off the grid from the 1920s for a dollar each. Much of the information would be relevant to a post-TEOTWAWKI, as it was written for farmers or …


Letter Re: Will “Jericho” be Affected by the Current Screenwriter’s Strike?

Hi Mr. Rawles, Do you know if the Hollywood writers strike will effect the filming of the CBS television series Jericho? If the [spilt season] filming has been completed, I guess that maybe the strike could be the best thing for Jericho since it would be an all-new show in a lineup of [other shows that are] repeats. Regards, – Sam JWR Replies: I haven’t heard per se, but it is probably safe to assume that most of the Jericho scripts are written by Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) members. I heard from Rourke–the moderator of the Jericho Discussion Group–that …


Letter Re: Two Book Recommendations

Mr. Rawles, I have just finished “Hard Times” by Studs Terkel, an oral history of the Great Depression, and recommend it to SurvivalBlog readers. It is a fascinating chronicle, a series of narratives from people who lived through it from all walks of life, and it really communicates a sense of what desperate times can be like. Most Americans have forgotten this and little is taught in schools. For example, there are several narratives that dealt with a farmers uprising in Northwestern Iowa. Apparently a local judge was too quick to bang the foreclosure gavel and a mob had his …