Category: Review

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 …


Letter Re: Field Test with a MURS Band Dakota Alert Intrusion Detection System

James; I just recently purchased a MURS band Dakota Alert and Radio setup from [MURS Radio] that advertises on your site. Needless to say I got a screaming deal! I live in the Pacific Northwest, literally in the middle of dense woods. My radios and sensors arrived during one of the best snowfalls we have had in a while. All of the trees were loaded [with snow]. The temperature was in the very low 20s. Our terrain is mountainous. Here are my results (which may be helpful to your readers who may be thinking about purchasing them): [Dakota Alert MAT] …


What to Expect at an Appleseed Shoot, by MKH

Revolutionary War Veterans Association (RWVA) Appleseed Shoot. What in the world can that possibly be? Well if you don’t know, you need to read on. What you can learn from those “Revolutionary War Vets” could save your life! The Appleseed Program is one that is dedicated to preserving our American heritage as a Nation of Rifleman. So what is a Rifleman? The RWVA web site tells us that “The obvious answer is that a Rifleman is an individual with a rifle and the skill and experience to use it, presumably well.” But let me tell you from experience it is …


Letter Re: New Jericho TV Series

Dear Jim: CBS will air its new drama Jericho tonight, where a small Kansas town is suddenly faced with a nuclear explosion in the distance. As Larry from Kansas in Yahoo groups points out, there is in fact nowhere in Kansas where one can stand on a roof top and see mountains in the distance. While it will no doubt be entertaining to see what other liberties Hollywood takes, I do hold out great hope of this new take on nuclear war as a continuing drama, and that for the first time, many folks will suddenly realize: “Hey, I might …


Book Review: The Weapon by Michael Z. Williamson

The Weapon is a science fiction novel by Michael Z. Williamson. (481 pages. ISBN 9-781416-508946  Published by BAEN Books.) This is sort of a “intra-quel” storyline to Williamson’s novel Freehold, which I previously reviewed. (See my Sunday, February 12, 2006 post.) Like Freehold, this novel is a fast-paced Libertarian think piece. It is a tale of interplanetary colonization, set some 500 years in the future. The descriptions of the bureaucratic totalitarian central Earth government are contrasted with the “Freehold” colony planet, Grainne. The main character is a Grainne special operations soldier that is sent on a “deep cover” mission to Earth. …