Ya'll might be interested in the book, "When There is No FEMA".  This book, at least in my opinion, is the best prepper manual I have seen. It's encyclopedic in it's breadth of material. This isn't one that is going to be an easy, entertaining read, but it does contain an amazing amount of information pretty much covering the entire spectrum of preparedness planning.

The author, Richard Bryant, makes the point that he views the reader of this book as like a bee going from chapter to chapter gathering information covering gaps in their planning etc.

The book is only available through these guys website. http://nofema.com/. The table of contents and a 50 or so page preview is available on the website. The cost is $32.00, but I think it's well worth it.

Yes, you can find most of this information on line, but not without considerable time spent in research, not to mention the cost of printing a substantial amount of paper.

The author stated his purpose in writing this, was to create a book that if you could only grab 1 book this would be the one you would take. I think he has achieved this.

I have no financial interest in this book, I am just so impressed by it that I felt compelled to bring it to everyone's attention.

Interesting... might have to pick this one up.  Thanks!

As the author of the aforementioned book I would first like to thank Bladerunner for the positive critique.  The reason this book came out so well is (I'm almost ashamed to admit) because my first book (published long ago) received some much-deserved criticism.  So, I was resolved that if I was to do this project it must be of the highest quality.  Now, after 3 years of working hard into the night it's done and receiving some good feedback.

I would be happy to answer any questions anyone may have about the book here.  In a couple of weeks some podcast interviews I've done will come out and I'll share the links to those here as well.

What I'm particularly looking forward to on this forum is the opportunity to receive feedback on those sections of the book that cover guns.

Fire away!

Glad to see sanitation as part of the book. Many folks, I believe, overlook this or don't take it as serious as they should.
I never thought much about it either until I read "One Second After" and started to ask myself where would I set up a sanitation facility, cleaning station, and depending on the situation a graveyard.
I'd hate to have water, food, shelter, and protection only to die because I didn't put a crapper in a good place or everyone just peed where they pleased.

Hmm, looks very interesting to me and overall a nearly exhaustive list of survival/prepped/post SHTF "bible".  I'm already impressed at the breadth covered in your index.

That said, it's hard to tell from the website if the specific information in the books chapters itself is comprehensive, or a brief overview?  Eg:  Iif I tried to put to use would leave me with more questions than answers.  Gardening for example, which would help me since I haven't gardened since I was a kid.  Maybe that is a bad example, as I get the idea is to start the garden now, I just mean, some items you might now look at until the "time" came.  Any chance you could give a partial "sneak peak" at one or two of your chapters so we can get an idea of the level of detail?  It would push me over to purchase, most likely.


Side note:
Edit: Deleted side note, as it's not relevant to the book.

[ Author's Reply ]

Hi Guys,

Jeep903> It didn't take me long to realize that having plans for sanitation was every bit as important as having food and water provisions.  In fact - speaking of the book "One Second After" - the hellish (and very believable) description of conditions in the nursing home provided a big inspiration for my writing on this topic.

KingOfTheBumps> With regard to the amount of detail provided in the book, I can tell you that the most common feedback I have repeatedly received was with regard to the depth of detail I provide.  I read several survival books that would simply suggest that one "raise chickens", but "When There is No FEMA", for example, describes in detail where to get chickens, the square footage required to raise chickens, the use of chicken tractors vs. free ranging vs hen houses, incubating eggs, introducing new chickens into the flock, treating chickens for disease, and ultimately killing and butchering chickens.

And then it does the same for rabbits, goats, etc.  And then the same attention to detail is provided for gardening, including information on fertilizing and composting, how to make fish emulsion fertilizer, growing seasons, how far apart and deep to plant the seeds, soil augmentation, growing seasons and harvesting crops and collecting and storing seed for future crops.

And it goes into equal detail on guns and ammo, first aid, hunting, military tactics, emergency community formation, communications, fuel and a host of other preparedness topics.

In short, as I composed this book over 3 years I wrote it as if my own life were going to depend on the information it contained.  I can promise you that you will not have any issue with the level of detail provided in this book, nor with the quality of the material it contains.  If you do happen to obtain a copy I would greatly appreciate it if you could post a comment here to let others know. :D

Excellent - looks like a great book.  My order was placed this evening.  I will post some thoughts when I get it.  

Welcome to the site Mr Bryant!

Thanks much and I very much look forward to the feedback you post here.  I'm also *extremely* happy to hear that "Lights Out" is coming to the big screen ... my favorite work of prepper fiction!

I was underwhelmed with this book.  I feel it leaves out a lot.  

It devotes 16 pages to Emergency Food and half that discusses different types of food preservation but in very little detail.  There is very little discussion of what types of food to store etc.

It devotes 52 pages to hunting and foraging.  There are almost no pictures and again it doesn't get into much detail.  That is a lot of space to dedicate to something that is going to be of very limited value to most people in a disaster or long term grid down scenario.  How many whitetail are going to be left a month into a disaster? or squirrels for that matter.

There are 85 pages devoted to survival farming but I didn't see anything about soil preparation and watering.  There is a lot about fertilizers and soil amendments.  I think the list of survival crops is good.  Might add dry beans to that list also.  Rabbits chickens and goats are covered for livestock.  The greatest gap here is there is almost no mention of food preservation.  Things like drying and canning are mentioned but don't even come close to going into enough detail to accomplish those tasks.    

I think the food set up is backwards.  The author needs to expand the Emergency Food chapter greatly and talk about different storage foods etc.  It is something that is available in most books.  Cut down on the hunting part as realistically there aren't a lot of folks that will be able to do for long.

There are few if any pictures in the book.  A picture is worth 1000 words.  For example the book describes how to butcher a rabbit.  Put a line drawing in there so it is easier to understand.

There is not much if anything on shelters.  I didn't see anything on heating a home or alternative cooking or lighting.  No mention of types of clothing to wear etc.

Some of the other things that concern me are the bibliography.  Every reference is a website,  I don't think there was one book in there.  That isn't necessarily bad but I get concerned when I see that the author used Wikipedia as his reference for amoxicillin.

There is no reference for further reading.  I would add a list of books on all the topics for people to expand there knowledge on.  For example for food preservation mention the Ball Book.  For gardening call out a couple books devoted to gardening and homesteading type things.

The guns and ammo section.  Nothing really eye opening if you are at all knowledgeable about firearms.  Same with the defense chapter.  It seems rushed and tries to cover too much.  In the strategies and tactics all that is provided is a definition for different maneuvers.  Maybe go into more detail of just a couple simple basic ideas vs all of them.

I thought the water section and the creating a community were decent chapters.

I don't think any one book can cover all that needs to be learned to survive and this book isn't close.  I would not recommend this book to anyone especially someone starting out in preparedness.

Gosh, you're the first person to offer any feedback on this book that was anything other than highly positive.  Many of the things that you claim are not covered by the book (e.g. soil conditioning) are addressed in pretty good detail I am sure.   If you are someone who purchased the book then you can send me a private message and I will be happy to refund your purchase, but quite honestly when I look at your comments I find myself thinking repeatedly "but that topic *is* covered".

Regarding the viability of hunting post-disaster, until my recent trip to West TN I would have agreed with you that hunting would not be a major source of food in a post-disaster scenario, but while there last November I was absolutely stunned by the abundance of wildlife .. it seems that every field I drove past was populated with deer and turkey.  And, the mindset of the hunters there was as much towards preserving the wildlife as hunting it.  I came away believing that in some parts of the country that hunting could, indeed, be a viable piece of the survival puzzle.

Certainly many/most of my references were from the Internet.  Without the Internet as a research tool the quality of such a book would have suffered tremendously.  Personally the content of Wikipedia has never caused me an issue on non-political topics, however Wikipedia was far from the only source on the sections that dealt wth health and first aid.  One of the motivations behind this book, in fact, was that most of the books I have found on the subject (including some of the most populuar) had no bibliography and/or index at all(!)

For anyone who is interested in my book I would suggest that you do a little Googling on the title and read other independent reviews.  Also, I'm interviewed about it on a 2-part podcast that is accessible on the 'destinysurvival' web site.  I would also suggest that you read the original message on this thread, which I know was posted by a highly-credentialed survivalist/prepper and the organizer one of the largest prepper groups in the nation (and not someone with whom I have any personal or business relationship).  I have also recently been interviewed by DEMCAD for his YouTube channel, which has just been placed online.

I suppose one prerequisite for authoring a book - particularly one on a topic that is so emotive - is the growing of "thick skin".   We preppers/survivalists have almost as strong an inclination to rip one-another apart as do the conservaitves.  I shall endeavor to grow some of that thick skin myself, and at the same time to read all feedback carefully and objectively.  As being a parent to three boys taught me repeatedly, I am far from perfect.

Based on this post, I purchased "No FEMA" Monday evening.  Total cost was $40, and the book arrived Thursday via UPS straight from "create a space" (a common self publishing platform).  The book is right at 500 pages of 7.5"x9.5" pages at what looks like 12pt font, which obviously contains a ton of information.  



Mr Bryant - I really wanted to like your book, but think what I was expecting was different than what it was.  It's a very valuable book - just not a 'how to' book.  It's more of a 'what to' book - which is equally important.  As someone who puts his heart in to things and throws them out to the public (where it is subjected to much criticism) - I read you loud and clear on the 'thick skin' part!  You can't help but take things personally (after you pour yourself in to them), but look at this as no-cost feedback about how to make the next one even better (or market what you've done a little differently).  

I don't really have any feedback on the arrangement or coverage of the content - just the depth of it.  In general, you presented enough information for people to understand the trade-offs off different approaches, but not to EXECUTE them.  You covered a huge amount of territory in the ~500 page book, which I would describe as about 2.5 miles wide and 2.5' deep.  It's an introduction to everything you'd need to know, but it's not a book I would carry in a disaster.  Another way of saying it is that it's a book to help you make informed decisions about preparations before a disaster - NOT execute on those decisions when one happens.  The US Army Survival Manual will remain in my BOB/GHB for now for that use.  

I literally opened the book at random to get some examples:


Overall - the book was very good at giving an overview and concepts for a TON of topics and considerations.  You obviously know what you're talking about.  The book fell short of being an 'operational' resource, however, because it included minimal information about how to effectively execute - for someone that doesn't already have the experience.  To be fair - I think a 'how to' book with the scope you've tackled would need to be an entire book series (like the Foxfire books of old).  It's not fair to expect you to do that in a single book.  With that said - I would classify it as a 'bookshelf' resource (something you read when you are trying to figure out WHAT you need to do) rather than a 'backpack' resource (something you read when you want to know HOW to do what you need to do).  In other words, I agree with much of what Bladerunner stated in his post.  The exception would be that this would NOT be 'the book that you would grab if you could only take one book.'  That book will remain the US Army Survival Manual or one of Cody Lundeen's books along with a field medicine guide (if I'm allowed to cheat ).  To be fair, though, I think your 'branding' is just off.  Yours is the one book you want to read if you're just getting started.  Unfortunately, there are MUCH worse books being marketed in that space and they're selling like hotcakes.  

I truly hope my feedback is received as helpful.  We're neighbors, and I certainly want to see you continue what you're doing!  I'm not trying to rip your work apart.  In fact, I'm trying to suggest the work is GREAT - just marketed a bit differently than I would.  I actually think it's the best comprehensive book I've read.  I'm happy to have it on my bookshelf next to several other great books, and look forward to a more in-depth read in the near future.  In fact, I may contact you about a release to show this book in my next movie....

Thanks for the feedback on Lights Out!  If my previous post didn't sour you - I'd love to have your help on the movie series.  We're shooting in GA, and I'm driving past your AO on a regular basis.  Let's catch up one of these days....

Hi BlackFox,

I would be happy to get together with you and compare notes some time.. especially as you pass through the area occasionally.  Just send me a private message here when you know you'll be passing by (there are a couple of decent restaurants right near the interstate here in N. Tampa). [ SIDENOTE: Aren't they filming that 'zombiie' TV show up there in Georgia?  You guys might get some interesting "walk-ons"! ]  Hopefully that will be before I relocate to my new homestead.  I was so impressed with the recent trip to W. Tennessee, in terms of its suitability to weather difficult times, that I'm in the process of buying a property and building my first hen house!

Regarding adding more content, illustrations, etc., I'm definitely going to take those suggestions to heart as I develop the second edition.  I have to be careful about adding content, however, as I also must deal with cost and price tradeoffs (I have to keep the book within reach of the budgets of as many readers as possible).  One thing I say in my book is that it is intended to give the reader a "fighting chance to survive", and your feedback above suggests that I have, in fact, achieved that goal.

One significant bit of feedback I'm noticing from you is from the photo of your book shelf (where I am honored to see my book).  I'm starting to believe that I could get away with an 8.5 x 11" format, which would allow me to to provide additional content such as illustrations.  Even incorporating many of the suggestions I've received here in the second edition, the topic of survival is so very broad that you are absolutely right about an entire series of books being necessary.  For example there are times when the most important survival skill might be "auto repair".  The topic of "survival" is, in reality, one of the broadest imaginable topics; and addressing it completely is probably going to be the work of a lifetime.

BTW, how closely is your movie going to follow the original "Lights Out" story line?

All good Richard!  Hope we can catch up prior to your relo.  Yes, they filmed 74 movies and shows in Atlanta last year, and this year looks even stronger.  We use the crews, stunt teams and actors from the area, although we'll stay away from their weaponmaster teams based on what I've seen (after season two of the walking dead - I'm convinced their 'gun guys' are just trolling us at this point).  Yes, we're working very hard to follow the Lights Out storyline.  I just spent 8 weeks doing a sentence-by-sentence comparison (in a spreadsheet) of the scripts versus the books.  I spent several hours on a videoconference with David Crawford and the rest of the team reviewing the changes last weekend.  Lights Out (the book) was not perfect, and translation to a movie inevitably means there will be changes.  With that said, we are staying very true to the story.  You'll see.....

I think you're hitting on the core of my feedback - the single line description was the disconnect for me.  It's a great resource about WHAT to do, but not HOW to do it in most cases.  That's fine!  To hit the HOW would require a lot more pages.  As the poster above me mentioned - I really do agree you need a lot more pictures.  I thought about scanning pages from some of my other books as an example, but typically those books are chocked full of illustrations.  You know what they say about unsolicited opinions, but I believe that would be a very worthwhile improvement to the book.  

As far as size of the book, I imagine you pay by the page regardless of page size.  We do for Lights Out.  As a result we moved to a larger format on the newer additions, which dropped us from 600 pages down to about 470 - which saved us about $1.50 per book.  Nobody has had anything bad to say about the larger pages.  If you were making a backpack book, size would obviously be much more of a concern.  Not to hit on a sore spot, but I think "No FEMA" is more of a bookshelf book, so the larger size would be fine.  Many of my reference books are 8.5"x11", so nothing unexpected there.  Agreed completely about the cost of No FEMA being a concern.  $40 delivered was really steep, so going above that is going to price you out of most of the market.  The "Self Sufficient Life" book just next to yours on my bookshelf is a very nice hardback with hundreds of pictures and full of great info.  It's retail price for the hardback was $30, and I think I paid $20 for it.  

Again, great feedback, and I hope the reaction from the team here is taken as a positive thing.  Preppers definitely are an "eat your own" kind of group at times, but the group here generally isn't like that.  Again, I appreciate the work you're doing here, and would encourage you to continue it!!

  - Travis

BTW, speaking of "books in backpacks" (I've heard that on more than one occasion) - I know many people anticipate life after a grid-down situation entailing what I refer to in my book as an "extended camping trip", and as such involving hiking, living in tents, etc.  I've come to believe that the vast majority of successful bug-outs will involve vehicles, so I'm not as worried about the book being super-portable.  I would expect there would be plenty of travel-by-foot after reaching the destination, but not in actually getting there.  There would certainly be millions of people who would *attempt* to bug out by foot, but I don't think many of them would be successful.

Another stereotype that I don't particularly subscribe to is that of a small group bugging out to a remote location.  In my book you'll see that I believe any successful group must control enough land such that most residents live and work outside of rifle range from the controlled perimeter; so I think more in terms of large groups and/or entire communities (not unlike the community portrayed in "Lights Out", in fact).

I'm sure there are as many perspectives on the ideal survival book as there are people interested in the topic.  It was my own disenchantment with the books I found on the topic that inspired "When There is No FEMA".  I had planned on releasing the second edition some time in the first quarter of next year, but based on the feedback I've received here I'm going to accelerate that work and then offer extremely good discounts on the second edition to first edition customers.

The good news is that I didn't get too many versions of the now-infamous "Pubic Health" version out before I caught and corrected that rather whimsical typo! :O

-Rich

PS> BTW, as I recall in the final pages of "Lights Out" there was reference to a statue being made of one of the main characters in the book.  It is my hope that the final scene of the movie includes that, as I thought it make for the perfect ending.  You really do have the potential here for the next "Red Dawn" I believe.  There's a LOT of potential with the other group's "high-end compound" as well - that's where you could throw in some of the "Hollywood magic" with the sinister bad guys.  I believe that this book has greater movie potential than "One Second After', in fact, now that I think of it.  Hopefully you've got the perfect actor for the role of "Gunny" (in my mind Robert Loggia who played the General "Independance Day" would have been perfect, although he's too old for the role now of course...and in earlier years Robert Duvall would have been amazing in the role).

The only one I can think of as "Gunny" is Lee Ermey. That's it!!

I  though about Lee after I posted...and he would be great in that role (unless he's gotten too old as well - but don't tell hi I said that!).  And maybe Sam Elliott in a pinch...

Sam Elliott would be great in that role too.

(taking my new avatar for a test drive)

Rich,





You have chosen to ignore my email and PMs so I am posting this here so you cant miss it.





All,  Rich offered to refund my money for the book.  Below is the PMs that were sent regarding it:
My initial PM:





If you are sincere about the refund I would like one. I bought the book to give to a friend of mine but there are too many holes for someone starting out. If you would like it returned let me know. I marked it up with comments as I read it. I am sorry to be so harsh but this book is incomplete and the omissions in my opinion are huge and could compromise an individual that only buys the one book to have for an emergency. Below was what I was going to post on the thread but I decided t add it here instead.





"Where in the book do you cover alternative heating? cooking? clothing? shelter/home preparation? food preservation? I read it cover to cover and couldn't find it. If you can show me where I will gladly change my write up. You mention food preservation in little bits but it is not anywhere near enough to be useful or acted on information. For example, I get that whitetail deer now what do I do with it? Can it? Dry it? Those are 2 good options but they aren't explained in the book well enough to actually carry them out safely. You have a small section on root cellars. That in my opinion is probably the ideal way to store crops as it entails minimal resources. But all you do is mention them with no link or resource for further info. You mention a lot about soil conditioning but there is nothing about soil preparation. Breaking that ground and preparing that soil to receive crops and the amendments. Discussing the chickens there is not much info on what to feed them. With the rabbits you cover all the commercial feed options but in a grid down situation those wont be available."





His response:





Hi Mecoastie,





Many of the issues you mention here are covered in the book, but I'm sure I could go into more detail on some of them. While I'm not in agreement with the magnitude of your criticisms I'm very appreciative of the suggestions they represent, because I'm sure they'll result in the second edition being that much improved. I've also identified other enhancements to the second edition that, in retrospect, I wish had been covered better in this first edition (specifically caching and solar power).





Some of your suggestions I considered during the writing of this first edition but decided against (e.g. pictures and/or drawings of field dressing game). One of your feedback items suggested that the book does not provide external references, but of course I do reference external books and web sites in the final chapter - maybe not the references that come immediately to your own mind, but certainly I recommend external sources of information. And of course every footnote is a referral to an external information source.





Of course I'll be happy to provide you a full refund....the feedback you've provided is worth much more than the book price. This will be the first time I've provided a refund, but there must be a way to do that via PayPal. II would only ask that you send me a picture of the book with the cover torn off...you can email that to '(Please don't post people's e-mail addresses --Feral)'. I'll use the email address from that to look up the order and initiate the refund. If that presents any difficulties we'll sort it out via email.





Thanks much for your feedback. I'm sure with that information, coupled with some of the items on my own wish list, that the second edition will be that much better.





-Rich
I provided this picture via email that day:











I followup that email with a couple of PMs providing the details of the Paypal transaction including the date and transaction number.  I further followed up with an additional message asking for an update.  I have received zero communication but he has logged on several times including to change his avatar.  I am sorry to throw this on a public board but he offered me a refund, I complied wth his request and now I just want my money back.  





I urge anyone who reads this and is considering this book to look elsewhere.  II have been thoroughly disappointed with the authors actions.
 

Six days or less …  might be a bit quick on the draw.

It takes about 5 minutes to send someone money via PP.  And if he was too busy to do that about 30 secs to respond to a PM saying he couldnt get to it until next week or a few days etc.  And I would be fine with that but I have had zero response or communication from him.

You emailed the picture to an email address other than the one I specified - an email address that I do not check frequently.  Last night I did check that email and, after seeing that you sent the picture I requested, issued your refund via PayPal.

I would have preferred had you not posted a message here that shared my private email address with the world.  Please be assured that I will not be as inconsiderate of your privacy.

I would not want a single cent from anyone who disliked my book.  Fortunately for each individual who does not like it it there are 100's that are quite pleased with the results of my 3 years of labor - many themselves being experienced preppers and survivalists.

To them I will take this opportunity to express my humble gratitude and ongoing commitment.

To anyone who would like to learn more about the book or "get to know the author" a bit better, I recommend the following links:

  YouTube interview with DEMCAD

  Part 1 of Interview with DestinySurvival Radio

  Part 2 of interview with DestinySurvival Radio

-RB

Rich

I apologize about poosting the email.  I did nto mean to post private info.  Thank you for removing it.

You've been here long enough to know it's very poor form to post PMs, regardless of content.

I have received payment including the shipping.  In fairness to Rich he did try to pay me last night however the email he sent it to was not the one tied to my PP account.  I resent him the correct one and was refunded right away.

mecoastie - so let me get this straight:  You bought a book that had a 60 page online free preview.  That preview included a full index of all material captured in the book. It also included the first 10% to 15% of the book in pdf form.  You bought the book (after either using this resource or not), and promptly ripped the cover off and scratched notes all over it.  You then posted some pretty negative feedback here - to the point the author himself said he would simply give you a refund rather than debate it on a public forum.  Much of that feedback was something you should have noted via the free preview, but you held the author responsible nonetheless.  You then used the wrong email address when requesting your refund, but when he didn't respond in just a few days - you lambasted him publicly here demanding a refund (for a book you had a 15% preview of, chose to buy, ripped the cover off of and wrote all over).  

I've been here over a decade, and generally tread pretty carefully.  I will openly state that I have a few pages of notes for the author of this book as well.  It didn't meet my expectations, but it had value - and I thought it was a great overview for someone new to the trade.  We all start somewhere.  With that said, for you to suggest the book is a danger to others is over the top.  Quite bluntly, to demand a refund is poor form (even if it was offered).  YOU chose not to exercise your due diligence when buying it.  YOU chose to rip the cover off it and write all over it.  YOU (in my opinion) bought the book the minute you defaced it (if not at the minute you ordered it when it had an online preview).  You weren't owed a refund, yet you acted as if you were entitled to it.  The author was being generous (to put it nicely).  You reacted to his generosity with impudence - even thought the miscommunication was your fault.  

We're better than this here.  Quite bluntly - you owe him an apology, but I guess if a neutral person has to tell you that then the point is lost.....

Tag-scribed.

Yes I purchased the book and read it.  I read the free preview and was intrigued enough to order it.   I marked it up as I do most of the books I buy.  I posted a review based on my opinion.  It was negative because to be blunt this is one of the worst survival books I have ever read.  It is missing huge areas that would be absolutely vital for anyone starting out in prepping.  There are some good stuff but as a whole it is lacking a lot.  Again my opinion.  The author offered me refund.  I did not ask for it. I accepted and offered to ship it back to him.   He said just send me a pic with the cover torn off.  At that point I tore the cover off and sent him a picture as requested.   I did this through the AR15 email not realizing it was a different email that he used.  I then followed up with a couple of PMs with the address for the PP transaction, date and number .  Didnt hear anything for a couple of days.  Followed up with another PM asking if he had received the email.  No response and he had logged on in that timeframe.  As a member it is hard to miss new PMs.  I then posted the post above and within about 3-4 hours I got a refund attempt.  Had I received a PM response to any of the PMs I had sent saying he had never received my email it would have been worked out behind the scenes and not made public.  I believe that had a not posted I would not have recieved the refund.  I did apologize to him both on the board here and in a PM about posting his email address and went to remove it but it had already been removed by the staff.   At this point we are all settled up and square.  I am going to type up my comments email them to him and pitch the book.

(Just when you thought it was safe to revisit the discussion....)

I've been wanting to circle back to your preference for the US Army Survival Manual for a while, and have finally gotten around to reviewing that very fine reference to make a comment.

The US Army Survival Manual is indeed an excellent work but, as I expected, it is tailored to the needs of the "soldier on the run" (to quote my own book).  The manual does a superb job of providing reference for those who expect to be in military survival situations however, as I had also expected, it doesn't even touch on topics such as growing crops, raising small livestock, community formation and the role of precious metals.  For me it covers about 60% of the territory that is needed by those who aspire to survive a major disaster in a non-primitive setting.

However, the Manual does such a very good job of covering that 60% that I am certainly going to put it on my list of books to recommend, but not necessarily as a top recommendation for most preppers.  I guess that ultimately it boils down to what type of scenarios one anticipates.  And, towards that end I would recommend the YouTube-available video "After Armageddon" to see what I consider to be a realistic representation of the type of disaster scenario we face.

" I believe that had a not posted I would not have recieved the refund."

mecoastle> Your ability to peer into the hearts of men from afar is indeed a skill to be envied!

Having been deeply involved in the prepper world for many years, and knowing very well the "I know better than thee" personality types that are so plentiful in that world, the sour grapes I taste on this message forum are something that I have long anticipated.  Fortunately, these traits are not the prevalent ones within the community, otherwise I would have not ventured to write "When There is No FEMA - Survival For Normal People in (Very) Abnormal Times".'

Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to my many satisfied readers, and even to those offering criticisms from which I can always pluck the occasional nugget of gold for a future edition.