Book Review -- Everything that follows is based on recent, real-life experience that has been proven to work, by James Shepherd-Barron

Book: Everything that follows is based on recent, real-life experience that has been proven to work, by James Shepherd-Barron (Three Rivers Press, NY: 2010) (Amazon link here). (Note: the Amazon link is provided for convenience only--I am not being compensated by Amazon for this review).

Overview: Survival guidelines intended for the international aid workers and similar personnel. Chapters are:

1.  Deep Field (including techniques for dealing with wild animals, landing a plane, shooting an AK-47, tying knots, personal appearance tips for when you have to rejoin civilization, etc.).

2.  Health and Hygiene (some practical first aid tips and techniques, emotional health, etc.).

3.  Disaster (dealing with natural disasters, and an NBC attack, etc.).

4.  Personal Security (being shot at, grenades, bomb and death threats, etc.).

5.  Getting There (tips for international travel).

6.  Driving (defensive driving, roadblocks, minefields, hot-wiring, etc.).

7. Managing (managing other aid workers and dealing with the media, etc.)

It also includes checklists for a personal medical kit, "go kit," phrases you should have translated, etc.

Impression: I don't have a huge collection of survival books, but I have picked up several that offer different viewpoints on survival issue. For instance, I have two or three that are on wilderness survival, including a pocket edition of the SAS Survival Guide. Another category are primitive survival books such as Larry Dean Olson's Outdoor Survival Skills. (One of the best in this category is Bushcraft by Richard Graves). However, while wilderness survival and primitive survival skills are useful, I question their usefulness for most survivalists because they presume someone with access to little or no supplies. If you are in this situation after TEOTWAWKI, you are in serious trouble.

Another category are general overview type books aimed at preppers, whether classics such as Life After Doomsday (on surviving a nuclear war or other apocalyptic disaster), or more modern guides on living through TEOTWAWKI such as Surviving the Economic Collapse or Rawles' How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It. I would include in this category, various disaster preparation books, such as Cody Lundin's When All Hell Breaks Loose.These are probably the most useful books for the preppers because they actually tell you how to survive based on your preparations. Obviously, beyond this are books on particular topics, such as food storage (or even more specific, such as books just on storing and using wheat), or firearms for survivalists, emergency medicine, raising livestock, etc.

One of the less appreciated areas, however, are books written for people living in Third World countries, such as health and aid workers. Probably the best known in the prepper community is Where There is No Doctor. These books are useful because they teach you to live when you have the trappings of civilization, but the rule of law is weak or non-existent, modern medical facilities are hard to access, and you are living among people that follow a subsistence living.  Everything that follows... fits into this last category, except instead of a particular topic, it takes a step back and provides a little information on a lot of topics. In other words, it teaches a little of a whole lot of topics on surviving in a third world country, whether how to get a car unstuck, to bribing your way through road blocks, the type of buildings to avoid in the event of an earthquake. And, after the SHTF, that is pretty much what we will be living in. In that regard, it fills a fairly unique niche (I think that only Fer Fal's book comes close).

For someone that travels internationally, this book would probably be a must have.  For the prepper, I think it collects a lot of information that is useful for living in a semi-broken down society or country, such as a SHTF type of disaster.


Notable Points: I've tried to break down the book into the basic sections and a smattering of the topics covered in each. Most topics have an illustrative story taken from the author's life or another colleague to give real world example. To give an example:

...being shot at

If you are indoors, and bullets or shrapnel are flying around, find cover and get down and stay down. It sounds obvious, but many people seem initially dazed and don't do so immediately. Some, like the foolish and overly macho ex-Foreign Legionnaire in Baghdad who took a bullet through the arm in front of me while watching Iraqis celebrate the capture of Saddam Hussein's sons by spraying bullets randomly in the streets, actually go outside to see what's going on. If here is a bathtub nearby, preferably a metal (enamel) one, crawl over to it and get in. ... Turn on the tap to fill it with water; firefights can go on for over half an hour and water will afford additional protection.... There is a misshapen bullet on my desk that attests to the protective effectiveness of a bathtub.

 It is filled with specific facts related to physical security and health in semi-civilized settings. The book is probably worth it just for the check lists on what to pack  for "anyone staying in places for any length of time where security is poor, disease incidence high, and utilities unreliable"; the personal medical kit; the "go-kit" (aka, go bag); and a survival can. For those intending on using a BOV, it contains a list of items for off-road travel in a vehicle.

Anyway, I would highly recommend the book -- two thumbs up -- for anyone interesting in a book on prepping or planning on vacationing in a third-world hell hole.