Book Review: "How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It" by James Wesley Rawles

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It might seem odd, but although I have looked at, and through, Mr. Rawles book on several occasions since it was first published, I have never read it because I never actually felt any great need or desire to buy it. But I recently saw that the local library carried a copy and thought I would read it.

Like my review on Max Velocity's Contact!, I think it is best to first approach How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It by describing what it is not. And that is, unlike other books such as Cody Lundin's When All Hell Breaks Loose, Rawles book is not actually a manual on surviving disasters or emergencies. That is, there are no instructions on what to do in the event of an earthquake, tsunami, nuclear explosion, riots, and so on. The only place that Rawles touches on surviving any particular disaster is a short appendix that addresses surviving a pandemic. (And this is not his primary concern regarding how the world will end, which is an economic collapse). Instead, Rawles' theory on surviving a disaster is avoidance--not being there when a disaster strikes.

You may remember my recent discussion between survivalism and prepping, and that it primarily revolves around the idea of a retreat of some sort. And that is what Rawles' book is about: it is, at heart, a book setting out the basics of setting up a small homestead in an isolated rural area, while addressing topics such as self-defense that other homesteading books, such as Back to Basics won't address. (Rawles has a chapter discussing defense and security issues, and another chapter specifically devoted to weapons). Yes, it gives a nod to sheltering in place in an urban setting, but Rawles is quite clear that he does not believe that "bugging-in" is a viable option.

At 316 pages including a couple appendices and an index, Rawles obviously cannot go into great detail on the various topics of food storage, gardening, getting and purifying water, etc. This book is to provide an overview--a place to start on your journey into creating a self-reliant homestead, rather than an end. Notwithstanding the marketing hype, this is not "the definitive guide on how to prepare for any crises." This is not to say it is without benefit to the person that is already experienced. Rawles includes a broad swath of information, as well as some specific tips and directions, that there is more likely than not something new and of value. For instance, his chapter on water, although not very long, has some excellent information on purifying and treating water. His chapter on gardening and raising livestock also has good information on controlling pests, sources of tools, and some lessons learned for when buying livestock which are probably worth the cost of the book to someone just getting started into livestock. However, the value of this book will go down the more experience and knowledge you have. It is, as I said, for the person relatively new to the topic of survivalism and prepping.

My single biggest disappointment with the book is the lack of diagrams or illustrations. There is not a single diagram or illustration in the entire book. For instance, his instructions on building a Berky water filter clone (pp. 73-74) or constructing a bullet bucket (p. 75) would have been helped out by photographs or illustrations showing the various steps or components. Illustrations on the construction of barriers or other security devices would have been useful.

Secondly, as I've mentioned, Rawles rejects the idea of "bugging in." However, he seems to have an all or nothing attitude: he assumes that if you are "bugging in" in an urban environment, it must be a an apartment building in Manhattan or similarly dense urban center; and bugging out must be to an isolated retreat. I would have liked to see some discussion about the suburban home.

Another criticism I have with the book is the tacit assumption that you will find and settle in a location similar to that of the author's. Rawles lives in the extreme north of Idaho--practically on the Canadian border--in an area with decent to good soil and adequate supply of natural precipitation. Although the winters can be cold, the summers are mild. Moreover, there is a significant amount of pine and fur forests and an adequate population of larger game animals (as well as bear). Thus, what may work for Rawles in that situation may not be applicable if you were, instead, attempting to live in a retreat in the high mountain deserts of Nevada, the plains of Kansas, or in rural Alabama, for instance. This isn't something that Rawles ignores--he specifically notes the importance of researching not only the general climate for your location, but also the specific micro-climate, when considering a location--but it does carry over into recommendations on what firearms to have and certain other factors.

In short, if you are new to survivalism--or perhaps a prepper that has decided to invest in a retreat--this book provides a good overview of what is needed for a survival retreat. However, it is only an overview. It has some defects, the most significant of which is the lack of illustrations or diagrams.