Archive for Book Reviews
May
04
Book Review – “A Distant Eden”
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As you can see today we have another book review and giveaway! I’m very happy to announce we have another doomer “realist” author joining the ranks of Halfast (Lights Out) and James Wesley, Rawles (Patriots). I’m referring to the author that gave us the guest article last week, Lloyd Tackitt. I briefly mentioned that I was hoping to read Lloyd’s book “A Distant Eden” and I’m happy to report my book arrived shortly after his article was published.
With book in hand Mrs. Prepper and I headed for the BOL last weekend. We took turns reading the book to each other and had it completed in no time flat. It’s not an especially short book or a ridiculously easy read as much as it is GOOD! I’m not clear on what Lloyd’s writing background is but the book isn’t the work of a beginner.
He opens the book up with a short explanation of what he’s attempting to achieve through his work, at least through this particular work anyway. Lloyd wants to educate the reader and use the storyline to tie this education together through the examples of fictional situations the stories characters face. In my opinion he does this with mastery!
As a reader of just about anything in this particular genre, I’ve read just about everything out there and watch the shelves with anticipation of anything new. I also watch for books that bring a new perspective and I think that this author has done exactly that. While all of the situations that are presented in the book are based solidly in reality, a darker twist is taken to the characters approach to handling each eventuality. I pose that these characters approach is probably the most realistic one too, unfortunately!
I find my introduction to Lloyd as an author quite timely as we’ve been discussing the “Tough Choices” we may all face in the future. In the book the characters face these exact type of choices. It’s how they choose to handle the situations that seem to deviate slightly from the more traditional story lines we’re all used to! Sadly, I believe that this cold dose of reality is something we would all do well to spend time thinking through now, before we have to later. I suspect that’s what the author is trying to get the reader to do.
Folks, I think we have a new author to watch… Lloyd has taken our particular lifestyle to heart and is helping us ask the difficult questions that only we can answer for ourselves. Morality isn’t subjective in my opinion but it is far from cut and dried too! What are we all going to do in the world of tomorrow if the cards continue to fall the way they are now… Are you prepared to face a world where you WILL make decisions and live (or die) with the consequences of your actions.
I suspect that too many of us are looking at the future as some kind of great “gardening with guns” vacation from work… As the characters in “A Distant Eden” find out this is not the case. The author does a great job of keeping the story entertaining and at the same time forcing the reader to consider the reality of just how hard this will be. I know I do not relish being in the situation any of these guys face… Even the prepared central characters are not really ready for what develops in the world around them.
The book goes into another topic we’ve been looking at here at Preppernation, the “Survival Group”. The book delves into some thought excersizes that we can use to add to our list of things to consider when outlining the skills and personnel we’d seek to have surrounding us in a disaster.
This is just an all around good book, my only complaint would be that it’s to short… 214 pages long and fairly typical of a book like this but I found myself wanting more! The author explained that he didn’t focus on character development but I still got involved with these characters in spite of his intentions. I want to know how this all turns out! I will be very disappointed if Mr. Tackitt doesn’t come out with a sequel! However, I didn’t get the impression he had plans to write one from the emails he sent me? Let me encourage all of you to stop what your doing right now and go buy this book… It is priced more than fairly and exceedingly cheap as an ebook, in fact it is exceedingly cheap anyway you might choose to purchase it.
As is my standard operating procedure when doing a book review, I’ll be giving my copy of the book away to the 3rd person that emails me that they would like to receive it. I will be purchasing another copy to replace it as I have some friends and family I believe would benefit from Lloyds perspective on a disaster situation!
It’s my hope that all of you will read this book and then give your feedback to the author! It’s possible that if he gets enough encouragement from us, he’ll give the sequel idea some thought! I’d also like to offer my personal thanks to Lloyd for the time it took him to write this book. I can see from the pricing structure he’s offering the book for that he didn’t write it for the money.
Buy a copy of “A Distant Eden” and support this new authors work!
Here’s to you Lloyd and I’ll be watching for your future work, in any form you choose to offer it to us preppers!
Prepper
Dec
22
Book Review
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Book Review
Well, we have another book review today… You can see from the title that it’s sticking with the whole frugal living theme that I consistently preach here. It’s really not as much about just being frugal so much as it is just being conscience of were our money is going. I have always worked hard and had money in my pocket, always will if I have anything to say about it. It’s easy to miss those vicious little drags on our prosperity if we aren’t keeping track. I’ve found time and again that the it’s the little things that add up to the BIG things quickly.
With this in mind, I bring you the “Living Well on Practically Nothing” guide. This book is from the nether regions of my book shelf. It was copyright in 1992 and published by an old favorite, Paladin Press. Knowing that this too is an older book, you can see that my interest in leading a sustainable life has been surging through my veins for many years.
The author, Edward H. Romney, had been working in the corporate world for many years prior to making this move to volunteer simplicity. He is famous for quotes about poverty being a state of being rather than an economic condition. He spends an entire chapter explaining how to reduce your income without losing your self respect. It’s interesting the way he describes how our peers view of us is often tied to our economic state. Sad, but I think pretty true. I would even have to say that I ‘m guilty of drawing conclusions based off of how things look at the surface, far to often…
As I re-read these books to find those that are worth sharing with all of you, I’m reminded of how they have each impacted my life, or not… Some I don’t even remember the content in the book and others like this one come right back as if I had read it only months ago.
I particularly liked the chapter on repairing items rather than replacing them. The author writes about the many examples from his own life. Things that he learned from his grandparents and many things that he has discovered on his own as he has led a life of volunteer simplicity.
I think that this book is very good at getting the old wheels turning on ways that we could all cut back and or even do without. Written from the man that is actually doing this stuff to this day. I however, won’t go to the lengths he has and will continue my luxuries for as long as possible. I don’t personally like to sit in a cold room and just add additional layers of clothing to stay warm… It’s not that I don’t agree with him theoretically, I just would make these type of cuts as a last resort rather than to shave another 10 bucks off the electric bill.
This book is a real toolbox of information that will spin off new perspectives for each of your own specific situations. What will work for one of us won’t even apply to someone else but when we see what others are willing to take on, I whole heartedly believe it empowers us to go further in our own pursuits… The following is a quote from the conclusion of this book that spoke to me –
“People are not just reactive creatures responding to stimuli. They also create and control their environment. There is poverty, but the real poverty, as Martin Flavin points out, is poverty of soul. There is a message in this book beyond hardware and technique, and that message is for people to reach out and take hold and rise up and build and grow and create for themselves a better life. By doing so, it encourages others to do likewise, and that builds a better world.”
Most of the actual information in the book is still viable even though it was written in the 90′s. There are things surrounding personal computers and the like that just don’t apply anymore but if you’re willing to over look these details, you’ll still enjoy reading about the efforts that the author and his family have made to live cheaply.
In this particular economic time of history that we find ourselves living in now, it seemed that this book might be timely for many of us. I think that we should all be exercising our minds on ways to streamline our lifestyles and make ourselves as self sufficient and reliant as possible!
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As we have been doing with all the recent book reviews – I’ll be giving my copy of this book to a “Prepper” Nation email subscriber. I haven’t been harping about making sure to subscribe, most everyone seems to be finding the sign up area on there own… I would like to ask you all to continue sharing the site withanyone you might know that likes the kind of things we discuss here… I appreciate the word of mouth support!
For this book giveaway, I’ll take the 18th email requesting the copy! Have a great day and I’ll see you all again tomorrow!
Prepper
Dec
07
Book Review –
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- Ragnar’s Guide to the Underground Economy
Welcome back… I thought we would start the week out with that book review I’ve been promising. As you can see I wasn’t kidding when I said we would be seeing a lot of this author in the book review section. I just can’t help myself, I love this guy’s writing. It’s far from eloquent but it makes up for that by being incredibly thought provoking and this book is no exception.
Today, I want to bring you – “Ragnar’s Guide to the Underground Economy”. In this book Uncle Ragnar will introduce the reader to what is referred to by many different names… “The Underground Economy”, “The Gray Market”, “Off the books” or the ever popular and timeless, “CASH”… Most of us have probably encountered this market and possibly even participated in it to some level.
Lately, we’ve been conducting a number of “Thought Exercises” here on the blog and this book seems to fit right into this theme. As American’s I believe we would all agree that our government is running amok. Our representatives are failing to represent their constituents and continue to be caught with their hand in our cookie jar. This behavior doesn’t seem to show any signs of letting up, it actually appears to be on the increase. There’s very little that we NORMAL, little people can do to hold these characters to account. This is the premise of today’s post and book review…
As hard working people we find ourselves in a dilemma, often a moral dilemma. I’m not going to try to convince my readers that either course of action is the right one to take but only bring the information to you to make up your own mind. Currently, the tax burden on honest hard working people that are playing by the rules, can be in excess of 50% of our gross income. I can only think you would agree with me that this is excessive and punitive in this, the land of the free… As more and more American’s become disillusioned with their government, I think we will see a sharp increase in this business sub-culture.
As is the authors characteristic writing style this book is chock full of interesting ideas and anecdotal examples of the “Gray Market” at work! Cover to cover we are introduced to ideas that might seem odd at first glance. Ragnar takes us on a tour that winds through every corner of the cash economy, firewood cutters to mushroom pickers. You the reader will be introduced to crazy backwoods folk and possibly even your own attorney or CPA. That’s right these under-grounders, as they often call themselves, are working in almost every imaginable field.
The evidence is in – the less tax you pay the government, the more money you keep in your pocket. Ragnar stays true to his reputation and brings both the pros and cons in this book. It doesn’t take much to imagine the financial upside that not paying taxes would have but there’s always a trade off. That will be discussed in detail when you read this book.
The book itself is nearly 150 pages and is a 1999 copyright. The fact that the book was published 10 years ago doesn’t effect its readability in the least. A few of the examples are out of date, such as the information about computer related work… This is not a large detractor in my opinion and I highly recommend this book. Whether you operate your own business or are currently working for someone else’s business, this book will enlighten you with new possibilities.
Let me make myself clear that I am not advocating you take the leap and start working outside the legal tax system. I do encourage everyone to stay informed of what others around them are doing. This book is primarily about the tax avoidance sub-culture, that is going on all around us, everyday. However, there is another benefit that I personally received from reading the book. Creative money making ideas… Page after page of thought provoking ideas on how to make additional income, taxed or not! I first read this book shortly after it was published and then again in the last few weeks, it is as good today as it was in the late 90′s.
Possibly you have been considering starting a business of your own or maybe branching out from your existing one. The information that Ragnar provides goes much further than just the primary theories the title suggests. There are plenty of business cost breakdowns that will aid the reader in making the needed calculations to determine the profit potential of any number of enterprises. This book is written in Ragnars familiar down to earth style that makes for an easy read, even when the topic is rather heavy. Armed with the ideas that this book will cause your mind to process, you can go on to examine how you feel about this concept, overall. I can’t recommend a book that you should read any more than I do this one. Do yourselves a favor and find a copy and spend a couple hours exercising your mind on this subject!
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As promised, I’ll be giving my copy to one of the “Prepper” Nation subscribers… If you’re interested in reading this book, I hope you are, send an email to me at prepper@preppernation.com and I’ll mail the 15th emailer the book.
See ya tomorrow,
Prepper
Nov
03
Book Review – “The Survival Retreat”
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The Survival Retreat by Ragnar Benson
Well, today I have another book review for you! I want to introduce an author that we’ll see a lot of around here, at least in the book review section…
This writer caught my attention very early on in my discovery of the “Survivalist Movement”. For me it was in the early part of the 1990′s but this movement had been around for decades before it pulled me in. With literally dozens of interesting works to his credit it would take me quite some time to find and read them all. This author is Ragnar Benson or “Uncle Ragnar” as I started referring to him; his books are some of my all time favorites. As you’ll all get to see, not all of his books are on topics that I advocate the average reader try at home, at least not while the world is still holding itself together…
To a young man that had little money, his books lead to many a daydream of the things I would do when the money was available. I really enjoy the writing style he uses and even if the subject is not something, you think you might be interested in doing yourself, the personal anecdotes he uses keep everything interesting.
Alright, alright, The book for today is “The Survival Retreat – A Total Plan For Retreat Defense”. The copyright on this book says it was written in 1983, I had it in my mind that it wasn’t that old but what have I been saying about time flying lately?
This book is a bit out of date with the threats that Ragnar describes specifically. When he wrote the book, the United States was in the middle of the Cold War. We may not need to be as concerned about a Nuclear Holocaust today as our earlier brethren were in the 80′s. However, this book is just as applicable today as it was the day he wrote it. At just over 100 pages, it isn’t a large book but the impact it had on me was profound in how I looked at what I would want for my own retreat in the future.
Ragnar writes:
“A retreat is a place you go to live, not die. Setting up a retreat for the most part is, practicing the art of the possible. It’s a matter of wisely and shrewdly identifying what you have available and turning it into something usable… Fight if you must, but try your utmost to orchestrate events so that confrontation is absolutely the remedy of last resort.”
This book takes the reader through multiple thought exercises. There is far more to consider when making the decisions about how and where to locate this important asset. Readers are confronted with the hard questions of what will you do if? I’ll give you an example from the book, this is one that even though I read this for the first time 16-17 years ago, stuck with me and I can honestly say has never been adequately answered.
“Let us suppose there is a home for the retarded about a mile from your retreat. At the time of the collapse the workers, hearing you have a shelter, come walking up with thirty wards in tow. Do you put a couple bursts of gunfire into the group and send the survivors scurrying on their way?
If your answer is yes, how do you sleep at night or look at yourself in the mirror afterward? If your answer is no, how do you accommodate the added number of dependant souls in your retreat? How do you feed them? What about sanitation?”
Obviously, the enemy here isn’t the blood thirsty Mutant Zombie Bikers, most of us have imagined! Yet this issue would nonetheless leave us and ours in a precarious survival situation. It’s this type of creative thinking exercise that is common to the writing of Rangnar Benson.
The book is full of ideas that will help the reader make critical decisions in how to think through each angle of retreat layout. The options are almost endless and it is easy to get “analysis paralysis” and ignore these questions until after you are financially committed to a project. The time to make evaluations is before the money is spent and the land laid out in such a way as to not allow you everything you would like to have.
If you’re like me you have all the plans made and know well in advance what will need to be done. You already have the dimensions for the outhouse and root cellar, maybe in your head or possibly in a 3 ring binder labeled “Retreat” or “Farm”…
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn what makes a good retreat. Find out how to stock and equip that retreat and cope with the realities of retreating when it really counts. This is an author that I’m sure you will all read with as much enthusiasm as I did and still do, whenever I have the chance!
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I promised that with each BOOK REVIEW, I would give the “Prepper” Nation subscribers a shot to win my copy of the book free… This book will be no exception; I will ship the book to the 25th subscriber that emails me with their interest in having the book. Good Luck!
Email me at – prepper@preppernation.com
Prepper
Oct
22
Book Review – “One Second After”
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Today I’m bringing you book review #4. This is a book that a lot of you have probably heard of but it seems that many haven’t found the time to read it yet? I’m personally very busy these days and have to weigh the priorities of my time before I can sit down and read a new book as well, so I do understand. Even though this book is nearly 350 pages, it won’t take you long to read – you won’t put it down! It’s that good! I would say that this book is destined to become a classic, at least among people of our caliber. Preppers and just plain readers will all enjoy this one!
As I mentioned yesterday, I will be giving this book away today. The way it will work is when I publish this post it will be early Thursday morning and so I want you to email me ASAP if you are interested in receiving it. I will take the 15th email that I receive from a subscriber interested in the book. I did want those of you that actually sleep through the night to have a chance at it too. I will get back to the winner Thursday afternoon via email to confirm their win and ask them to email me the shipping address at that time! Good luck!
Send your emails to -prepper@preppernation.com
Where do I begin, this book is kind of an anomaly in that its main stream but at the same time so interesting to folks like us. I guess that it really isn’t a piece of Doomer fiction and so the sheeple wouldn’t get to up in arms over it that the publisher allowed it to get through.
This would be the ideal book to have your unenlightened spouse or even mother-in-law read. It is written in a very true to life way that doesn’t deal much in fringe and paranoia. WAIT, don’t let that last statement stop you, its definitelyworth the read. There is still the elements of DOOM to keep the most hard core of our group satisfied. It is just done in a refreshingly realistic way. I’ll try to fill you in on a bit of the story line but refuse to be a spoiler and I know in the end you’ll appreciate that!
For what its worth, the books foreword was done by Newt Gingrich. This means very little to me but does show the degree of mainstream this book is in. If your a Newt fan, I guess that this would be a plus. I’m not what you would call a fan but I can think of a pretty extensive list of political types I like less too!
“Though this book is a work of fiction, it is also a work of fact, perhaps a “future history,” that should be thought provoking and, yes, even terrifying for all of us. I know this from personal study, across decades, of the very real threat to American security that is posed by this particular weapon that Bill Forstchen writes about in One Second After.” ~Newt Gingrich
The book takes place in modern day North Carolina. The lives of the main characters are as ordinary as any you might expect to find. The author does such a good job of character development, at least I thought so, you really start to care about these people and feel their pain by the time you reach the books conclusion!
It takes just a short time to get the ride underway and then your off – It all starts the way you might think it would at your own house. The power goes out on a nice sunny afternoon. None of us would make much stink about this, a reasonable explanation would be forthcoming and we could use this as an excuse to barbecueor divert from our regular activities. It’s in this exact type of non-descript , easy going way that I can envision a real SHTF being kicked off with.
These charactersare so believable that it is easy to be both distracted by their simplicity but also alarmed at the same time as you realize these are average Americans and this is how they would act in real life. From start to finish it’s the everyday issues that this small town deals with, that will cause each one of you to sit back and assess what your families capabilities are. We also are a group of, for the most part average Americans. Even if you don’t want to be lumped in with the “Joe six packs”, you have to admit most of us live on a street with a lot of them surrounding us.
I read this book and realized that if I were faced with the same disaster that they faced in the story, I may not have my ducks in that good of a row either. I have made many of my plans around the idea that in the eleventh hour I will be hitting the road to beat feet to my BOL. Actually, I keep a pretty good watch and will try to do the beating of the feet closer to 9:30 rather than waiting all the way to the “eleventh hour” but you know what I mean!
In my own delusions of grandeur, think that I will probably be able to pull off that last minute get out of dodge. Not if this scenario were to come to pass! They found themselves in a new dark-age, post (EMP) or electromagnetic pulse. They slowly come to the realization that for the foreseeable future they will have no electricity, automobiles and in short order food and water. Put yourself in this situation, what are YOU prepared for? If it seems that I am trying to poke holes in all your well meaning plans – I AM! Although, not just your plans but my own as well. This is a team effort and I’m finding daily that the more I get done the more I find still left undone? I’m willing to bet that this is or would be the case at your house as well, if you are honest about it.
I am trying to restrain myself from blurting out all the twists in this story but it just wouldn’t be fair and I want each one of you to read this book. It is so important that we live in the reality n0t in the fantasy that is easy to slip into. We have the firepower to accomplish anything that needs doing, I probably have a similar safe as many of you and I was left really wondering what I would do in these folks situation. I know that I’ve been reinvigorated to take the food storage to a new level and would like to hear your thoughts after you finish this book!
I couldn’t recommend any book higher than I do this one! Don’t take Newt Gingrich’s word on it, take mine – BUY THIS BOOK! This book will be one of the stories that us doomers will refer to over the coming years as having had an influence on how we prep, read it now and stay up with the rest of the cool kids! You know you want to read it – This is my attempt at peer-pressure!
See you tomorrow!
Prepper
