Emergency Food Storage and Survival Handbook

A book review.

Emergency Food Storage and Survival Handbook

Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis

by Peggy Layton

published: 2002.10.22

ISBN: 0761563679

genre: How-to

reviewed:2010.09.05

👍🏼 recommended

Published about a year after 9/11, this book is a no-nonsense introduction to "prepping" - being ready for disaster. Written by a specialist in home storage, this book is surprisingly to the point. It doesn't just list the sorts of things you'll need to be "prepared", it talks about important matters like the economics behind being prepared - what's all this going to cost you, how will you deal with food spoilage, etc. I don't know if the author has written a lot or perhaps worked with a superb editor, but I cannot get over the clarity and focus of the writing. I mean this thing is far better than a lot of fiction. And it is jammed with directly applicable guidance on everything from bathing without power to cooking beans (there are gotchas!) and designing a home pharmacy. I can't recommend this book enough.

So; you get all of this minus the boring and off-putting BS that comes with so much of "prepper" culture - the stuff about destiny and tribalism and religion. Or knives and fire-starters and "every day carry". As someone with all of those (my EDC is a tiny crappy utility knife) I get the impulse for gear but it's off-topic. And then there's the gun nuttery - as a former gun owner it sickens me to see people oiling their AK-47 and longing for the day when it's "every man for himself". These are not people preparing for the right set of problems.