There are a lot of good books about prepping, emergency planning, bug out bags and survivalism. If you are looking for one simple to read, but complete primer for disaster planning then look no further than Jim Cobb's book: Prepper's Long-Term Survival Guide: Food, Shelter, Security, Off-the-Grid Power and More Life-Saving Strategies for Self-Sufficient Living.

It's a comprehensive overview of the topics one needs to consider when making plans for hard times. It's a great tool for those who have already started thinking about what happens after 72-Hours, and if things don't immediately return to normal, or ever return to normal. This book is in our Top 5 for planning, lets explore why:

Prepper's Long-Term Survival Guide Book Review

A history lesson

This book is not to be used as an immediate action item list. Unlike books like Creek Stewart's Build the Ultimate Bug Out Bag, this book is more of a thought experiment combined with a history lesson. In that sense it's non un-similar in tone to Dartnell's book The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch but with more immediate considerations after a large-scale displacement event.There are lists of items to prepare in this book, but thats not the main focus. The idea Cobb wants the reader to walk away with is that several world disrupting events have happened in the not too distant past, and they are going to happen again in the future. His section on volcanos is a sobering reflection of just how dangerous and unpredictable the world can be.

The Yellowstone Caldera is big and scary and potentially lethal. Source io9

After discussing the potential threats in the first chapter, the author dives into the practical necessities of day to day living, and what challenges people would face in this altered and harsher world. It goes without saying that our current systems would likely collapse, and in some cases take several years to recover, if they could at all. How do you plan for that? Can you?

If this sounds like a depressing book, well, it's not but it is sobering to say the least. However Cobb offers hope and useful information, and hey, it all hasn't happened yet, right? There are some modern day examples we can draw examples from, like the collapse of the Soviet Union, and we cannot assume that the world will never change. The only constant in the universe is change.

Creating a plan

The later parts of the book dives into specific actions people can take to get themselves ready for a world-changing event. Jim Cobb lists specific items which can be implemented in a clear and well-defined way. Nothing ground-breaking in these chapters perhaps if you've read other survival books before, but it's plotted properly and still thought provoking.The topics listed on the back of the book are:

• Practical water collection for drinking and hygiene.
• Storing, growing, hunting and foraging for food.
• First aid and medical treatments when there's no doctor.
• Techniques and tactics for fortifying and defending your home.
• Community building strategies for creating a new society.

Cobb saved the best for last in the Prepper's Long-Term Survival Guide: in the appendix he has two great lists, Beyond Bugging Our Checklists and a Recommended Reading list. These pages alone are worth the price of admission.

We like this book a lot, and think you will too. It's worth your consideration and it's a pretty easy ready at 182 pages.

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Prepper's Long-Term Survival Guide

Typical Price: $15

Prepare your home and family for any life-threatening catastrophe with this step-by-step survivalist guide filled with techniques, strategies, and DIY projects from a lifelong prepping expert.

$15Amazon