Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family, 3rd Edition

This book is an excellent overview and guide for emergency preparedness. It is an overview however, not a specific step by step for every conceivable thing that could happen. To his credit, the author states many times that he is NOT trying to cover everything in minute detail. He stresses throught the book that he is only trying to lay a groundwork for the reader to build on.If you are really concentrating on prepping, and have been so for a while, this book may not add a whole lot to what you probably already know. However, if you're new to the whole prepping thing, then just the opposite - this book has lots of information that is very useful. Above all though, the author streeses tailoring things to your own situation and includes checklists and other sources to help you out.This book is not about the zombie apocolypse or the end of the world as we know it. It is not about guns and building a bunker and all of that. It is about practical steps you can and should take to ensure that if a disaster strikes your area you can survive long enough to have help arrive or even move to another area. It is practical, straight forward, and easy to understand. Better yet, the author gives plenty of examples of disasters that have actually happenend and how being even marginally prepared has meant the difference between survival and death.The author is not a survivalist guru, an ex-Special Forces trained person, or any other "expert". He's a regular guy that saw a need and has tried to figure out how best to provide for his family should things go wrong. Because of this, he doesn't tell you what you MUST do, he recommends things based upon a regular person's life and daily needs that, over time, can add up to skills and resources that would make a big difference should a common disaster (or an uncommon one) strike. The key words are over time - in today's world, dropping thousands of dollars at once on a "maybe" isn't something that most folks can do.With all that said, I highly recommend this book to everyone, even long term preppers. I've been "prepping" for over twenty years, have had formal training (thanks to Uncle Sam), and have a network of friends with very varied backgrounds. Even so, I still found nuggets of good advice (and I love checklists!), tips I hadn't thought of, and lots of little things throughout the book that made me think about my own and my family's situation. I have bought several copies and given them as gifts to people who were just starting out "prepping" or were asking questions, and all of them have loved this book. If you need a place to start, I would highly recommend starting here.

Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family, 2nd Edition - ISBN 1463531109About the book:I'm a retired law enforcement officer, I've been a survivalist since the mid 1980's and I own a large collection of Disaster, Preparedness and Survival books on various levels and topics. No one book can cover every topic or scenario so you should own at least a few of the best, the 'Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family, 2nd Edition' should be one of the top books on your list to own. It is well written and covers many of the things you should know to survive various natural and man made disasters etc. The 'Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family' is an excellent all around book in my opinion.What kind of books do you really need?Disaster and Survival books can be for the simple prepper to the hardcore survivalist, you will have to decide which category you fit in and then base your book selections that fit your level. Obviously if you don't trek around the world and then unfortunately find yourself lost in the Amazon Jungle or the Sahara Desert then you wouldn't have a great need for a book on extreme survival dealing with those type of conditions. But then again having one wouldn't hurt either (Hawke's Green Beret Survival Manual, SAS Survival Handbook, Bushcraft and the U.S. Air Force Survival Handbook would be a few).Buy preparedness books that cover things related to your geographical location, if you live in the highly populated Northeast for example (like me) knowing how to survive a volcano eruption is mute. My concern would probably be more like a financial collapse, disruption in basic utilities, food shortages (ever gone to a food store before a hurricane or snow storm?) and civil uprising and riots.My personal advice:Do not buy books based on just their ratings alone, buy them for the information inside based on your own personal survival needs. Disaster survival is not just one subject, it can mean many things to different people of which you can only try to prepare for the best you can. Basic survival and staying alive is your main goal, you cannot 'fully' prepare for every possible scenario.Don't just read the books you buy and then pack them in your bug-out kit, plan and practice the things you read as much as you can. Any disaster will cause confused thinking which will end up getting you or your loved ones hurt or killed, nothing replaces hands on experience and working knowledge.

Laid out well to assist with survival principles and to prepare your family for disasters of all kinds. Great read. I’ve seen many videos from the author on all these subjects as well. Ranges from simple to elaborate.

Condensed information on all topics.Covered most of the aspects related to the book subjectIncluded many links to equipment and websites

The books is good, and the author's ideas on preparedness are mostly good and full of practical attitude. However, it's applicable mostly for home owners and the usual "get canned beans and bottled water" stuff with some practical, real-life tips. It's a good read to get your head around the topic, but rather an appendix to some other, more precise handbooks :-)

I really like this book as it well written with just the right amount of advice, detail and instruction in order to 'BE PREPARED' as much as physically possible.The book is written for the US market so the section of bullets or butter (food) is of little use in the UK although it does still have relevance in that in a true emergency and no law enforcement you will still need to 'look after' what you have got in the way of resources. This book covers all aspects of being prepared and the 'hobby' of being a prepared for the worst whilst hoping that it never happens. It also suggest further reading is the reader has a particular scenario that he/she is preparing for. A lot of the advice is also useful in everyday life i.e.: ensuring that your cupboards are full and that you cycle food item ensuring that nothing is wasted. How many times have you reached for a spare battery for the remote, or run out of sugar for your tea to find that no-one had restocked after using the last item in the cupboard.

This book gives plain, sensible advice without causing alarm. Whilst it is aimed at an audience in North America, most of it is relevant to people anywhere in the developed world and would hold good from Britain to Australia. I've downloaded it onto my smartphone so I can refer to it even if the electricity fails (I am already planning to buy a couple of hand-cranked chargers) and I've already begun buying extra tinned food etc.