This book might indeed save your life.
Survival schools. Second passports. Urban Escape and Evasion courses. CERT training. Bugging out. How to escape from attack dogs. Offshore asset protection. Perpetual traveling. Using one’s credit card as a knife. Killing and skinning your own goat. These are just some of the survivalist, “how-to-be-prepared-for-anything” topics covered in Neil Strauss’ latest, Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life (2009).
Neil Strauss is primarily an entertainment journalist, born and bred a hip urban trends and music commentator. When I first skimmed through the book, it had the air of a satire, as though this was yet another thinly veiled almost-mockery of the survivalist ethos in its many forms. But as I read the introduction a bit closer, it became clear that this book was a seriously engaging “auto-ethnography,” shall we say, of one urbanite’s foray into learning how to fend for himself.
Make no mistake, this is not only an impressive read but chronicles what would be an amazing personal accomplishment for anyone who went as far as Strauss did in the name of learning and the commitment to the ultimate in preparedness. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that us financially-minded types are also concerned with personal security, but I’ve been a fan of good survivalist “how-to” guides for a while. While I am neither a gun enthusiast nor plan on starting my own private, self-sustainable compound, I still find a wealth of practical wisdom in the so-called survivalist literature and point of view. Who wouldn’t want to know how to make their own water? And even if we’re not in a situation that extreme, it always helps to be able to know what to do in an emergency, such as dealing with a pandemic. A lot of people have joked about H1N1, but how many have researched why WHO (not the media) considers it such a threat in the first place?
Overcoming the Paranoia Complex and Facing the Future
Throughout the book Neil is constantly monitoring his transformation into what he refers to as a nutcase, in jest. One line he likes to repeat is that “we make most fun of those we most fear becoming ourselves.” And at least in his case, that adage proves true. For every time that Neil becomes like the gun enthusiast (he went from knowing nothing to storing over three different types in a handmade cabinet at home), or the knife wielder, or the guy who can spot all the edible plants, Neil reminds us that through his fear is also the excitement of knowing he’s that much more capable of taking care of himself in case TSHTF (the s*** hits the fan).
As Strauss puts it, he grew up on the 42nd floor of a 70-story building in Chicago. The only skill he had ever acquired was how to write good music criticism. The only tools he ever had were the telephone and the internet: Craigslist and the Yellow Pages allowed him to call in for help or buy whatever he needed. He’d barely spent much time in nature at all, and didn’t even know how to use a simple Swiss Army knife. By the end of the 9-year journey chronicled in this book, Neil Strauss gained more survivalist and emergency training than 95% of law enforcement officers in the U.S., learning how to make his own water, identify over 700 tracks on the ground, and escape from handcuffs in the locked trunk of a car.
Neil was just a self-declared intellectual book-head until a certain series of events began to “wake him up:”
- Y2K: he’s asked to cover the stories of some death cults and other survivalist groups on the eve of what could be the ultimate technological apocalypse
- 9/11: Neil learns America is no longer safe in some idyllic bubble at “the end of history.”
- US Patriot Act and launch of the Department of Homeland Security: he muses whether, if he’d been a German Jew in the 1930’s, he would have had the foresight and sense to leave before things got too bad. He resolves that he’d never make the mistake of being “too late” here.
- the 2004 election: America legitimately voted him in this time. Neil begins to look at getting a second passport.
- Katrina: there are no more doubts in Neil’s mind about who will be there to take care of him. If this is what happens in the aftermath of a natural disaster, what would the situation look like in light of another terrorist attack or a financial collapse?
Lessons Learned: Dual Citizenships, Gun Training and Urban/Wilderness Survival
Along the way of Neil’s quest for preparedness, he became trained and certified to carry concealed weapons, to ride a motorbike, to be a part of C.E.R.T and C.E.M.P., completed Red Cross training, built a bug-out bag, got his amateur radio broadcast license, went to Tom Brown’s Tracker School, and took a course in Urban Escape and Evasion – where they deliberately handcuff you to someone else and lock you both in the back of a car trunk. It’s up to you to escape and complete your mission (they train you how to escape from handcuffs).
“all I really learned from the experience was that living to the end of my life span — 77.8 years for the average American — will be a lot more pleasant if I’m surrounded by people who love me than if I’m alone. So, in addition to fitness and health, I’d have to add family to my survival stockpile.”
But not only did Strauss also learn to make debris huts, use a ham radio, kill, skin and cook his own goat (he bought one for dairy purposes, too), and get a second citizenship — while reading all of this I learned quite a few interesting and shocking (some more shocking than others) facts I didn’t know before.
- The cell phones of emergency responders and those who work with emergency teams and search and rescue teams get priority during an emergency over the cell phone calls of regular civilians (perhaps this isn’t surprising, but I didn’t even know there was such a “queue” of phone calls).
- FEMA and other rescue groups, including those of the government, do not make it their mandate to get into an emergency situation as soon as possible, i.e., instantly. Thus, from their point of view the response to Hurricane Katrina was as expected (in terms of speed). They tell you that you need to protect yourself. They are not there to protect you, that is not their job.
- The State of California has planned (or is already now practicing this) to take DNA samples from every person arrested within its borders.
- Most Swiss banks no longer work with U.S. citizens, apparently, because of new U.S. laws that require the reporting of all overseas deposits by American citizens to a U.S. “intermediary” entity. So much for financial privacy!
- This probably isn’t news to many Americans, but it is for me: U.S. citizens are still required to pay U.S. taxes even once they officially emigrate and move overseas on a new citizenship – for another 10 years. Talk about taxes being one of the only two certainties in life.
- The U.S. ranks only #53 in a ranking of the level of freedom in world press/media.
- An emigrant from the Czech Republic tells Strauss that he didn’t move to the U.S. for freedoms; since there are many freedoms the U.S. does not have; but that he moved there for the opportunities it provided.
But the book is not about being paranoid. It’s about being proactive and taking steps to face your fears and work through them. You don’t want to live like Neil’s girlfriend, who, for fear of driving and fear of taking cabs, got her sister to drive her everywhere and was thus so totally dependent on her sister that she even missed more than one job interview when her sister forgot to pick her up a couple of times. But she eventually did get her license. And when Neil finally submits to sending his fingerprints to the U.S. Department of Justice so that he could get his EMT license, he gleams that “for perhaps the first time, my fight instinct had beaten my flight instinct.”
“If anyone was in trouble, they were definitely going to want me around now. I was licensed to survive… not only was I prepared, but I’d learned that hope is a passive emotion. It’s the last survival skill of the powerless. In the face of the unknown, I prefer action.”
Should You Buy Emergency (by Neil Strauss)?
If you’ve already done some reading in this genre, or if you’ve had any interest at all in personal survival, or if you were ever a girl/boy scout :), or if you’ve never gone camping or made your own fire…then, definitely yes. Of course, if you’re already gun-trained, know how to fly a plane and start a fire from two twigs, this book might not be for you. Not because it’s purely a technical manual – that it is not. But I doubt that the story of the experience of learning each of things would appeal as much to someone who’s already on the other side waiting for TSTHTF.
Ultimately I think that people who have the most in common with Neil’s story and perspective might get the most from the book. If you’ve got some hard and fast opinions about survivalists, gun freaks and those who live in intentional communities, this book could show you a few new perspectives, that’s for sure (as living it did for Neil himself). Neil Strauss does a great job of blending different social realities and perspectives. One of the insights that keeps popping up is that “the bad guys” and “the good guys” are often much the same, doing the same things, both afraid of the other – the only difference sometimes just being a matter of intent. And he’s got the stories to prove it.
Personally, I can honestly say it’s probably one of the more fascinating personal stories I’ve read. Especially when you consider everything that Neil went through. It wasn’t just a research assignment. It represents a big change in the way he lives life. Yet you can tell he’s a journalist. It’s written in such a lively, compelling style – one that reminds me of Lee Eisenberg’s The Number: What Will You Need For The Rest of Your Life, And What Will It Cost? – and chronicles a story of personal quest with the style and insight reminiscent of James Redfield’s Celestine Prophecy.
Other Emergency Planning Resources
For some more background on the research that went into the book (as well as the contents of his own bug-out bag), see Fliesian.com.
I also wrote some thoughts on Why You Should Ideally Have Four Emergency Funds.
Finally, there are also some great articles in the blogosphere relevant to emergencies and emergency planning that you might be interested in checking out, too.
Roadside Emergency Kit: What To Include – MyLifeROI
In The Event of An Emergency – Bible Money Matters
How To Prepare For A Car Breakdown and Deal With Roadside Emergencies – Moolanomy
Frugal and Prepared: Emergency Supplies – The Simple Dollar
Dealing With Disasters: A Brief Guide To Emergency Preparedness – Get Rich Slowly
The Seven Steps of Financial Preparedness – Free Money Finance
A Second Emergency Fund That You Never Spend? – Philip Brewer at Wisebread
and for some very great ideas on sustainable, ecological living (which can come in handy during or after a severe emergency/disaster scenario too), check out the articles on Food Rationing and How To Live Out of A Suitcase by Early Retirement Extreme (as well as many other of the great posts on that site).
Related Posts - The End of Influence: What Happens When Other Countries Have the Money
- 5 Financial Books I’ve Read Since January
- Getting the Best Return On Life: A Conversation with the Founder of MyLifeROI
- How Wealthy Are You, Really? Look Past Networth and Cashflow to See The True Meaning of Wealth
- How To Get Ready For Double-Digit Inflation
Related Articles From Other Websites
{ 7 trackbacks }
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the review. I absolutely loved this book when I read it a couple of months ago. I found Strauss to be a great storyteller and the subject matter is certainly interesting.
@Russ – yes, Strauss is extremely good at telling his story! He’s able to step outside his own point of view and tell it from the perspective of someone who is going through it all for the first time. It’s really a great piece of investigative journalism.
Looks like an interesting book! I shall check it out :D
Dang that’s a quality, thorough review.
I’ve thought a lot about hard-core survivalist types, and generally decided that they were over-the-top.
“We make most fun of those we most fear becoming ourselves.” -That line hit me though. Maybe I should give this a deeper look.
I added this to my ‘to read’ list, which means I should get to probably in 2015 or so. :D
Kidding aside, thanks for the review; I’ll check it out.
-Blake
@Blake, @Michelle – it’s worth checking out – let me know what you think.
Hey thanks for this detailed review. I thought the book has something to do with PUA. But I must say he’s a good writer. I’ve read his book, The Game and like what Julian Foxx have said, “Neil Strauss’ contributions to the overall growth of the Seduction Community are undeniable.”