PREPAREDNESS NOW!: An Emergency Survival Guide for Civilians and Their Families

by Aton Edwards

Process' Self-Reliance Series guidebooks provide tools for self-sufficiency and personal protection at a time when extreme weather, terrorist attacks, and economic uncertainty have become the new realities of twenty-first-century life. Volume 1 in the series is PREPAREDNESS NOW! by Aton Edwards, Executive Director of the NYC-based non-profit organization, International Preparedness Network (IPN). IPN has worked with the Red Cross, Center for Disease Control, New York City Police Department, and other organizations to train thousands domestically and overseas to prevent and respond to emergencies and disasters. PREPAREDNESS NOW! provides information and techniques that can help mitigate the destructive effects of disasters, whatever the cause. With illustrations, photographs and step-by-step instructions, this manual delivers practical advice The 72-hour emergency kit
Water quality control and storage
Emergency shelter, power, lighting, and heating
Emergency transportation, communications, and evacuation
Chemical, biowarfare, and nuclear preparedness
Defense against infectious diseases
Personal defense and crime prevention Aton Edwards is the resident disaster preparedness expert on the popular NYC radio program The Open Line (WRKS-FM). Edwards has also been featured on many other major domestic and international television and radio programs.

Genres: Survival, Nonfiction, Self Help

340 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2006

Reviews

[Tinea · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very wordy manual for the modern bomb shelter enthusiast with an unlimited budget, the desire to carry pounds of metal escape equipment on one's person at all times, and a home big enough to secret away hundreds of gallons of water and a 6 month supply of food. It was fun to read and I learned a lot about nuclear contamination. Edwards' consistent promotion of non-toxic and environmentally-friendly decontamination and such was nice (including the list of environmental non-profits at the end).

Some racist touches; for example he felt it pertinent not only to include a useless story about how he one time almost got jumped by some dudes in a subway in New York, but was sure to emphasize the neighborhood (nearing Harlem) and needlessly nickname one of the protagonists "Snoop Dogg" in case you had any doubt what these "thugs" looked like. Also a bunch of talking around things "ladies" may need to stay hygienic: dude! it's an emergency manual, fucking say the word "menstruation." Almost half the world does this, address it head on.

Like I said, fun, but I read it with a pen & paper handy and took no notes at all. Mehhhh.

[Thea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy crap this book made me realize I'd probably be one of the first to lose it in a major disaster. Now, I feel like I'd be able to hold my own and help others out. Def worth checking out and keeping some of the tips Aton Edwards provides. Some of it is just really crazy shit... but you know he's going to be kicking it with the roaches long after most of us are gone.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of helpful information in this book, but also a lot of really fucked up ideas, such as the virulent fat phobia and the comment that eating disorders aren't real. I bought this book at REI because a salesperson recommended it, and I liked the format that makes it easy to find the info you need, but I already know which pages I'll burn as tinder when the SHTF.

[Mh Weyler]

It was an interesting resource for every type of emergency you might come up against. Tried to tuck as much information into my head as possible...everything from how to cook without a stove to what plants are poisonous etc...

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

good but not great. This has some great knowledge, but the author is WAY too serious and in to the subject, and has lost his subjectivity. Not everyone is going to carry a huge pack of emergency equipment with them at all times.

[Jennifer Miera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed parts of this book. I think I'm just not in the mood to prepare anymore. Seemed practical and useful - a bit more "warrior" style preparedness rather than homemaker-preserve-your-own-food preparedness. Still, the sections on putting together evacuation kits was helpful.

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very alarmist and crazy . . . and yet also so full of common sense, practical ideas. There's no way the average person can do all of the stuff in this book, but it's worth a read to pull what you can from it and increase your own emergency preparation. Needs a lot of editing for typos, etc.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for general information. Some things are a little extreme. Overall, there is some good information.

[Angela Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veers towards the Domesday Prepper mindset, but reasonable for the merely paranoid as well.