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Emergency
Before The End of the World As We Know It, you're going to want to read this book. Because tomorrow doesn't come with a guarantee...
After the last few years of violence and terror, of ethnic and religious hatred, of tsunamis, hurricanes and financial meltdown, Neil Strauss, author of The Game, came to the sobering realisation that anything can happen. Safety and survival are not certainties-so he did something about it. Strauss spent three years learning the skills necessary to save himself and his loved ones from an uncertain future.
Emergency traces Neil's white-knuckled journey through today's heart of darkness, as he sets out to move his life offshore, test his skills in the wild and remake himself as a gun-toting, plane-flying, government-defying survivor. It's a tale of paranoid fantasies and crippling doubts, of shady lawyers and dangerous cult leaders, of billionaire gun nuts and survivalist superheroes, of weirdos, heroes, and ordinary citizens going off the grid. It's one man's story of a dangerous world and how to stay alive in it.
'A sprawling, rambling beast of a book.' Age
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
369 people are currently reading
4519 people want to read
About the author
Neil Strauss
48 books1,762 followersNeil Strauss is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Game, Rules of the Game, Emergency, and Everyone Loves You When You're Dead. He is also the coauthor of four other bestsellers--Jenna Jameson's How to Make Love Like a Porn Star, Mötley Crüe's The Dirt, and Marilyn Manson's The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, and Dave Navarro's Don't Try This at Home. He can be found at www.neilstrauss.com.
His latest book, The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships, was released on October 13. The review in Grantland described it as follows:
"I want you to read this book. I want your partners to read this book. I want your families, your friends, your coworkers, and your colleagues to read this book. I want women to read it, and men -- especially men -- to read it. But more than that, I want you to think critically about it, about what it says about you and the world around you and your romantic relationships. I want it to inspire you to dig deep inside yourself and figure out what's stopping you from making yourself happy: I want it to inspire you to embrace and engage with love, in an honest and healthy way."
His latest book, The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships, was released on October 13. The review in Grantland described it as follows:
"I want you to read this book. I want your partners to read this book. I want your families, your friends, your coworkers, and your colleagues to read this book. I want women to read it, and men -- especially men -- to read it. But more than that, I want you to think critically about it, about what it says about you and the world around you and your romantic relationships. I want it to inspire you to dig deep inside yourself and figure out what's stopping you from making yourself happy: I want it to inspire you to embrace and engage with love, in an honest and healthy way."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 401 reviews
April 25, 2021
I read this book years ago, but the current volatile political climate around the pandemic is making 'Emergency' more relevant today in a whole new way.
Neil Strauss is probably best known for writing 'The Game', but this is the book that comes up in conversations rather frequently for me. With the tagline “This book will save your life”, the very least it will do is get you thinking how to better prepare yourself against a statistically probable premature death during a catastrophe of some kind. A tough look at survivability during breakdowns of civility and society, this book opens your eyes to just how easily things might fall apart at any given time. The vast majority of us won’t be ready or equipped to handle a world gone wrong, but Strauss aims to change that. The things I learned from this book I still recount to others today.
Setting up the book, Strauss, living comfortably in NYC, comes to the realization that he has become pure victim material. He can barely cook for himself, let alone defend himself or take initiative in a crisis. Unnerved by this, he embarks on a journey to become self-sufficient, knowledgeable, and well-trained. Strauss joins volunteer emergency response teams, takes wilderness survival courses, learns urban evasion tactics, weapons training, etc. He meets with both backwoods militias and billionaires who all have escape and existence plans for when major crises arise. Using their wisdom and pointers, Strauss gradually learns how to live in situations where most people will merely lay down to die.
Most of us exist in considerable comfort in the West, particularly when compared to the rest of the world. When things go bad, and go from bad to worse, nearly nobody has a clue what to do about it. Far too many people will be counted among the first casualties. The unprepared masses could have learned a thing or two to keep themselves alive. I recommend you read this book simply so you can understand just how much we don't actually know about disaster situations and how to survive during and after them. I certainly learned a lot by the time I put 'Emergency' down.
If more people read a book like this, societies might be better able to handle shit hitting the fan. If or when everything goes south, do you have a plan?
*This book was one of my '10 Books That Stuck With Me' piece. See what other books stuck with me...
https://jkentmessum.com/2014/03/19/10...
Neil Strauss is probably best known for writing 'The Game', but this is the book that comes up in conversations rather frequently for me. With the tagline “This book will save your life”, the very least it will do is get you thinking how to better prepare yourself against a statistically probable premature death during a catastrophe of some kind. A tough look at survivability during breakdowns of civility and society, this book opens your eyes to just how easily things might fall apart at any given time. The vast majority of us won’t be ready or equipped to handle a world gone wrong, but Strauss aims to change that. The things I learned from this book I still recount to others today.
Setting up the book, Strauss, living comfortably in NYC, comes to the realization that he has become pure victim material. He can barely cook for himself, let alone defend himself or take initiative in a crisis. Unnerved by this, he embarks on a journey to become self-sufficient, knowledgeable, and well-trained. Strauss joins volunteer emergency response teams, takes wilderness survival courses, learns urban evasion tactics, weapons training, etc. He meets with both backwoods militias and billionaires who all have escape and existence plans for when major crises arise. Using their wisdom and pointers, Strauss gradually learns how to live in situations where most people will merely lay down to die.
Most of us exist in considerable comfort in the West, particularly when compared to the rest of the world. When things go bad, and go from bad to worse, nearly nobody has a clue what to do about it. Far too many people will be counted among the first casualties. The unprepared masses could have learned a thing or two to keep themselves alive. I recommend you read this book simply so you can understand just how much we don't actually know about disaster situations and how to survive during and after them. I certainly learned a lot by the time I put 'Emergency' down.
If more people read a book like this, societies might be better able to handle shit hitting the fan. If or when everything goes south, do you have a plan?
*This book was one of my '10 Books That Stuck With Me' piece. See what other books stuck with me...
https://jkentmessum.com/2014/03/19/10...
November 8, 2015
This was the 2nd book I read by Neil Srauss.
Its a story about a guy who couldn't change a light bulb, but attempts to be a more competent as a 'handy guy'.
There is a joke that runs in Jewish families (or their use to be) --about Jewish men: NONE of them could change a light bulb. (but that's another book)
NOTE: This book is not meant to be a survival manual. --Yet--its very entertaining. Neil is entertaining! He --(as a character in a fiction book) --is a complex-interesting character -who we see transform by the end.
Neil put himself through the task of learning new skills --(how to pick a lock with a soda can), etc.
The book was often hilarious!
**I want to win his NEW book ! Think the author reads these reviews and will say..."sure, no problem, send the girl a book"?
I'll let you know! :)
Its a story about a guy who couldn't change a light bulb, but attempts to be a more competent as a 'handy guy'.
There is a joke that runs in Jewish families (or their use to be) --about Jewish men: NONE of them could change a light bulb. (but that's another book)
NOTE: This book is not meant to be a survival manual. --Yet--its very entertaining. Neil is entertaining! He --(as a character in a fiction book) --is a complex-interesting character -who we see transform by the end.
Neil put himself through the task of learning new skills --(how to pick a lock with a soda can), etc.
The book was often hilarious!
**I want to win his NEW book ! Think the author reads these reviews and will say..."sure, no problem, send the girl a book"?
I'll let you know! :)
August 5, 2025
Found it in charity shop tought it was sci fy but decided to try it anyway.
June 1, 2011
Interesting read, with the occasional great turn of phrase and often brutal honesty. He refers to those that believe people will act similarly to the children in "Lord of the Flies," "Fliesians," which made me laugh Found the effort to include the "white collar" survivalist plans of offshore accounts and other country havens interesting. The short breezy chapters made it extremely readable, but as a novel reader, I found it hindered continuity. The writing style is an interesting mix of seriousness and self-disparagement, which perhaps hints at the underlying reasons for Strauss' transformation, particularly when he says, "for the first time, I felt like a man." Given that everyone he met in the course of his survivalist journey (but his girlfriend) is male, that leaves a wide-open area for discussion and insight. The comment "she had to sacrifice some of the softness and submission that serve as honey to men" brutally honest but off-putting. Thankfully, the remainder of the author's sexist viewpoint is generally unstated, except when discussing his girlfriend. I also found it interesting that his girlfriend was so dependent and helpless. Barely imaginable that someone in Los Angeles--the suburb city--is not able to drive. I thought it borderline insightful when he said "I'd never thought of the homeless as survivalists before," but didn't lead anywhere with that. While brief, the ending section proved redemptive.
April 9, 2009
Nowhere as good as the Game or Dirt, and a very, very slow start (150 pages of musings over why this subject interests him), but when it gets going it really gets going. If you're a fan of secret spy stuff, conspiracy theory, and action movies, you'll love this book, but what I wasn't expecting was that it's strangely touching. By the time Strauss is learning to track people through the woods and find edible plants, you're really rooting for him to get in touch with his non-urban side. A very fast breezy read, but don't spend the $17- get it from the library or used.
My one big complaint was that I thought his characterization of his girlfriend was really patronizing, and generally I think his books have somewhat lousy attitudes towards women.
My one big complaint was that I thought his characterization of his girlfriend was really patronizing, and generally I think his books have somewhat lousy attitudes towards women.
December 1, 2010
Neil Strauss, probably most famous for his Motley Crue book the Dirt and his book about Pick-Up Artists, the Game, gets a little freaked out about the state of the world. Then he looks into it a little more and gets a lot freaked out, especially when he has to admit to himself that after a life lived in the city where a rolling blackout was the closest thing to the apocalypse so far, he is unprepared to survive any sort of calamity. So, throwing himself into his subject as usual, he decides to do whatever it takes to prepare himself.
The writing style is good. Neil Strauss has a way of writing that pulls you through just about whatever he’s covering. However, if you’re looking for a good book about survivalists, becoming a survivalist, or some kind of survivalist manual, look somewhere else.
A lot of the book is devoted to his attempts to get dual citizenship so that he has somewhere to go WTSHTF (When the Shit Hits the Fan). These parts are not very exciting. They mostly serve to make you understand that it’s tough to get citizenship somewhere else, which is a little scary, but the ultimate answer is that you can get a second citizenship just about anywhere, the only factor being how much you are willing to spend. Fucked up, yes, but not terribly surprising. Because I don’t have a couple hundred thousand to spend (and I suspect most people don’t) I found those parts of the books pretty much worthless. It’s sort of like reading a book about a beginning chef who spends a shitload on ingredients that are way out of your price range. Other sections are more entertaining. It’s not so much that I was looking for survivalist tips, but reading about him going to a tracking school or spending a week without power and water is way more engaging than reading about how it sucks that shit is expensive and that the burecratic process in small island nations is very slow.
Other reviews say that he spends a good amount of time explaining the Why behind his wanting to learn survivalism. I would half agree with that. He does a good job highlighting events and policy changes that might make a person a little worried about living in the United States, explaining why he’s scared and why he thinks something bad might happen. What he doesn’t do (except for a brief section near the end) is explain the point of surviving in a wasteland.
When you read an apocalyptic book, like the Road, it has to occur to you that the main characters could just lay down and die. It does to me, anyway. But I never get to ask these fictional characters what keeps them moving, so the author has to make some attempt to explain it. In Emergency, I wanted to hear why someone would want to survive in an existence that most people, himself included towards the beginning, would consider hellish. Strauss was preparing himself to survive in the woods in a shelter made of sticks and leaves, but I don’t know why or what the point of that life might be. That was something I was looking for and didn’t get.
An unusual part of the book is that there is an armchair treasure hunt incorporated into it. There are short sections written in comic book form, and each of these sections includes a clue that is supposed to reveal the location of a cache that Strauss buried at one point in the book. Because I’m a dork, I spent a good hour trying to find the clues, figure out what they meant, and then figure out where the cache is. After that, I have no idea still. Okay, that’s not totally true. I have some idea, but nothing of confidence, so I’ll let you all know when I find the damn thing because now it’s an obsession. I bet my girlfriend will appreciate taking a vacation to some woods to unbury a box, especially when I don’t have the right spot and we spend three days digging holes.
The first thing I’d heard of like this was buried in David Blaine’s book. Supposedly there were clues hidden throughout that would lead you to $100,000 worth of treasure. And supposedly some lady found it. You can see the solution here: http://www.thefoolsparadise.com/db/so...
To be honest, the whole thing is way too involved for me to even consider the possibility, and I question whether someone actually solved it or not. There’s a photo blog by the person who solved it, which seems pretty convenient as well, especially the part where she gives up when she’s almost there and then sees something on her drive home that gives her a Eureka! moment straight out of some Sherlock Holmes bullshit. Call me crazy, but I don’t trust someone who stands around in a block of ice and spends way too much time maintaining his beard and not nearly enough on those eyebrows.
On a similar books/treasure hunt path, there was and still is a circulating rumor that there is a secret ending to Chuck Palahniuk’s Survivor which is embedded in the hardback back cover of some first edition copies.
The rumor has never proven true, from what I can tell. Maybe it’s a ploy by someone with a few first editions to try and rarify it and drive up the value. Although I can’t personally prove it either way, I have to believe that someone who found it wouldn’t be against providing photographic or textual evidence. But it’s kind of a cool rumor anyway.
So, pick up Emergency if you’re looking for an entertaining read and that’s about it. If you get through the first couple sections with no problems, then you’ll only build up speed from there.
The writing style is good. Neil Strauss has a way of writing that pulls you through just about whatever he’s covering. However, if you’re looking for a good book about survivalists, becoming a survivalist, or some kind of survivalist manual, look somewhere else.
A lot of the book is devoted to his attempts to get dual citizenship so that he has somewhere to go WTSHTF (When the Shit Hits the Fan). These parts are not very exciting. They mostly serve to make you understand that it’s tough to get citizenship somewhere else, which is a little scary, but the ultimate answer is that you can get a second citizenship just about anywhere, the only factor being how much you are willing to spend. Fucked up, yes, but not terribly surprising. Because I don’t have a couple hundred thousand to spend (and I suspect most people don’t) I found those parts of the books pretty much worthless. It’s sort of like reading a book about a beginning chef who spends a shitload on ingredients that are way out of your price range. Other sections are more entertaining. It’s not so much that I was looking for survivalist tips, but reading about him going to a tracking school or spending a week without power and water is way more engaging than reading about how it sucks that shit is expensive and that the burecratic process in small island nations is very slow.
Other reviews say that he spends a good amount of time explaining the Why behind his wanting to learn survivalism. I would half agree with that. He does a good job highlighting events and policy changes that might make a person a little worried about living in the United States, explaining why he’s scared and why he thinks something bad might happen. What he doesn’t do (except for a brief section near the end) is explain the point of surviving in a wasteland.
When you read an apocalyptic book, like the Road, it has to occur to you that the main characters could just lay down and die. It does to me, anyway. But I never get to ask these fictional characters what keeps them moving, so the author has to make some attempt to explain it. In Emergency, I wanted to hear why someone would want to survive in an existence that most people, himself included towards the beginning, would consider hellish. Strauss was preparing himself to survive in the woods in a shelter made of sticks and leaves, but I don’t know why or what the point of that life might be. That was something I was looking for and didn’t get.
An unusual part of the book is that there is an armchair treasure hunt incorporated into it. There are short sections written in comic book form, and each of these sections includes a clue that is supposed to reveal the location of a cache that Strauss buried at one point in the book. Because I’m a dork, I spent a good hour trying to find the clues, figure out what they meant, and then figure out where the cache is. After that, I have no idea still. Okay, that’s not totally true. I have some idea, but nothing of confidence, so I’ll let you all know when I find the damn thing because now it’s an obsession. I bet my girlfriend will appreciate taking a vacation to some woods to unbury a box, especially when I don’t have the right spot and we spend three days digging holes.
The first thing I’d heard of like this was buried in David Blaine’s book. Supposedly there were clues hidden throughout that would lead you to $100,000 worth of treasure. And supposedly some lady found it. You can see the solution here: http://www.thefoolsparadise.com/db/so...
To be honest, the whole thing is way too involved for me to even consider the possibility, and I question whether someone actually solved it or not. There’s a photo blog by the person who solved it, which seems pretty convenient as well, especially the part where she gives up when she’s almost there and then sees something on her drive home that gives her a Eureka! moment straight out of some Sherlock Holmes bullshit. Call me crazy, but I don’t trust someone who stands around in a block of ice and spends way too much time maintaining his beard and not nearly enough on those eyebrows.
On a similar books/treasure hunt path, there was and still is a circulating rumor that there is a secret ending to Chuck Palahniuk’s Survivor which is embedded in the hardback back cover of some first edition copies.
The rumor has never proven true, from what I can tell. Maybe it’s a ploy by someone with a few first editions to try and rarify it and drive up the value. Although I can’t personally prove it either way, I have to believe that someone who found it wouldn’t be against providing photographic or textual evidence. But it’s kind of a cool rumor anyway.
So, pick up Emergency if you’re looking for an entertaining read and that’s about it. If you get through the first couple sections with no problems, then you’ll only build up speed from there.
February 18, 2012
Short version: I liked it. it's not a survival manual, it's a book about the changes in the author's life as he finds ways to tackle his sense of vulnerability and ill-preparedness to deal with a world gone bad.
I picked the book up in a charity shop for a couple of dollars, vaguely suspecting that it was the author who featured in the "How to be Jason Bourne" article on Tim Ferriss' blog (it is):
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/...
A few reviews on Amazon complained that the book wasn't really all the above blog post made it out to be, which reminded me a bit of the complaints about Tim Ferriss' own books along the lines of "I bought the 4 Hour Work Week, and I'm not working 4 hours a week! This book is rubbish!". For this book I think readers expected some kind of step-by-step emergency survival manual which, considering the authors other works, is quite naive. What it is, is a personal story about the changes Neil goes through from a growing paranoia about the future of the US, to his explorations of the survivalist solutions, ending with something of a twist in the way his outlook changes.
Another reviewer said the first 150 pages are a bit slow but once past that the pace picks up considerably, which is exactly right. I'd add to that and say the writing style also feels quite light and magazine-y until the pace picks up, the effect being that you're fairly unprepared for what is a quite thought provoking ending.
Whether you enjoy this book will probably depend on whether you like the author, I started suspicious I was going to find him vapid and self-obsessed but that opinion was changed by his self-deprecating humour and eventual conclusion.
More importantly for me, this is one of those books that make you think about changes you could make in your own life and for that I gave it 4/5.
I picked the book up in a charity shop for a couple of dollars, vaguely suspecting that it was the author who featured in the "How to be Jason Bourne" article on Tim Ferriss' blog (it is):
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/...
A few reviews on Amazon complained that the book wasn't really all the above blog post made it out to be, which reminded me a bit of the complaints about Tim Ferriss' own books along the lines of "I bought the 4 Hour Work Week, and I'm not working 4 hours a week! This book is rubbish!". For this book I think readers expected some kind of step-by-step emergency survival manual which, considering the authors other works, is quite naive. What it is, is a personal story about the changes Neil goes through from a growing paranoia about the future of the US, to his explorations of the survivalist solutions, ending with something of a twist in the way his outlook changes.
Another reviewer said the first 150 pages are a bit slow but once past that the pace picks up considerably, which is exactly right. I'd add to that and say the writing style also feels quite light and magazine-y until the pace picks up, the effect being that you're fairly unprepared for what is a quite thought provoking ending.
Whether you enjoy this book will probably depend on whether you like the author, I started suspicious I was going to find him vapid and self-obsessed but that opinion was changed by his self-deprecating humour and eventual conclusion.
More importantly for me, this is one of those books that make you think about changes you could make in your own life and for that I gave it 4/5.
did-not-finish
September 28, 2013For some reason going in I thought this would be more of a practical guide on how to survive. There are some graphic novel-type pages that do this but the rest of the book is Strauss being paranoid, talking to paranoid types, and exploring a bunch of barely legal stuff (quickest way to a second passport, how to live tax free).
I read to take stress out of my life and this book only added more. Abandoned after 120 pages.
I read to take stress out of my life and this book only added more. Abandoned after 120 pages.
June 15, 2017
A very dry read, but informative. If you're writing a story about survival during the end days, then this is a must-read.
May 7, 2009
I very much enjoyed this non-fiction read. It is the author's first hand account of his preparation for the worst. Specifically, he fears that America may collapse economically and/or become a police state, so he prepares himself for the worst. He does this by doing everything from getting a second passport, to learning city survival (how to get out of handcuffs and trunks, how to fight hand to hand), and natural survival (how to find wild plants to eat, how to hunt with natural tools and make your own shelters). Throughout the book he accumulates more and more knowledge, and more and more skills. *** SPOILER *** The end has a nice twist in that he sort of changes his tune from "If shit hits the fan, I'll run away as fast as I can" to "If shit hits the fan, I'll use all of my skills to help out other people".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2010
The first half of the book is quite annoying. The author goes on a fair bit about many of the problems that America has and why it's a target of hatred for so many around the world. That understanding leads him to dedicate his entire life to getting ready to escape the US WTSHTF.
But when he actually gets going with learning stuff, it's a great fascinating read.
It is important to know how to start fire, how to escape from cuffs, what to do if you're a victim of a chemical weapons attack and how to make a ghillie suit.
I won't be giving this book to a charity book sale.
But when he actually gets going with learning stuff, it's a great fascinating read.
It is important to know how to start fire, how to escape from cuffs, what to do if you're a victim of a chemical weapons attack and how to make a ghillie suit.
I won't be giving this book to a charity book sale.
July 25, 2014
Another awesome book by Neil Strauss. I really like this author, because
a) his writing is engaging and real,
b) he writes about stuff that happens to interest me a lot and
c) he doesn't do things halfway.
The book documents his accumulating knowledge on the subject of "what if", the impact it had on his life, the way he dealt with it and so on. Information in this book was often new to me, it was original, interesting and very well put together.
All in all, definitely worth reading :)
a) his writing is engaging and real,
b) he writes about stuff that happens to interest me a lot and
c) he doesn't do things halfway.
The book documents his accumulating knowledge on the subject of "what if", the impact it had on his life, the way he dealt with it and so on. Information in this book was often new to me, it was original, interesting and very well put together.
All in all, definitely worth reading :)
March 23, 2020
Would you be the eaten or the eater?
This is the third time I have read Neil Strauss's, "Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life" making it to the top of my most-read-list right alongside authors such as Hunter S. Thompson, Haruki Murakami, Leo Tolstoy, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Patti Smith (to name a few). Get over yourself if you are stuck on the fact Strauss wrote a book with Jenna Jameson or that he wrote a book completely dedicated to the art of picking up women--Strauss is an incredible journalist with a flare for entertainment, period.
If you have not read this book, do yourself a favor, especially looking at our current events, and read this enthralling work which encapsulates how to survive and Strauss's journey to prepare himself. It will not disappoint; and if you hate it use it for toilet paper during this shortage.
This is the third time I have read Neil Strauss's, "Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life" making it to the top of my most-read-list right alongside authors such as Hunter S. Thompson, Haruki Murakami, Leo Tolstoy, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Patti Smith (to name a few). Get over yourself if you are stuck on the fact Strauss wrote a book with Jenna Jameson or that he wrote a book completely dedicated to the art of picking up women--Strauss is an incredible journalist with a flare for entertainment, period.
If you have not read this book, do yourself a favor, especially looking at our current events, and read this enthralling work which encapsulates how to survive and Strauss's journey to prepare himself. It will not disappoint; and if you hate it use it for toilet paper during this shortage.
July 6, 2021
The author, I imagine, wanted to learn how to fight and shoot guns and live in the wild, and then he thought, "I should write a book about, and get paid doing, that." The Guardian calls these "stunt books." Considering Strauss's previous work, "The Game," is one of my favorites of all time and also a stunt book, they can work. Here, though, I don't think it does, because I don't believe most of what Strauss says he learned and did; I find his path to wildernessman to be abrupt and somewhat fake.
It's still fairly fun and inspiring, even still, in part because Strauss excels at combining a scene with some background and a life lesson. My biggest takeaway was being reminded that the U.S. was on its current trajectory for a couple decades. I came to this takeaway as Strauss reminded the reader of the facts of George Bush's first presidency, and the fact that even still he was voted in for a second term. So yes, if you live in the country I live in and fear a Mariah-Carey-career-like cliff dive for our society, then this book may inspire you to at the least remove nationality from your self-identity and start planning for an eventual new piece of land you call "home."
It's still fairly fun and inspiring, even still, in part because Strauss excels at combining a scene with some background and a life lesson. My biggest takeaway was being reminded that the U.S. was on its current trajectory for a couple decades. I came to this takeaway as Strauss reminded the reader of the facts of George Bush's first presidency, and the fact that even still he was voted in for a second term. So yes, if you live in the country I live in and fear a Mariah-Carey-career-like cliff dive for our society, then this book may inspire you to at the least remove nationality from your self-identity and start planning for an eventual new piece of land you call "home."
October 23, 2021
Neil Strauss(and perhaps his editors) don't know what the word "reactionary" means. Examples:
"Of course, I was years away from becoming a true nutcase. Back then I was just a reactionary, scrambling like everyone else. A survivalist is prepared beforehand."
"To Fliesians, civilizations don’t keep evolving. They progress until some reactionary element hits the reset button, and they have to start all over again."
"I researched both when I returned home and noticed that where survivalists are essentially reactionary, making preparations and then waiting just in case the system breaks down, permaculturists weren’t waiting. They were already living off the grid."
Other than that the book was fine.
"Of course, I was years away from becoming a true nutcase. Back then I was just a reactionary, scrambling like everyone else. A survivalist is prepared beforehand."
"To Fliesians, civilizations don’t keep evolving. They progress until some reactionary element hits the reset button, and they have to start all over again."
"I researched both when I returned home and noticed that where survivalists are essentially reactionary, making preparations and then waiting just in case the system breaks down, permaculturists weren’t waiting. They were already living off the grid."
Dictionary
adjective
adjective: reactionary
opposing political or social progress or reform.
"reactionary attitudes toward women's rights"
Similar:
right-wing, conservative,rightist
Other than that the book was fine.
June 30, 2017
This is a story about a neurotic, hedonistic, overspecialized, selfish, whiny, Blue Tribe journalist that, driven mostly by his own paranoia, becomes a competent and hardened, but also empathetic community hero. There's some useful info in this one too. For what it's worth, it inspired me to investigate joining the Community Emergency Response Team in my own home city.
November 27, 2017
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin
Neil Strauss is doing both, and this book is a great example of that. Not only did a learn many valuable things for life, but I also had a lot of fun while doing so.
Strauss has the ability to make non-fiction look like fiction. What an amazing storyteller, able to combine education and entertainment in such a valuable way.
I thought curiosity was one of my strengths, that I'm all about growing and learning. Yet, Neil Strauss takes that to the next level. I wrote many new things I want to learn (and obviously obsess about) at some point. Tracking skills, learning how to sail, and many more.
Also, this book made me think about new ideas to take my blogging and journaling to the next level. 2018 is going to be an interesting reading where I'll do my best to write things worth reading and do things worth writing.
Some of my highlights:
"Most people mistake comfort and familiarity for safety."
"What experience and history teach is this - that peoples and governments have never learned anything from history." - Hegel
"Those who run from death, like the survivalists in their bunkers and the permaculturists in the forest, also run from life."
Neil Strauss is doing both, and this book is a great example of that. Not only did a learn many valuable things for life, but I also had a lot of fun while doing so.
Strauss has the ability to make non-fiction look like fiction. What an amazing storyteller, able to combine education and entertainment in such a valuable way.
I thought curiosity was one of my strengths, that I'm all about growing and learning. Yet, Neil Strauss takes that to the next level. I wrote many new things I want to learn (and obviously obsess about) at some point. Tracking skills, learning how to sail, and many more.
Also, this book made me think about new ideas to take my blogging and journaling to the next level. 2018 is going to be an interesting reading where I'll do my best to write things worth reading and do things worth writing.
Some of my highlights:
"Most people mistake comfort and familiarity for safety."
"What experience and history teach is this - that peoples and governments have never learned anything from history." - Hegel
"Those who run from death, like the survivalists in their bunkers and the permaculturists in the forest, also run from life."
August 10, 2022
"We make fun of those we're most scared of becoming."
March 15, 2015
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The audible version is read by the author, a dry-witted New York Times music critic and self-proclaimed nerd who takes us on his journey of transformation from helpless urbanite totally reliant upon modern technologies and conveniences, to independent survivalist prepared to handle just about any doomsday scenario he can imagine. He is galvanized into action after a collective epiphany shakes him into realizing how dependent we are upon The System and how vulnerable we truly are if TSHTF (the shit hits the fan). His catalysts? The helpless uncertainty and anxiety felt as New Year's Eve 2000 approached and the possibility of a global Y2K technological breakdown seemed more and more real... the terror and surreal national threat created by the events Sept 11... the breakdown of social order, lack of government assistance, and painfully botched emergency response following Hurricane Katrina... the threat of global financial collapse during the banking crisis a few years ago. The truth is, there are many things that could wrong in a flash and suddenly turn the world as we know it into total chaos... and most of us are totally unprepared. To ready himself for the apocalypse, Neil Strauss creates a self-directed curriculum of education and training: using a gun, sustainable living, tracking and wilderness survival, knife skills, urban escape and evasion, edible plants, hand-to-hand street fighting and much more. Over time, he realizes the only way to make it is to adopt The Survivalist Motto: Endure, Adapt, Overcome. Thoroughly entertaining and full of information I never realized was so critical to my personal safety and family's future, I'm learning a lot and occasionally laughing out loud while driving alone in my car. I'm tempted to join my local CERT and CEMP teams, and start burying caches around Los Angeles.
March 28, 2011
Emergency + The Game = How to be James Bond
Seriously Neil we get it you are now the real life James Bond. If only you were British. Your last book the game focused on how to meet women. This one is about driving motor-cycles and shooting guns at the same time. The only thing he still needs is a jet-pack. I mean one of his friends in the book has a submarine in Iceland.
This book really drew me in and I finished it in about a week reading it at lunch time every day. I got the first few sample chapters via Tim Ferriss's blog. The free chapter I read online about getting a 2nd Passport from St. Kitt's was great. Maybe that was more Jason Bourne than James Bond though. That is so cool to get a 2nd passport.
I like the quick chapters and I dog eared about 10 pages. It also made me take a look at what I should be doing to become more prepared for crisis. Stock up on water now if you read this. When you think about it Neil should just combine this book with his previous effort to make a book on how to become a super spy. Starting fires, picking locks its all in here.
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Seriously Neil we get it you are now the real life James Bond. If only you were British. Your last book the game focused on how to meet women. This one is about driving motor-cycles and shooting guns at the same time. The only thing he still needs is a jet-pack. I mean one of his friends in the book has a submarine in Iceland.
This book really drew me in and I finished it in about a week reading it at lunch time every day. I got the first few sample chapters via Tim Ferriss's blog. The free chapter I read online about getting a 2nd Passport from St. Kitt's was great. Maybe that was more Jason Bourne than James Bond though. That is so cool to get a 2nd passport.
I like the quick chapters and I dog eared about 10 pages. It also made me take a look at what I should be doing to become more prepared for crisis. Stock up on water now if you read this. When you think about it Neil should just combine this book with his previous effort to make a book on how to become a super spy. Starting fires, picking locks its all in here.
Why no voting buttons? We don't let customers vote on their own reviews, so the voting buttons appear only when you look at reviews submitted by others.
December 24, 2014
Neil Strauss promises to teach us how to survive in the event of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, economic breakdown, riots, disease, and the general collapse of society as we know it. Well, Neil may not have noticed, but we've been attacked by terrorists, the economy is in the toilet, there are riots pretty much regularly, and the flu season comes and goes every winter. Yet America is thriving and there have been no bands of armed thugs roaming the countryside trying to steal your food. I have to roll my eyes and shake my head when I read about all the paranoid people who think "survival" means learning how to kill a rabbit with their bare hands and cooking it over a fire started by rubbing two sticks together. They don't need survival training. They need therapy.
It's not that I didn't enjoy the book. I liked it and found it informative and entertaining reading about these whacked out people. Strauss writes well and the book kept me interested and amused. Well, except for the goat. C'mon Neil, did you really have to do that? :(
It's not that I didn't enjoy the book. I liked it and found it informative and entertaining reading about these whacked out people. Strauss writes well and the book kept me interested and amused. Well, except for the goat. C'mon Neil, did you really have to do that? :(
January 3, 2010
Very enjoyable book- Strauss is a great writer and it was interesting to meet him at his DC book singing. It definitely motivated me to follow up on some of the things he mentions- I got now involved with the Fairfax Reserve Medical Corps as a volunteer coordinator. In addition to the benefit of public service, the fringe benefits you receive from getting involved are true and even more significant in real life.
For instance, Now my family and I get priority treatment / vaccination / medicine in the event of a biological outbreak or attack.
Priority cell phone access in case the networks get overloaded.
Early warning about what is really going on in the event of an emergency, and many more.
The best part about this book is how it forces you to consider how dependent we all are.
For instance, Now my family and I get priority treatment / vaccination / medicine in the event of a biological outbreak or attack.
Priority cell phone access in case the networks get overloaded.
Early warning about what is really going on in the event of an emergency, and many more.
The best part about this book is how it forces you to consider how dependent we all are.
January 28, 2018
This was a very entertaining and thought provoking book. I randomly put this on my e-reader because I was intrigued by the title. I read just a little of it one day and was sucked in immediately. At times it is a little slow but he looks at preparing for WTSHTF from a wide variety of angles. It has made me consider things that I hadn’t previously in regards to disaster preparedness. I’m going to do my Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training at some point this year, I’m putting together a Bug out bag (BOB) and I am going to make a more concerted effort to acclimatize to the seasons and be out in nature, foraging, tracking, and getting comfortable in my surroundings among other things.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever been paranoid or even a little concerned about what they might do in a major disaster.. because you can’t just rely on emergency services.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever been paranoid or even a little concerned about what they might do in a major disaster.. because you can’t just rely on emergency services.
February 4, 2017
Most of the authors who take on this topic are paranoid right-wing religious nut-jobs, with very little imagination or any artistic ability. Strauss brings a much needed refreshing look on this very important subject matter.
It is a great book for absolute beginners, and for readers with good knowledge on the subject of prepping and survival. With some interesting discussions with various notable authority figures, perspectives and technical information.
This book isn't a how-to database, but rather an exploration in motivation, on why becoming better at self-sufficiency, can make you a better person.
It is a great book for absolute beginners, and for readers with good knowledge on the subject of prepping and survival. With some interesting discussions with various notable authority figures, perspectives and technical information.
This book isn't a how-to database, but rather an exploration in motivation, on why becoming better at self-sufficiency, can make you a better person.
April 9, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Written from a mundane perspective. The reader can feel how the book changes as he gains more knowledge and literally transforms as a human being. This is a good book for the common man(/woman) who thinks about questions like 'how to survive without society'... most of humanity have truly lost something in the lifestyle of today. Many of the courses Neil took should be mandatory for everyone, then maybe we would have less greed and more gratefulness. Instead of teaching our kids 'don't do this,' 'do that' (without proper explanations) they would learn by experiencing and realize how precious some things are... things we easily take for granted.
January 20, 2010
Loved this book!! I've started to try to add some non-fiction to my lists... and this proved to be a good one! Neil Strauss has spent his life in a very urban, comfy world. This book chronicles his journey to become a self-sufficient person in life... learning survival techniques, weapon handling, goat raising, motorbike riding... as well as EMT and CERT skills. Very good read, and pretty clean as well. I'm not sure if I'll read any of his other books... but I'd recommend this one to anyone who might be interested!
January 2, 2018
Great book for folks worries about the future of the world
A great first-person account of one man's exploration of the world of survivalists, second passports, independent living and learning to help others. The book was an enjoyable easy read with some great ideas. I enjoyed his description of his personal development and how his world view changed over the course of his experiences. This is a great book for anybody worries about where the world is heading and how they will fare WTSHTF. I walked away with a long to-do list that I am starting to work on tomorrow.
A great first-person account of one man's exploration of the world of survivalists, second passports, independent living and learning to help others. The book was an enjoyable easy read with some great ideas. I enjoyed his description of his personal development and how his world view changed over the course of his experiences. This is a great book for anybody worries about where the world is heading and how they will fare WTSHTF. I walked away with a long to-do list that I am starting to work on tomorrow.
May 2, 2016
This book was very charming, despite the subconscious fear-mongering. Strauss tells his journey to enlightenment in the world of survival in a funny and heartfelt manner while still packing tons of anecdotes and fun facts in. Emergency might not be the best read for someone who is easy concerned with the end of the world or disasters natural or man-made, but if you can handle the thought, it's a very interesting read.
December 7, 2017
I really liked this book because I identify as "runner" like the author. Though I don't imagine I'll get dual citizenship and move all my assets to a Swiss Bank anytime soon I agree with the principle of self reliance. As Strauss mentions in his concluding pages...these skills aren't just about survival they're also about peace of mind. If you're calm and prepared most emergencies turn into minor inconveniences
February 4, 2019
To start with I should mention I’m not a fan of books in the nonfiction genre. I really did enjoy this book. It’s a great insight on something I feel a lot of people experience it’s interesting the progress that the author made throughout his journey. I do wonder how somebody could afford to do all the things he did and all the preparation. But nonetheless I think it gives some good insight on things to watch out for and keeping an eye on the signs of our times.
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