What do you think?
Rate this book
Tools for Survival: What You Need to Survive When You're on Your Own
Essential survival advice from a former U.S. Army Intelligence Corps Officer and the world’s preeminent expert in preparedness.For years, James Wesley, Rawles has lived a self-sufficient lifestyle along with his family on a property surrounded by National Forest. In his earlier bestselling nonfiction book, How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It, Rawles outlined the foundations for survivalist living. Now, he details the tools needed to survive anything from a short-term disruption to a long-term, grid-down scenario.Here, Rawles covers tools for every aspect of self sufficient living, • Food preservation and cooking• Welding and blacksmithing• Timber, firewood, and lumber• Firefighting• Archery and less-than-lethal defense tools• And more...Field-tested and comprehensive, Tools for Survival is a must-have reference for anyone who wants to know how to prepare for the worst.
- GenresNonfictionSurvival
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 30, 2014
51 people are currently reading
473 people want to read
About the author
James Wesley, Rawles
22 books249 followersJames Wesley, Rawles is a internationally recognized authority on family disaster preparedness and survivalism. He has been described by journalists as the "conscience of survivalism." Formerly a U.S. Army intelligence officer, Rawles is now a fiction and nonfiction author, as well as a rancher. His books have been translated into seven languages. He is also a lecturer and the founder and Senior Editor of http://www.SurvivalBlog.com, the Internet's first blogs on preparedness that has enjoyed perennial popularity and now receives more than 320,000 unique visits per week. He and his family live at a remote self-sufficient ranch surrounded by National Forest lands that is is cryptically identified as located "somewhere west of the Rockies.
Rawles worked as an Associate Editor and Regional Editor (for the Western U.S.) with Defense Electronics magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s and concurrently was Managing Editor of The International Countermeasures Handbook. He worked as a technical writer through most of the 1990s with a variety of electronics and software companies including Oracle Corporation. In 2005, he began blogging full-time. On his book covers and in his blog, he presents his name with a comma, as James Wesley, Rawles, to distinguish between his given name and his family name.
James Wesley, Rawles was born James Wesley Rawles in California in 1960 and attended local public schools. Rawles received a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose University.
From 1984 to 1993, he served as a United States Army Military Intelligence officer. He resigned his commission as a U.S. Army Captain immediately after Bill Clinton was inaugurated as President of the United States.
Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a popular blog on survival and preparedness topics. The blog has been described as "the guiding light of the prepper movement." The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threats toward society. In his various writings, Rawles has warned about socio-economic collapse, terrorist attacks, and food shortages.
He is now a freelance writer, blogger, and survival retreat consultant. One journalist called him a "survival guru" He was described as the "conscience of survivalism." Rawles is best known as the author of the survivalist novel Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse.
Rawles is an outspoken proponent of family preparedness, especially regarding food storage and advocates relocating to lightly populated rural "retreat" areas. His preparedness philosophy emphasizes the fragility of modern society, the value of silver and other tangibles for barter, recognition of moral absolutes, being well-armed, maintaining a "deep larder," relocation to rural retreats, and Christian charity. In an interview in The New York Times, Rawles identified himself as a "guns and groceries" survivalist.
Rawles interprets the 2nd Amendment as supporting citizens' individual rights to bear and keep arms. He believes they should be able to take arms to public events.
Rawles is opposed to racism. He supports abolition of modern slavery in the world.
Rawles is a spokeman for the surivalist movement. A central premise of that movement is that there is a high risk of a coming societal meltdown and the need to prepare for the repercussions. Rawles said that the popular media has developed an incorrect far-right "lunatic fringe" image in part because of the actions of a radical few such as Timothy McVeigh. He called this a distortion of the true message of survivalism. Unlike the handful of fringe proponents, Rawles focuses instead on family preparedness and personal freedom. Rawles explained that the typical survivalist does not actually live in a rural area, but is rather is a city dweller worried about the collapse of society who views the rural lifestyle as idyllic. Speaking from his experience, Rawles cautions that rural self-sufficiency a
Rawles worked as an Associate Editor and Regional Editor (for the Western U.S.) with Defense Electronics magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s and concurrently was Managing Editor of The International Countermeasures Handbook. He worked as a technical writer through most of the 1990s with a variety of electronics and software companies including Oracle Corporation. In 2005, he began blogging full-time. On his book covers and in his blog, he presents his name with a comma, as James Wesley, Rawles, to distinguish between his given name and his family name.
James Wesley, Rawles was born James Wesley Rawles in California in 1960 and attended local public schools. Rawles received a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose University.
From 1984 to 1993, he served as a United States Army Military Intelligence officer. He resigned his commission as a U.S. Army Captain immediately after Bill Clinton was inaugurated as President of the United States.
Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a popular blog on survival and preparedness topics. The blog has been described as "the guiding light of the prepper movement." The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threats toward society. In his various writings, Rawles has warned about socio-economic collapse, terrorist attacks, and food shortages.
He is now a freelance writer, blogger, and survival retreat consultant. One journalist called him a "survival guru" He was described as the "conscience of survivalism." Rawles is best known as the author of the survivalist novel Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse.
Rawles is an outspoken proponent of family preparedness, especially regarding food storage and advocates relocating to lightly populated rural "retreat" areas. His preparedness philosophy emphasizes the fragility of modern society, the value of silver and other tangibles for barter, recognition of moral absolutes, being well-armed, maintaining a "deep larder," relocation to rural retreats, and Christian charity. In an interview in The New York Times, Rawles identified himself as a "guns and groceries" survivalist.
Rawles interprets the 2nd Amendment as supporting citizens' individual rights to bear and keep arms. He believes they should be able to take arms to public events.
Rawles is opposed to racism. He supports abolition of modern slavery in the world.
Rawles is a spokeman for the surivalist movement. A central premise of that movement is that there is a high risk of a coming societal meltdown and the need to prepare for the repercussions. Rawles said that the popular media has developed an incorrect far-right "lunatic fringe" image in part because of the actions of a radical few such as Timothy McVeigh. He called this a distortion of the true message of survivalism. Unlike the handful of fringe proponents, Rawles focuses instead on family preparedness and personal freedom. Rawles explained that the typical survivalist does not actually live in a rural area, but is rather is a city dweller worried about the collapse of society who views the rural lifestyle as idyllic. Speaking from his experience, Rawles cautions that rural self-sufficiency a
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 23, 2025
Very useful and fun.
December 30, 2014
I requested this book from Netgalley out of curiosity. Rawles is a former U.S. Army Intelligence officer who is now a survivalist blogger and lecturer. He and his family live on a large, self-sustaining ranch somewhere in the Northwest United States.
This book is a listing of the tools Rawles feels are necessary for one to own and know how to use should survival on one's own become necessary. The list includes Rawles recommendations for types and specific brands of equipment. This is not an instruction manual - although a library of resources is recommended - but a considered listing of what to accumulate in order to have the raw materials needed to survive should a natural or man-made disaster occur.
On the whole, I found Rawles a fairly reasonable person - aside from his frequent swipes at "liberal nanny states" that don't want you walking around the local supermarket with automatic weapons. His list seemed comprehensive and well-reasoned to my own amateur eyes. I might not agree with all his views, but I wouldn't mind being his friendly next door neighbor when the Crash comes.
This book is a listing of the tools Rawles feels are necessary for one to own and know how to use should survival on one's own become necessary. The list includes Rawles recommendations for types and specific brands of equipment. This is not an instruction manual - although a library of resources is recommended - but a considered listing of what to accumulate in order to have the raw materials needed to survive should a natural or man-made disaster occur.
On the whole, I found Rawles a fairly reasonable person - aside from his frequent swipes at "liberal nanny states" that don't want you walking around the local supermarket with automatic weapons. His list seemed comprehensive and well-reasoned to my own amateur eyes. I might not agree with all his views, but I wouldn't mind being his friendly next door neighbor when the Crash comes.
February 17, 2024
Rawles is an interesting author. It would be wonderful to just sit down with him and discuss his religious philosophies. He seems to be a Christian who believes bad economic times are coming, but unlike many of the Christian movement does not take it as the "End of Days," etc. He has a very realistic view on what could happen if America went through another "Great Depression."
This book is more than just a list of tools to have on hand. He outlines why each tool would be useful. He gives the Pros and Cons. He advocates the usage of the old powerless tools, the use of which is an all but lost art. This book is useful to the beginning prepper or just the poor man who can't afford that nice new cordless drill at Home Depot.
This book is more than just a list of tools to have on hand. He outlines why each tool would be useful. He gives the Pros and Cons. He advocates the usage of the old powerless tools, the use of which is an all but lost art. This book is useful to the beginning prepper or just the poor man who can't afford that nice new cordless drill at Home Depot.
December 26, 2018
I had previously read Rawles fiction writing and this was my first foray into his non-fiction work. While this is basically an encyclopedia of tools and their uses, it was not as boring as that might sound at first. It was a slow go, but very educational and I will keep this book on my shelf for use as future reference material. There were a number of tools I had never encountered before and that were fun to learn about. It also left me feeling very proud of the collection I do have! Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone who is prepping, whether for TEOTWAWKI or just for a fully equipped workshop.
May 24, 2020
Reference guide covering all manner of tools from common hand tools, weaponry and right on through sewing machines and knitting needles!
November 10, 2024
a little out there but interesting to hear
Did Not Finish
March 17, 2023Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via First to Read, in exchange for an honest review.
My Thoughts: Initially I wasn’t sure about Tools for Survival when I was selected for a copy by First to Read. I thought it would end up reading like a How To for Dummies book, which is not something I enjoy reading. In the end, I decided to give Tools for Survival a chance without pre-judging it.
At first, I thought I was brilliant and would end up telling everyone I’d found a hidden gem of a book. Alas, that wasn’t the case for me.
Tools for Survival ended up being a DNF (did not finish). It started out talking about all of these crazy things that could happen (i.e. nuclear attacks, electric pulses, etc.). It was extremely interesting and I was eating it up. Then it switched into detailing tools you may need and sounding more like a How To for Dummies.
I’ll be completely honest. It got to the point where every time I picked it up to continue where I left off, I’d fall asleep. That never bodes well with a book.
I personally would not recommend Tools for Survival, unless I knew someone who was a hardcore survivalist or wanted to begin preparing for possibilities that I actually find kind of ridiculous (like the show Doomsday Preppers).
For more reviews, check out Reviews In A Pinch today!
My Thoughts: Initially I wasn’t sure about Tools for Survival when I was selected for a copy by First to Read. I thought it would end up reading like a How To for Dummies book, which is not something I enjoy reading. In the end, I decided to give Tools for Survival a chance without pre-judging it.
At first, I thought I was brilliant and would end up telling everyone I’d found a hidden gem of a book. Alas, that wasn’t the case for me.
Tools for Survival ended up being a DNF (did not finish). It started out talking about all of these crazy things that could happen (i.e. nuclear attacks, electric pulses, etc.). It was extremely interesting and I was eating it up. Then it switched into detailing tools you may need and sounding more like a How To for Dummies.
I’ll be completely honest. It got to the point where every time I picked it up to continue where I left off, I’d fall asleep. That never bodes well with a book.
I personally would not recommend Tools for Survival, unless I knew someone who was a hardcore survivalist or wanted to begin preparing for possibilities that I actually find kind of ridiculous (like the show Doomsday Preppers).
For more reviews, check out Reviews In A Pinch today!
February 22, 2016
I'll start by saying that Rawles is definitely one of my favorite survival guide writers. In this book he chronicles the necessary, and best, tools to use for survival, self reliance, and homesteading. He covers everything from farming tools, machinist and welding tools and equipment, firearm recommendations, safety tools, first aid/trauma care and medical kit tools, and all types of tools that should be included in any complete tool box or workshop. He even goes into the specifics of which brands are good, what tools are best for certain jobs, the best way to find good tools for cheap, what to look for in good tooling (and bad), and even how to use many of them. Add to this, he even explains his personal experience with most of them and his first hand knowledge on tips on their usage.
This book is great for anyone putting together a workshop, survival kit, retreat, or even just interested in learning about tools in general. I highly suggest this for any man who considers himself a handy guy or a wannabe Tim the Toolman Taylor. Also great for anyone who wishes to become more self-reliant.
This book is great for anyone putting together a workshop, survival kit, retreat, or even just interested in learning about tools in general. I highly suggest this for any man who considers himself a handy guy or a wannabe Tim the Toolman Taylor. Also great for anyone who wishes to become more self-reliant.
September 3, 2015
Every halfway decent disaster preparedness resource begins with (or at least includes) a list of lists; due to the multi-faceted nature of the subject. Tools For Survival is just such a resource. It is a fairly comprehensive listing based on the author's actual experience.
Do not make the mistake of picking up this book for an entertaining read. It is an informational resource and, as such, is highly educational for the majority of people reading it.
I strongly believe that it belongs in the library of anyone with even a remote interest in living a self sufficient lifestyle. This style of living requires of anyone attempting it to have a well-rounded set of skills and abilities; to be a Jack-of-all-Trades, as it were.
It stands to reason, then, that a person with a well-rounded set of skills be supported by a well-rounded set of tools. If, however, you don't already have everything you need or don't know what you will need, then begin with this this excellent resource.
Do not make the mistake of picking up this book for an entertaining read. It is an informational resource and, as such, is highly educational for the majority of people reading it.
I strongly believe that it belongs in the library of anyone with even a remote interest in living a self sufficient lifestyle. This style of living requires of anyone attempting it to have a well-rounded set of skills and abilities; to be a Jack-of-all-Trades, as it were.
It stands to reason, then, that a person with a well-rounded set of skills be supported by a well-rounded set of tools. If, however, you don't already have everything you need or don't know what you will need, then begin with this this excellent resource.
December 3, 2014
This is not a survivalist guide; this is a long and expensive shopping list. Basic survivalist guides talk about tools and how to use them. Good guides add in projects, while the best ones show you how to hone your abilities in everyday life so that important skills will be ingrained when the apocalypse comes. This book does no such thing; the reader is simply given a list of tools that he will surely need in the future.
You'll need steel ratchet tensioners! They're listed in the livestock fencing section of the book, so they probably have something to do with building fences. Don't know exactly what they do or how to use them? Too bad, because there's no explanation. But make sure you avoid Chinese knockoffs; instead, get some mail-order ones from a specific American-New Zealand company.
I received a free copy of this book as part of Penguin’s First to Read program.
You'll need steel ratchet tensioners! They're listed in the livestock fencing section of the book, so they probably have something to do with building fences. Don't know exactly what they do or how to use them? Too bad, because there's no explanation. But make sure you avoid Chinese knockoffs; instead, get some mail-order ones from a specific American-New Zealand company.
I received a free copy of this book as part of Penguin’s First to Read program.
May 26, 2015
Rawles's philosophy is that over a lifetime, one should acquire things that may be needed should some unforeseen apocalypse occur and US civilization is punched back a century or so. So, this book is a comprehensive guide on tools and supplies that the reader may need. It's well-organized, mostly practical, and includes a bibliography for specific sections. Very little time is spent on how one should use these tools. An inordinate amount of space is dedicated to guns, relative to other tools. I would not recommend "Tools for Survival" unless the reader is a hardcore survivalist or a farmer/rancher.
November 30, 2014
A comprehensive guide on tools and supplies to have for surviving most catastrophes. This nonfiction book is both informative and even a little humorous at times. It's well-organized, mostly practical, and includes a nice bibliography for specific sections. This book would make a great gift for any outdoorsman.
Penguin First to Read Galley
Penguin First to Read Galley
July 9, 2020
Good book, big shopping list, for someone with a large budget. Some things seem overkill, but perhaps those with a commercial sewing machine will be laughing at me when i don't.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews