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100 Skills You'll Need for the End of the World
What skills will you need after a global catastrophe? Whether it’s the end of oil, an environmental disaster, or something entirely unforeseen, Ana Maria Spagna outlines 100 skills you’ll find indispensable for life after the apocalypse. Once the dust has settled, you’ll need to know how to barter, perform basic first aid, preserve food, cut your own hair, clean a chimney, navigate by the stars, stitch a wound, darn socks, and sharpen blades. You’ll also want to build a stable and safe community, so you’ll need to master the arts of conversation, child raising, listening, music making, and storytelling. This fascinating and entertaining book, full of quirky illustrations by artist Brian Cronin, will provoke surprise, debate, and laughter while it provides a road map to greater self-reliance and joy, whatever the future brings.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 18, 2015
28 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
Ana Maria Spagna
15 books42 followersAna Maria Spagna is the author of nine books including PUSHED: Miners, a Merchant and (Maybe) a Massacre forthcoming from Torrey House Press, UPLAKE: Restless Essays of Coming and Going and the poetry chapbook, MILE MARKER SIX, as well as THE LUCKIEST SCAR ON EARTH, a novel about Charlotte, a 14-year old snowboarder. Previous books include RECLAIMERS, stories of indigenous people reclaiming sacred land and water, the memoir/history TEST RIDE ON THE SUNNYLAND BUS: A Daughter’s Civil Rights Journey, winner of the River Teeth literary nonfiction prize, and two previous collections of essays, POTLUCK, finalist for the Washington State Book Award, and NOW GO HOME, a Seattle Times Best Book of 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
September 13, 2016
Not quite sure what the point or purpose of this book was. I could only conclude that it's meant as a sort of coffee table book, or snarky gift book for friends, or something along this line. Because it's sure as hell not going to help you if the end of the world really comes.
For every "skill" listed, there is an accompanying illustration. The text for each skill takes up 1 page, as does the illustration, & they face each other. The illustrations are very nicely done, and for the most part they show that the text is not meant to be taken seriously.
In the meantime, some of the "skills" listed are "laughing", "listening", "sleeping", "storytelling", "staying home", "daydreaming", "conversing", and such. Yes, I know right? Were you rolling your eyes like me?
There are some "legitimate" skills such as "hunting", "foraging", "tailoring", "tanning", "fire-making", "composting", etc. But the text wasn't of much help at all. It was more of casual filler-text kind of remarks.
And then there was "chimney cleaning".
I really don't know what to make of all this. If the end of the world really did come, there would be no chimneys left to clean.
P.S. The book was not amusing, funny, interesting or entertaining in any way. Whoever did the illustrations is a very skilled artist though. I would buy his/her art.
For every "skill" listed, there is an accompanying illustration. The text for each skill takes up 1 page, as does the illustration, & they face each other. The illustrations are very nicely done, and for the most part they show that the text is not meant to be taken seriously.
In the meantime, some of the "skills" listed are "laughing", "listening", "sleeping", "storytelling", "staying home", "daydreaming", "conversing", and such. Yes, I know right? Were you rolling your eyes like me?
There are some "legitimate" skills such as "hunting", "foraging", "tailoring", "tanning", "fire-making", "composting", etc. But the text wasn't of much help at all. It was more of casual filler-text kind of remarks.
And then there was "chimney cleaning".
I really don't know what to make of all this. If the end of the world really did come, there would be no chimneys left to clean.
P.S. The book was not amusing, funny, interesting or entertaining in any way. Whoever did the illustrations is a very skilled artist though. I would buy his/her art.
February 12, 2015
At work, while working on a book project, I learned a new word, or, rather, a funny acronym: Teotwawki. Teotwawki is the lingo used by survivalists, preppers and their more fanatical ilk. It stands for “the end of the world as we know it.” Survival guides that chronicle what to do in the event of teotwawki abound. And there are tons of resources out there on living off the grid. In fact, just hop on the internet—preferably before we lose the grid and before all the servers blow up—and pop in one of those hard-bitten search terms into Google.
It’s easy to shrug off people who are obsessed with survival as a lifestyle. They can seem amusing in their well-meaning earnestness, in the way they fill up their basements and pantries with provisions and guns. Hey, teotwawki. A little out of touch with reality? Perhaps. But living on the West Coast, with the threat of “the big one” ever imminent from a quake in the Cascadia subduction zone or in the San Andreas fault, I have to say that my utter dearth of survival skills does pop up in the back of my mind every so often. I don’t have much in the way of practical skills.
Sure, I love the outdoors, I can do the outdoors, but I often stick to the designated trails. If I ever do camp, I’m staying in those well-appointed camp grounds set up by the National Parks and Recreation, with running water and toilets nearby. If the lights ever did go out and the basic comforts suddenly disappeared, I’d be the first wave of the doomed. I’d be those sad, lost people stumbling around staring at their phones, not knowing how to find and secure clean water, or to skin a squirrel, just wondering—why is Twitter down? I can picture myself scrounging for scraps of food, shivering in the cold, slowly losing my mind. It’s ridiculous and laughable but maybe not too far off the mark.
So it was with a little trepidation and amusement that I read Ana Maria Spagna’s 100 Skills for the End of the World as We Know It. With a title like that, you would think I’d have scored the ultimate book on surviving every extreme situation. But this isn’t that kind of book. 100 Skills is more a list of what you should know. The book justifies why you should learn a skill but does little to instill confidence in mastering a skill. Each suggested skillset gets described in a just a few paragraphs. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could ever learn how to forage for food, dig a latrine, tan my own animal skins, and build a shelter with only a few lines of description and sketches for each. The book functions more like an illustrated checklist than anything else.
If you like your survival manuals thorough and serious, this isn’t the book for you. Where Spagna’s book excels is in managing to make a grim topic whimsical and light. 100 Skills is more droll and playful in tone than a survival book has any right to be. In fact, some of the entries on this list will make you wonder: daydreaming, walking, laughter, and handwriting—really? Some entries are obvious soft skills—bartering, negotiating—that probably could be lumped into a section on communication skills. Because of this, the tone of the book can feel wildly inconsistent. Is Spagna being ironic when she writes about falconry, butchering, foraging for food, grafting, and disposing of trash—right alongside daydreaming? The equally whimsical illustrations by Brian Cronin further add to the book’s tongue-in-cheek tone, and for a moment you forget that you’re reading a book about surviving the end of the world.
I can’t say I’m disappointed after reading this. As a kind gag gift of sorts for people like me, 100 Skills is probably perfect. You have to read it with a sense of irony, or it just doesn’t work. It’s a book you can flick through easily, a decent coffee table book. It’s a book that’s amusing but also appalling, because you’ll be reminded at how utterly hopeless most of us are in the modern age. We work mostly on computers, drive our cars, check our smartphones for the weather or directions, drink clean water on demand, and luxuriate under hot showers and heated blankets. Without all that, what can we do?
If anything, 100 Skills does demonstrate how much we’ve lost in terms of basic, practical knowledge. (I knew I should have taken that welding class in high school!) Maybe I should start learning how to dry meats, tend a beehive, and start a fire. I need to find myself a girl scout or a farmer or an ex-Navy Seal for advice. Honestly, that would probably be more useful than this book.
[Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest and candid review.]
It’s easy to shrug off people who are obsessed with survival as a lifestyle. They can seem amusing in their well-meaning earnestness, in the way they fill up their basements and pantries with provisions and guns. Hey, teotwawki. A little out of touch with reality? Perhaps. But living on the West Coast, with the threat of “the big one” ever imminent from a quake in the Cascadia subduction zone or in the San Andreas fault, I have to say that my utter dearth of survival skills does pop up in the back of my mind every so often. I don’t have much in the way of practical skills.
Sure, I love the outdoors, I can do the outdoors, but I often stick to the designated trails. If I ever do camp, I’m staying in those well-appointed camp grounds set up by the National Parks and Recreation, with running water and toilets nearby. If the lights ever did go out and the basic comforts suddenly disappeared, I’d be the first wave of the doomed. I’d be those sad, lost people stumbling around staring at their phones, not knowing how to find and secure clean water, or to skin a squirrel, just wondering—why is Twitter down? I can picture myself scrounging for scraps of food, shivering in the cold, slowly losing my mind. It’s ridiculous and laughable but maybe not too far off the mark.
So it was with a little trepidation and amusement that I read Ana Maria Spagna’s 100 Skills for the End of the World as We Know It. With a title like that, you would think I’d have scored the ultimate book on surviving every extreme situation. But this isn’t that kind of book. 100 Skills is more a list of what you should know. The book justifies why you should learn a skill but does little to instill confidence in mastering a skill. Each suggested skillset gets described in a just a few paragraphs. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could ever learn how to forage for food, dig a latrine, tan my own animal skins, and build a shelter with only a few lines of description and sketches for each. The book functions more like an illustrated checklist than anything else.
If you like your survival manuals thorough and serious, this isn’t the book for you. Where Spagna’s book excels is in managing to make a grim topic whimsical and light. 100 Skills is more droll and playful in tone than a survival book has any right to be. In fact, some of the entries on this list will make you wonder: daydreaming, walking, laughter, and handwriting—really? Some entries are obvious soft skills—bartering, negotiating—that probably could be lumped into a section on communication skills. Because of this, the tone of the book can feel wildly inconsistent. Is Spagna being ironic when she writes about falconry, butchering, foraging for food, grafting, and disposing of trash—right alongside daydreaming? The equally whimsical illustrations by Brian Cronin further add to the book’s tongue-in-cheek tone, and for a moment you forget that you’re reading a book about surviving the end of the world.
I can’t say I’m disappointed after reading this. As a kind gag gift of sorts for people like me, 100 Skills is probably perfect. You have to read it with a sense of irony, or it just doesn’t work. It’s a book you can flick through easily, a decent coffee table book. It’s a book that’s amusing but also appalling, because you’ll be reminded at how utterly hopeless most of us are in the modern age. We work mostly on computers, drive our cars, check our smartphones for the weather or directions, drink clean water on demand, and luxuriate under hot showers and heated blankets. Without all that, what can we do?
If anything, 100 Skills does demonstrate how much we’ve lost in terms of basic, practical knowledge. (I knew I should have taken that welding class in high school!) Maybe I should start learning how to dry meats, tend a beehive, and start a fire. I need to find myself a girl scout or a farmer or an ex-Navy Seal for advice. Honestly, that would probably be more useful than this book.
[Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest and candid review.]
July 27, 2015
This book is a dud. Normally, I will just give a book like this a 1 star and go on my way. But I actually looked forward to this book. Luckily I acquired it through a Kindle share by a friend. If I had bought this book I would have been very disappointed at my bad luck. These are one of the books you notice in your friends guest washrooms that sit by the toilet for people to look through while they do their business (next to 1001 dirty jokes and the Worst Case Scenario survival guide).
There is nothing in this book that teaches you anything. There are 100 topics that the author feels would be required in a societal collapse. None of which I must stress are given more than a page of generalization of the topic. In that 100 are some real duds like: Animal Husbandry, Cheese making, Conversing, Daydreaming, Laughing and Revising. You know, the stuff you will need to survive. Ummm, perhaps not.
A book written with instruction on useful topics was implied. This is not that book. You would learn more reading something by Bear Grylls or issued by the Boy Scouts. This book is simply a dud. A dud that will collect dust in your guest bathroom.
There is nothing in this book that teaches you anything. There are 100 topics that the author feels would be required in a societal collapse. None of which I must stress are given more than a page of generalization of the topic. In that 100 are some real duds like: Animal Husbandry, Cheese making, Conversing, Daydreaming, Laughing and Revising. You know, the stuff you will need to survive. Ummm, perhaps not.
A book written with instruction on useful topics was implied. This is not that book. You would learn more reading something by Bear Grylls or issued by the Boy Scouts. This book is simply a dud. A dud that will collect dust in your guest bathroom.
September 5, 2015
No idea why someone agree to publish this thing.
June 23, 2024
An easy reading and informative book. 100 skills- some useful, some wonky and all probably necessary in a SHTF scenario. You can't learn them all but you can learn many of them. Overall a fun and thought provoking text.
May 1, 2015
This little book offers an alphabetical variety of skills from the practical (navigating by the sun/moon/stars, harnessing horses) to the social (bartering, storytelling, music), some expected (beekeeping, animal tracks, basic knots, latrine digging) and some surprising (falconry, cloud reading, hoarding, porch sitting). This isn't intended to be a detailed book; each skill is discussed in a few paragraphs which explain its uses, the reasons for it and sometimes suggestions or tips. A few are expanded upon with more detail and pictures, like those for basic first aid and listening to bird songs.
There's no consistent indication of the skill required, so don't expect to become a competent blacksmith easily, but I was pleased to see that proper hot water and pressure canning was discussed rather than the "turn it over like your granny did" method, which is not good for long-term storage.
Some of the solutions involve things that aren't easy to replicate or source in an end-of-the-world scenario, so don't expect to be using ginseng or coconut oil unless you live in the right part of the world. Others lack detail (the entry on splicing most notably, as it gets diverted into making 2-ply cords and never actually gets round to splicing) while navigation by moss growth depends on which hemisphere you live in, but otherwise it's a nice little overview and good for starting interesting and fun discussions.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There's no consistent indication of the skill required, so don't expect to become a competent blacksmith easily, but I was pleased to see that proper hot water and pressure canning was discussed rather than the "turn it over like your granny did" method, which is not good for long-term storage.
Some of the solutions involve things that aren't easy to replicate or source in an end-of-the-world scenario, so don't expect to be using ginseng or coconut oil unless you live in the right part of the world. Others lack detail (the entry on splicing most notably, as it gets diverted into making 2-ply cords and never actually gets round to splicing) while navigation by moss growth depends on which hemisphere you live in, but otherwise it's a nice little overview and good for starting interesting and fun discussions.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 31, 2015
This is such an adorable little coffee table book! Loved the illustrations for each entry. The simple, dictionary style layout. The overly-simplified entries on everything from blacksmithing, cobbling,fletching, latrine digging, midwifery, tanning, and even weaving. One thing is now abundantly clear to me, if I'm ever without electricity, gas, or water, for even a few hours, I will undoubtedly die. I know my limits, and everything this little book discusses is WAY outside of my limits. But I did love looking at it all the same!
December 14, 2017
I really don't see the point to this book. The best analogy I could come up with for this is shopping for a complete stranger who has supplied the most basic shopping list with no details.
"Buy cereal." OK. What kind? Captain Crunch? Shredded Wheat?
"Buy milk." Skim? Chocolate? Lactose free?
"Learn foraging." OK.....Can I eat this mushroom? Hello?
All the skills listed include just the barest of details but are also accompanied by at least one illustration. The illustrations are nice and they are essentially what keeps the book from being about as useful as a checklist.
"Buy cereal." OK. What kind? Captain Crunch? Shredded Wheat?
"Buy milk." Skim? Chocolate? Lactose free?
"Learn foraging." OK.....Can I eat this mushroom? Hello?
All the skills listed include just the barest of details but are also accompanied by at least one illustration. The illustrations are nice and they are essentially what keeps the book from being about as useful as a checklist.
March 28, 2020
An enchanting little book full of nuggets of wry wisdom so long as you don’t take yourself and all your doomsday prepping too seriously. I loved it.
February 12, 2015
Admittedly, I’m pretty helpless when it comes to filing taxes and organizing crowd control, but when it comes to the end of the world, you’ll want me on your team. My Girl Scout badges are going to be portable advertising if you’re looking for baskets or shelter, right?
With an intro called Future Tense, we have whispers of a post-apocalyptic world. Ms. Spagna writes, “In my first class as a high school freshman, I entered the room to find every inch of every blackboard covered with numbers…. The teacher, a biblical scholar…explained that these were all dates on which someone, likely a prophet, had predicted that the world would end.” My question: WHAT WAS THE CLASS?!! And that snarly little voice in my head teased, “Only in America, right?” It’s only implied here, but clear enough to echo in my mind, is that industrial education does not prepare us for an unpredictable future. I was born in the atomic age, full of promise for life beyond the final frontier, yet the world leaders with their fingers forever on The Trigger.
“The most important skills may be those that require us to rethink the familiar, to adopt a new perspective.” I have a strong sense that Ms. Spagna had an energetic brainstorming session with her friends, and her list invites me to do the same. We can keep score of how many accomplishments we’re capable and call it the Post-Apocalyptic-Usefulness-Quotient.
I can appreciate that she respects hoarding. Seriously, you never know what you’ll need in the next housing assignment. Is the power 110 or 220, if we have any electricity at all? Why toss out the vacuum cleaner if you’ll need it on your return? What if books in English aren’t available when amazon … gasp! Back to the Dark Ages! “In the future not reducing might be the key to recycling and reusing.” Maybe it’s not yet time to repurpose my library of Scouting (The Scouts are awesome when it comes to the essentials), Grandpa’s copy of How To Do Things, the Foxfire books, 1930s hobby books, and Richard W. Langer’s Grow It!.
It was rather disappointing to see only one page per skill. There was really not much useful information or guidance in these pages. Rather, this is the book for when you and your friends and family are unexpectedly snowed-in at your mountain cabin…with no electricity or running water and without satellite connection. Did anyone remember to bring the banjo?
With an intro called Future Tense, we have whispers of a post-apocalyptic world. Ms. Spagna writes, “In my first class as a high school freshman, I entered the room to find every inch of every blackboard covered with numbers…. The teacher, a biblical scholar…explained that these were all dates on which someone, likely a prophet, had predicted that the world would end.” My question: WHAT WAS THE CLASS?!! And that snarly little voice in my head teased, “Only in America, right?” It’s only implied here, but clear enough to echo in my mind, is that industrial education does not prepare us for an unpredictable future. I was born in the atomic age, full of promise for life beyond the final frontier, yet the world leaders with their fingers forever on The Trigger.
“The most important skills may be those that require us to rethink the familiar, to adopt a new perspective.” I have a strong sense that Ms. Spagna had an energetic brainstorming session with her friends, and her list invites me to do the same. We can keep score of how many accomplishments we’re capable and call it the Post-Apocalyptic-Usefulness-Quotient.
I can appreciate that she respects hoarding. Seriously, you never know what you’ll need in the next housing assignment. Is the power 110 or 220, if we have any electricity at all? Why toss out the vacuum cleaner if you’ll need it on your return? What if books in English aren’t available when amazon … gasp! Back to the Dark Ages! “In the future not reducing might be the key to recycling and reusing.” Maybe it’s not yet time to repurpose my library of Scouting (The Scouts are awesome when it comes to the essentials), Grandpa’s copy of How To Do Things, the Foxfire books, 1930s hobby books, and Richard W. Langer’s Grow It!.
It was rather disappointing to see only one page per skill. There was really not much useful information or guidance in these pages. Rather, this is the book for when you and your friends and family are unexpectedly snowed-in at your mountain cabin…with no electricity or running water and without satellite connection. Did anyone remember to bring the banjo?
July 11, 2024
Something that has stayed consistent throughout my life is my deep, existential fear of the end of civilization. Ever since I played Fallout 3 in high school and a plethora of other video games about humans sifting through the ashes of a vaporized world, I can't keep my mind off of it. Later in college I watched the End of Evangelion and its beautiful yet confusing artistic vision of the end of all things. Post-graduation, I realized that I'll never have to ascend from a vault or gaze out into a red ocean of primordial soup, but the U.S.'s painfully stupid denial of climate science and capitalist greed are things I've had to wake up to. I've had a lot of days working at a gas station or a grocery store when I'd rather be rioting and kicking Jeff Bezos' ribs in.
But even when everything seemed really hopeless, I stumbled upon this book and found a little spark. Its full of drawings and really good advice about how to survive in a post-civilization world. A lot of the knowledge is applied, and I don't have a lot of gardening or medical prowess at my disposal. But I'm happy to say I've still got my computer to do research on.
That's probably the books biggest con, is that all of the knowledge isn't beginner knowledge. There are helpful guides but they're only here or there when I wanted addtional diagrams for gardening, falconry, and water filtration. The pros of the book however, are what bits of advice are here. Proper management of crops, water, animals, clothes, and even people are all detailed and cleverly written about in this practical little book. I'm happy to say its helped me deal with my fear of apocalypse and left me a little more hopeful for my personal future.
But even when everything seemed really hopeless, I stumbled upon this book and found a little spark. Its full of drawings and really good advice about how to survive in a post-civilization world. A lot of the knowledge is applied, and I don't have a lot of gardening or medical prowess at my disposal. But I'm happy to say I've still got my computer to do research on.
That's probably the books biggest con, is that all of the knowledge isn't beginner knowledge. There are helpful guides but they're only here or there when I wanted addtional diagrams for gardening, falconry, and water filtration. The pros of the book however, are what bits of advice are here. Proper management of crops, water, animals, clothes, and even people are all detailed and cleverly written about in this practical little book. I'm happy to say its helped me deal with my fear of apocalypse and left me a little more hopeful for my personal future.
July 15, 2015
Review written for and published by Portland Book Review on June 22nd:
Survivalist and sustainable living books are incredibly popular in our culture right now, which perhaps is tied to the ongoing fascination with dystopian and Armageddon themed films, and other media. People are stocking up on books that will help improve their knowledge on how to handle a possible emergency where they have to rough it, survive the elements, and learn to survive without technology. However, 100 Skills You’ll Need for the End of the World (As We Know It) is not one of those books.
While there are a few specific and somewhat helpful how-to guides – such as how to pitch a simple tent and knots everyone should know – the majority of the book is just a list of skills that people should have but no real guidance on how they should go about obtaining it. The book suggests that things like canning, fletching arrows, weaving, and mending are important skills to have, but you’ll have to look elsewhere to actually get directions. This collection may work as a gift book for someone who has never thought about worst case scenarios, but from a survivalist standpoint 100 Skills You’ll Need to for the End of the World is a complete waste of time.
May 27, 2015
This was a short and good read. This wasn't really a how-to but more of a guide. There were tips that were good and more interesting than informative. More research would definitely have to be done if you wanted to know more about this. This would be a good coffee-table book or something to read just for fun and won't take that long. There was some good info in it though with a few tips that were informative and tidbits to keep in mind. A quick fun read.
October 29, 2019
Total disappointment. If you are buying this book to get an idea and perhaps step-by-step instructions on vital skills, forget it. It's but a mere list of skills the author thinks you might need in a post-apocalyptic world (including "Daydreaming", "Porch sitting", and "Graffiti", and I'm not joking), with comments that are mostly primitive, but sometimes border on ludicrous. I can't imagine who and for what reasons could ever publish such a thing. Please do not waste your money on this.
January 11, 2017
What a waste! This book is literally a list of skills with no step-by-step instructions or lessons. Let me sarcastically thank you for letting me know that "animal husbandry" might be important at the end of the world. Eggs come from chickens. Good to know! At the end of the world, this book will come in handy - as kindling.
December 30, 2016
lame, waste of paper
April 29, 2016
A silly, useless little book. More of a list than a comprehensive guide, and very US-centric. Not what I was looking for at all and had some large and obvious omissions
January 1, 2026
Misleading to the point of extreme frustration - this is pretty much just a list of 100 skills that would be of varying use in a post-apocalyptic scenario, but with almost no actual instruction in those skills. Surprisingly, this appears to be human-made rather than genAI slop - it seems to have been published in 2015. If I could rate it zero stars, I would. One to avoid.
For a book whose blurb includes the words "sharpen your skills", it's a pretty bizarre choice to not include how-tos for most of the content. Instead, the author raises relevant questions, neglects to answer them, randomly includes specifics without context for appropriate use, and/or briefly highlights why she thinks each skill would be useful for you to learn about (elsewhere, not within this book, of course).
Here's the entire text of the section on basic first aid as an example:
It's wild that this got published at all. This section alone is so patchy and unclear that it is almost useless, but one could even imagine it causing harm (e.g. if a desperate reader did somehow have access to insulin, epinephrine, and ibuprofen, since there is no context given for what to administer these for or when not to administer them, it would be possible for them to conclude this is default basic first aid and just give the patient the lot!)
I hate leaving purely negative reviews, but this book necessitates it. The only somewhat redeeming feature is that some of the illustrations are aesthetically pleasing (though mostly not informative either).
A cautionary tale against ever taking it on faith that a book will deliver on its premise.
For a book whose blurb includes the words "sharpen your skills", it's a pretty bizarre choice to not include how-tos for most of the content. Instead, the author raises relevant questions, neglects to answer them, randomly includes specifics without context for appropriate use, and/or briefly highlights why she thinks each skill would be useful for you to learn about (elsewhere, not within this book, of course).
Here's the entire text of the section on basic first aid as an example:
It starts with knowledge: What's the difference between heat stroke and heat exhaustion? When do you give a diabetic sugar? What are the symptoms of stroke versus shock? Your response moves toward pragmatism. Encourage rest and water. Administer medicine if you have it - insulin, epinephrine, ibuprofen. Take critical steps as necessary: start CPR, say, or stitch a wound.
Here's how to do the latter. First clean the wound with boiled water and soap. Sterilize the needle (and thread), stick it in at a 90-degree angle, and poke hard; even thin skin is thicker than we think. Silk is easiest, or nylon, but any thread will work. Keep the stitches a quarter inch apart and the same distance from the edge of the wound.
If the wound is long, you can tie off your thread with a square knot between stitches to avoid slippage. Avoid puckering. Tie a square knot again at the end. Nothing to it. You don't have to be Rambo.
Remember, first do no harm.
Then balance that with this: What if you do nothing at all?
[Image description: There are then four instructional illustrations on bandaging: folding a square of unspecified fabric into a bandage, plus bandaging a palm, hand, and arm. No detailed information or advice is included with the pictures, save for "Separate fingers with absorbent material to prevent chafing." This is the end of the entire basic first aid section.]
It's wild that this got published at all. This section alone is so patchy and unclear that it is almost useless, but one could even imagine it causing harm (e.g. if a desperate reader did somehow have access to insulin, epinephrine, and ibuprofen, since there is no context given for what to administer these for or when not to administer them, it would be possible for them to conclude this is default basic first aid and just give the patient the lot!)
I hate leaving purely negative reviews, but this book necessitates it. The only somewhat redeeming feature is that some of the illustrations are aesthetically pleasing (though mostly not informative either).
A cautionary tale against ever taking it on faith that a book will deliver on its premise.
November 4, 2019
#60: Laughter - "But really, why do we need laughter? Because without it, life in any age would be too cruel too comprehend."
I expected this to be a cute coffee table book I could flip through and read pithy comments along with charming illustrations related to the items on the list.
Some of the skills listed like hunting, falconry, bartering and foraging medicinal plants were practical and sensible items while things like laughing and porch sitting were meant to be silly.
On a positive note Brian Cronin's illustrations delivered! His drawings are charming, colorful, whimsical and refreshingly diverse.
I would have loved a book with just his illustrations and perhaps a silly quote or simply the skill scrawled on the bottom of the page.
I had a hard time with Ana Maria Spagna's writing. She gave us too little to make this a meaningful guide for an end of the world skills list, but too much to keep it light and interesting. The one page paragraphs were boring and I found myself skimming many of them especially the last 40 or so.
I gave this one 2 stars because I absolutely loved the illustrations, but this book was pretty pointless otherwise.
I expected this to be a cute coffee table book I could flip through and read pithy comments along with charming illustrations related to the items on the list.
Some of the skills listed like hunting, falconry, bartering and foraging medicinal plants were practical and sensible items while things like laughing and porch sitting were meant to be silly.
On a positive note Brian Cronin's illustrations delivered! His drawings are charming, colorful, whimsical and refreshingly diverse.
I would have loved a book with just his illustrations and perhaps a silly quote or simply the skill scrawled on the bottom of the page.
I had a hard time with Ana Maria Spagna's writing. She gave us too little to make this a meaningful guide for an end of the world skills list, but too much to keep it light and interesting. The one page paragraphs were boring and I found myself skimming many of them especially the last 40 or so.
I gave this one 2 stars because I absolutely loved the illustrations, but this book was pretty pointless otherwise.
December 21, 2020
I read this book in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown which made it particularly relevant. The book is definitely intended to be more of a satirical joke than a practical guide (I hope). That said, while I do agree with the many other comments that say it seemed a bit pointless, it did make me laugh on a number of occasions.
For example, one of the top 100 skills needed for the end of the world is "Staying Home". Spagna goes on to say,
I found this example and many others to be incredibly funny and poignant in the context of Covid-19.
For example, one of the top 100 skills needed for the end of the world is "Staying Home". Spagna goes on to say,
“Stay home and save fuel and energy. Stay home to grow food and cook it, to build stuff and repair it. Stay home to raise animals and children or to care for aging parents. Stay home to read or play music or sit on the porch or talk to neighbors. Stay home to sleep. Nearly every skill comes down to this one, the one some people like to do least. If you can’t hack it, see instead: Finding Your Way”
I found this example and many others to be incredibly funny and poignant in the context of Covid-19.
December 18, 2018
When the world ends, I hope that I am close to a library, because I think that How-To books will be one of the most valuable commodities around. From a good reference book, the seeds of civilization can be (re)planted, especially if it's a book on how to grow crops. HOWEVER, this book is NOT that book. These 100 Skills are essentially all about two paragraphs long, with a cute illustration above, and not much detail below.
Some helpful (not in all cases) hints lie within, but most of these sections will need MUCH more exploration and research to even scratch the surface, which MAY have been the point, that this little book is merely an entry point, but it's even too soft for THAT. A little about a lot, if any of these skills appeals, just search out a book about that, since this one will tell you next to NOTHING. Two stars for uniqueness and fun pics, but not much substance at all.
Some helpful (not in all cases) hints lie within, but most of these sections will need MUCH more exploration and research to even scratch the surface, which MAY have been the point, that this little book is merely an entry point, but it's even too soft for THAT. A little about a lot, if any of these skills appeals, just search out a book about that, since this one will tell you next to NOTHING. Two stars for uniqueness and fun pics, but not much substance at all.
August 30, 2022
I'm all about reading books about helpful skills to learn, how to become a little less reliant on e-commerce and relate more to your local community, etc - and that's kind of what I'd hoped this book would be. It's not. It was an illustration on one page, and the description of the skill on the other (not necessarily a how to, for those skills that weren't "laughing" or "listening"). I'd say give this a pass if you're looking for books that might actually be useful in learning a new skill (or getting ideas of what skills might appeal to you). 2 stars only because I learned that making a bow and arrows would be neat.
May 12, 2018
I found this book very comforting. I’m in a time of growth in my life and I often feel lost and confused. I think this book offers a lot of good ideas for what to focus on if you want to improve yourself and feel like you’ll be okay. The skills range from the ordinary to the skilled and difficult. But they can all have a value in our lives today before the world ends. I probably won’t learn black smithing or falconry but I know people who have as a hobby and love it. That’s the point no one person has to know everything. You can learn and practice what makes you happy.
December 2, 2018
Recommendation from my daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed and gleaned some useful knowledge from this little practical manual. It included my fantasy skill of becoming a falconer and a potential hobby of beekeeping. Pleasantly surprised to see that listening, conversing, writing (cursive) and porch sitting are also included in the 100 skills. Just a fun book to read. Pick it up and put it down, repeat. Discover skills that you already possess and imagine some you wish to accomplish.
April 27, 2021
It wasn't what I was expecting; yet, that doesn't make it a bad book. It was a charming, easy read. Five stars to counteract all the sourpusses who think their expectations not being met makes it a pointless piece of literature. I will be looking more into Spagna's work.
November 29, 2016
No real substance here, just a list of the things that might be helpful and why. I expected at least a passing attempt at the hows of these things. It reads more like a very long blog post.
May 3, 2020
I read it with my daughters it was hilarious and started so many conversations
January 10, 2022
More of a goof than a helpful guide but it did give me some ideas.
November 11, 2022
it's a list. charming illustrations though
July 29, 2023
Fun, charming, and delightful.
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