Book Review: When All Hell Breaks Loose

[alfsauve]

When All Hell Breaks Loose is a survival book by Cody Lundin.   I've not read survival books before so I don't have a lot to compare this to.   

Cody lives in Arizona and has probably done every stupid thing in the world (survival-wise) and lived to tell about it.  Which inclufrd eating things that were moldy and spoiled just to see what would happen.   He also admits to using Poison Ivy for toilet paper once ...... ONCE.

I almost put this book down because of the inordinate time he spends on the value of good shelter and on maintaining body temperature and hydration.   But right after that, things got interesting.   Cody does not tell you how to make snares or IEDs, but what he gives is common sense, basic information on survival. The books covers water, food, shelter and hygiene.   He covers a range of possibilities from needing just a few days, to living totally off the gird for the rest of you life.  He interweaves "green" living with survival.     Basic food and water topics are covered as are hygiene and  what to put in a bug-out bag.   Also covered is consideration of where are you going to bug-out to?   (The "toilet paper alternatives" makes good reading while sitting on the throne.)

This probably isn't  the normal survival book, but is aimed at people who haven't given it a lot of thought.   He spend a good amount of time promoting individualism, which is good.   He also admits to many mistakes he's made and how he (and the reader) can learn from them.   He admits when there's no clear answer (like "how long does food last").

All in all, I think it's a good book for most of us, unless you're already a hard-core survivalist in which case this book is a little elementary for you.

Combine this book with the fiction novel, Lucifer's Hammer and you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect for long term survival and how to prepare.

[twyacht]

Sounds like an updated version of the Foxfire series that came out a while ago.

Thanks for the heads up alf, I'll check it out.

side note: "I still have my old Foxfire 4,5,and 6 volumes"....

Wealth of knowledge that was amazingly common 150 years ago.

[McGyver]

Never thought I'd like that long-haired hippy throw-back from Woodstock. That is until about the 3rd episode of Dual Survival.
At least he isn't a T-totaller against killin' for survival! Kinda surprised me.

[Solus]

Haven't read When All Hell Breaks Loose but I've put it on my "To Read" list.

I have read a couple of survival books and Bradford Angier's Survival With Style is the best I've read.  Nothing about fighting Zombies, but lots on how to live well and comfortable in the wilderness.