Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Online Reviews of Bug Out

Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It's Too Late has been well received in the online survival and preparedness community.  Here are some reviews from related blogs and websites:

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"275 Wilderness Bug Out Locations for Your Family:  We always talk about Bug Out Locations in the abstract: “I’ll grab my bag and go” Go where? “The wilderness” is not an answer. If you don’t have a specific location you are unprepared. Bug Out contains a detailed list of 275 prime wilderness Bug Out Locations."  Read the full review at: Survival Cache


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"Williams hits all the right buttons, as far as I’m concerned, with his approach to disaster planning. Like any survival manual or guide, read “Bug Out” with a grain of salt. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to surviving a disaster, and some of Williams’ premises or advice might not work for your situation."

But the book does give solid suggestions for surviving a potential disaster, and reading it may make a difference in your survival planning!  Read the full review at Survival Common Sense.


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"This is a really great book if bugging out is in your plan for SHTF. I don't blow smoke, and if it sucked, I would tell you. It doth not suck! This book isn't a "how to", it's a where to. It's plum full of great info on lots of good places to go when SHTF. I can tell you that a lot of research went into this book."  Read the full review at:  Keep It Simple Survival

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"Williams manages to speak to the novice as well as the seasoned survivalist.  Bug Out is divided into two parts: Basics and Locations.  It begins with what kind of bag you should consider and builds from there; encompassing clothing, food, shelter, gear, vehicles, and more.  Part two divides the continental U.S. into eight regions and offers bug out locations as well as region specific weather, resources, hazards, and recommended equipment.  Technical information along with his personal experience is expertly woven with basic information so that this book builds on itself."  Read the full review at Lure of the Horizon.  


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"As a city dweller in a large apartment complex, with no funds for a faraway retreat just yet, I have become concerned it will not likely be safe in our area if things were to fall apart with no place to go.  This is the first book that gives concrete information on bugging out.   It gives me hope we can make it out of here if we need to.  This book is definitely a keeper."  Read the full review at The Apartment Prepper's Blog.

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"What if you’re faced with rapidly rising flood waters? Maybe it’s a threat from a forest fire. Or you need to clear out in the face of an oncoming Category four hurricane. What do you do then? Where do you go? What do you pack? How do you get food, water and other necessities beyond civilization? Bug Out helps answer those questions.

No matter what part of the country you live in, find out what you need to know about escape routes and how to get the additional info you may need. Find out what gear and supplies you’ll need to survive. Then practice. Go camping. Scope out travel routes and places to escape."  Read the full review at DestinySurvival.com

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"The premise is that something happens that makes you need to head for the woods in a hurry, or 'bug out.'

Scott devotes the first third of the book detailing what to take and how to prepare. The rest is a description of places to go throughout the lower 48 states — national forests, swamps, mountain ranges, river basins, islands.  Here Scott calls into play his ample experience camping in places ranging from the River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho to Everglades National Park, Florida. The book also addresses how to survive when you get to your wilderness hideout. Again, Scott calls on ample experience."  Read full review at: The Enterprise-Journal

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"The author of “Bug Out” knows about the topic firsthand. More than 20 years ago Scott Williams “bugged out” himself, making a 2,500-mile solo sea kayak voyage across the Caribbean.  That was before the term 'bug out' came into vogue. Williams referred to that sort of travel as 'checking out.'" Read the full article at The Enterprise-Journal.

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"The book is divided into two parts,the first half can apply to any country.. These sections cover the Fantasy and Reality of living off the land, citing survivor experiences such as Chris McCandless, Martin Price, Kayak bill, Jim Corbett, Eric Robert Rudolph and Tom Brown. Noting a perspective of needing a balance between a naked native adept and the overburdened recreational outdoorsman when it comes to equipping yourself for bugging out and trying to dispell the myth that all you need is a knife to survive in the wild."  Read the full article at Urban Evasion.

Book Review: And the Rain Came Down

And The Rain Came Down is a novel I probably would not have discovered had it not been for becoming an acquaintance of the author through an online discussion forum of things of mutual interest, as well as becoming friends on Facebook.   When I opened the book and read the first paragraph, I knew this was a novel I wouldn't put down until the the end. 

And The Rain Came Down


S.A. Bailey tells the story of Jebediah Shaw in a matter-of-fact first person style that has you believing you're reading a non-fiction narrative. His descriptions of the people and landscapes of East Texas are so real you know he's writing from first-hand experience as a resident of the area. Having lived in the South most of my life as well, these characters and their hidden world of drugs and corruption beneath the surface of sleepy small towns scattered through the rural countryside and woods are all too real to me.

S.A. Bailey knows the territory, as evidenced in descriptions such as this: "Bear Wallace, my partner and oldest friend, lived way outside of town, near the county line, down a dirt road no one with any sense would venture unless they knew they were welcome. It just looked foreboding, as if it were always autumn, the long dirt driveway leading off the blacktop shrouded beneath the thick canopy of age-old oak and pine, toward a dark whirlpool where the ghouls of young nightmares never left."

But As the Rain Came Down is so much more than just evocative descriptions that make you feel like an outsider catching a glimpse of a dangerous corner of America that at times seems like another country. The story takes you in from the first page and leads relentlessly into the downward spiral of deeper and deeper trouble that Jeb gets himself into in his quest to bring home the bread and make a life with some sense of normalcy and stability for the woman he loves. Torn between two worlds - that of the soldier who can never really come completely home from a war that changed him forever, and that of the man he wants to be for her - the man he knows he never really can be, Jeb will do anything to give her what he thinks she wants. The further he goes down that path, the more elusive his goal becomes. Once you're caught up in Jeb's story, you won't be able to escape any more than he can, and you won't put this book down until you're right there with him at the conclusion of this wild and dangerous ride.

If there's a sequel to As the Rain Came Down, I'll eagerly look forward to finding out what happens to Jeb next. But whatever S.A. Bailey writes to follow up this great first novel, I'll be waiting to read it.