Book Review:"What to do when the Sh*t hits the fan"

[ZeSpectre]

Mods,
Not sure if it fits Strategies and Tactics, though the book is certainly about strategies and tactics for staying alive and well in a crisis. If not appropriate feel free to move or delete.

"What to do when the Sh*t hits the fan"
David Black

This book was given to me as a Christmas present and I just got around to reading through it last night. It contains a good deal of useful and practical advice on preparing for and living through various types of emergencies ranging from natural disasters all the way to the many types of man-made disasters. The authors reasoning is generally sound and the advice he gives is (mostly) very practical, especially his focus on the fact that individuals have to prepare for themselves IN ADVANCE if they wish to greatly reduce the stress of a crisis.

However there are aspects of this book that are extremely puzzling and do not seem to match the attitude of the rest of the book. It makes me suspicious that some "creative editing" may have taken place along the way. There are also some glaring gaps in the advice given, most notably the almost absolute lack of any suggestions for security and self-defense preparations that I would have expected (at minimum) to see in the section on civil unrest. The book devotes exactly ONE page to the topic and that one page can be summed up in one sentence "don't bother with weapons they'll only make the situation worse".

In spite of considerable detail regarding crisis management, the author also completely glosses over the importance of things as cultivating a support group to cover your back, stealth, security of your supplies, and personal protection. I feel this is a grave mistake on the part of this author as following his instructions would have you well kitted to survive a Katrina type event...and completely exposed (or even highlighted) to the predators who operate in such a time of lawlessness and who would happily steal some or all of your stuff like generators, food, etc.

In short it's a good preparation manual as far as it goes, but there are other grim realities that should also be addressed in a similarly calm and rational manner and this book ignores those aspects completely.

 

[Intrepid Dad]

Good review. Thanks for posting it.

This isn't the only book that either glosses over the need for self-defense or says that guns will only make it worse. I'll note that the US government websites on emergency preparation say nothing about self-defense. I wish all of these people would be more realistic regarding self-defense.

 

[ilbob]

you should add your review to the amazon site.

 

[David N]

Please tell us the publisher. Having the ISBN would be ideal.
I take it this book is available from Amazon.com ?

THANKS!

 

[yhtomit]

I have not read the whole book, but there's actually a quite good interview in there with a fellow who's an instructor of a very practical martial art, the gist of which is "it may be an uncomfortable thought, but if someone is attacking you, you should brutally respond until he is no longer a threat, using all tools to hand, and a gun is an excellent tool to have on hand."

The author seems to acknowledge not being a self-defense guru, but I don't get the feeling that he is opposed to vigorous self-defense.

That said, I also had hoped to find more about civil unrest in there, but enjoyed the book enough (over coffee at Borders) to consider purchasing my own copy. The author has what seems a very pragmatic attitude, and a sometimes quite funny style.

timothy

 

[feedthehogs]

Shame the book is not well rounded but I have seen that before on survival type books.

What might be helpful for THR members is a sticky here, edited by the moderators for content with submission from those of us who have lived in different regions thru different disasters and how we survived and the lessons we learned from it.

Thru almost a month with no power and severe home damage after hurricanes here in Florida, my family faired fine but only because I prepared. My neighbors on the other hand became depserate and it surprised me how even the basics weren't taken care of.

Could be a handbook written and sold to support THR?

 

[wheelgunslinger]

I saw this book in Barnes and Noble a couple of days ago and leafed through it but didn't purchase it.

You should definitely leave your review at the sites of book retailers.

It's pretty common for books like this to have gaps in knowledge and to gloss over the self defense angle. Very often they are the product of one person's research, or a group of experts writings that are pasted together by an editor. Thus, the gaps in knowledge.

Thanks for the review, though.

 

[ilbob]

Thus, the gaps in knowledge.

Or a deliberate attempt to be more PC.

Or maybe the author has bought into the idea that without extensive training a firearm is too dangerous to use. I am generally in favor of some level of training for owners of firearms, but it seems to me that the vast majority of average citizen type defensive uses of firearms are not by people that took thousands of dollars worth of classes somewhere.

 

[Titan6]

However there are aspects of this book that are extremely puzzling and do not seem to match the attitude of the rest of the book. It makes me suspicious that some "creative editing" may have taken place along the way. There are also some glaring gaps in the advice given, most notably the almost absolute lack of any suggestions for security and self-defense preparations that I would have expected (at minimum) to see in the section on civil unrest.

Or maybe the author has bought into the idea that without extensive training a firearm is too dangerous to use.

Perhaps the authors have a trusting view of human nature....

or maybe they want people disarmed like the Red Cross and other aid organizations?

Any way you look at it there is no down side to you.

 

[yhtomit]

I'll need to take another look at the book, but again, my take from a short read was certainly not that the author was anti-gun or anti-self defense; I think he's just deferring that aspect to other sources. It certainly isn't into being over PC as far as I can tell! (Any book that explains how to cook rats and mice, and endorses explosive brutality towards anyone who would harm you with violence, doesn't exactly seem like PC to me )

timothy