Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family [Paperback]

Arthur T. Bradley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 2010

Ninety-nine percent of the time the world spins like a top, the skies are clear, and your refrigerator is full of milk and cheese. But know with certainty that the world is a dangerous place. Storms rage, fires burn, and diseases spread. No one is ever completely safe. Not you. Not your children. We all live as part of a very complex ecosystem that is unpredictable and willing to kill us without remorse or pause.

This book will help you to establish a practical disaster preparedness plan for your entire family, covering all 14 basic human needs. Additional information is also presented for those with special needs, including the elderly, children, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and pets. Every topic is well researched, with over 240 references cited, and is presented in a clear, easy to read format.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A great introduction to disaster preparedness in a single volume, both scholarly and easy to read! Provides practical information for families seeking to organize their preparedness efforts. --James Talmage Stevens, Making the Best of Basics

An easy to read handbook packed full of very helpful information to cover any emergency one might encounter.--Marg Pollon, Founding Director of Bridges of Love Ministry Society

This book is an incredible compendium of knowledge in the area of disaster preparedness. In spite of the many pages, it is never daunting or overpowering but rather written with a comfortable conversational tone. --Kerry Lewis, Master Anjing Banfa

Families want and need actionable practical plans when disaster strikes and the Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family has it all in one volume! --Shane Connor

Whether you’re a novice just starting out, a seasoned “prepper” or a die-hard survivalist, this is one book that you should add to your must read list. --Keith Erwood, disasterpreparednessblog.com

This handbook exceeded my expectations! It is a comprehensive presentation of ideas not only for disaster preparedness but also helpful for everyday living. --Dr. Lee Green, Dangerous Man Christian Conferences

This book offers a comprehensive run-down of household preparedness activities that is easy to follow and implement. --Jeff Bowers, Confluence Disaster Preparedness Consulting

Dr. Bradley’s sincerity, hands on research, and organization makes this book a treasure. It should be read by someone in every family, and a copy kept in every home. --Linda Hoover, 912 Group Lead, Centennial, CO

What I appreciated most from this book is Bradley's focus on being prepared so that we can help those around us, and the unintimidating, conversational style in which he presents the information. --Cindy Baum, Books and Chocolate

I've found the book to be informative and well written with a good dose of common sense. --Scott Hansen, Battalion Chief-Emergency Preparedness

From the Author

Right out of the gate let me tell you what the book is NOT. It is not a book about fighting off hordes of flesh-eating zombies, should they ever rise from the grave. Nor will it describe how to survive a shipwreck by feasting on coconuts and roasted iguana. Finally, it is not intended to help you survive our planet being sucked into the cosmic fireball affectionately known as our Sun. If you wish to prepare for those types of events, I respectfully suggest that you continue your search for a more suitable text.

This book is designed to help your family prepare for more commonplace, yet still potentially deadly ­disasters. The list is long and varied, and includes hurricanes, tornados, terrorist attacks, earthquakes, pandemics, financial collapse, widespread blackouts, and much more. My hope is that this handbook will accomplish three things: (1) motivate you to become better prepared, (2) illustrate how to prepare effectively, and (3) help you to realize your place in a larger movement.

The handbook is clear and easy to read with more than a hundred photos, illustrations, and worksheets. What makes this book different is that it focuses on practical steps that you and your family can take to become better prepared. At the beginning of each chapter, is an example scenario designed to help you consider your current level of readiness. At the end, are brief lists of recommended supplies.

This handbook will help you to lay out a plan that includes assessing your family's needs, stocking supplies, shoring up your shelter, leveraging existing resources, mitigating potential hazards, and preparing for likely threats. At the end of your efforts, you will be rewarded with knowing that your family is far better prepared to handle real world challenges.

--From the Author

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 540 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1453678875
• ISBN-13: 978-1453678879
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (366 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Arthur Bradley holds a doctorate in engineering from Auburn University and currently works for NASA. Having lived all across the United States, he writes from personal experience about preparing for a wide variety of disasters, including earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, house fires, massive snowstorms, electromagnetic pulse attacks, and solar storms. He has been featured in the New York Times, Money magazine, the Toronto Sun, Popular Mechanics, Men's Journal, and numerous radio shows.

Dr Bradley subscribes to the philosophy that preparedness should always be motivated by love and concern, never by fear and paranoia. His practical approach to family preparedness has received widespread praise from individuals, emergency preparedness groups, and religious organizations. He is the author of several highly acclaimed books on disaster preparedness, including the "Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family," "Disaster Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms," the "Prepper's Instruction Manual," and "The Survivalist (Frontier Justice)." He conducts free seminars around the world, teaching individuals and families how to establish effective disaster preparedness plans.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

155 of 163 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A User Friendly Book August 2, 2010

By Curtis A. Bradley

Format:Paperback

The Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness bridges a very important gap between survivalism and preparedness. In the text, the author outlines effective, but more importantly, achievable, steps that your family can take to prepare for a wide variety of dangerous events. And though it has been made clear that the book is not a conventional "live off the land" survival manual, it does offer information on many related topics, including water collection by natural resources (solar still, rain collection, etc.), sheltering in your vehicle should you ever become stranded, electricity generation using batteries and generators, and valuable first aid techniques.

The book is a family-friendly guide, discussing the importance of creating a balanced food storage plan that the entire family can live with, objectively reviewing which water purification methods leave water tasting the best - important for finicky drinkers, and discussing how best to care for children and elderly family and friends. That is not to suggest that the hardcore survivalist would not benefit from much of the information as well. The author references his recommendations and facts to countless documents and reports from FEMA, CDC, the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, etc.

I received my book directly from the author at disasterpreparer dot com. Saved $7 and got a free RADSticker--a portable radiation dosimeter. Also, I highly recommend that you supplement this handbook with the Prepper's Instruction Manual: 50 Steps to Preparing for any Disaster. That book essentially extracts and organizes the most important steps to getting thoroughly prepared.

82 of 87 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The most practical guide... November 15, 2010

By S. Miller

Format:Paperback

Length: 0:45 Mins

How many times have you read about the 10 steps to solve <name your problem>? I've read plenty, and they always leave me with a 30,000-foot view of a problem and little insight on what I need to get from the hardware store on Saturday. Well, expect much more than vague 10-step plans to solve all your problems from Dr. Bradley's book. His Handbook not only paints the high-level picture, but gets down to specifics; did you know that in his typical 2-story house he extracted 2 gallons of drinkable water from his hot water pipes?

The most impressive feature of this book in my view is how pragmatic it is. I've seen the Army Survival Manual - it is great for wilderness survival, but what about living in my neighborhood? Dr. Bradley breaks surviving a disaster down to 14 basic needs, and shows you first how to prioritize your efforts, then how to get to the level of preparedness that makes sense for your family. The book is full of well thought-out overviews of the 14 basic needs of life, and also delves into specifics (best products, calculations, checklists) you can use to become prepared for the unexpected.

Finally, like no other text I have seen, Dr. Bradley looks at the whole spectrum. Ever think of air as a necessary tool for surviving a disaster? How about the role of finances? Preparing your house to resist rioters? What water filter really works? What weapon is best? How do you calculate the size of the generator to secure light and communication for your family? Ever think about how sleep is essential to your ability to survive a disaster? What about common illnesses? Do you know what they are? That they often come from poor sanitation? How do you avoid them when infrastructure breaks down?

As an engineer Dr.... Bradley calculates trade-offs between conflicting needs every day on the job. As a soldier he learned what it means to sleep in the mud and fortify a position. As a father and husband he is in-tune to the needs of small children and pregnant women. His life experience tells in this book: it is comprehensive and pragmatic, taking an honest and realistic look at what your family can do to be prepared. His Handbook is a veritable one-stop reference manual that gives you knowledge and the thought process you need to be confidently prepared! Read more ›

67 of 71 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Guide!!! October 4, 2010

By Wesley Jolly

Format:Paperback

This well written guide is a book every person interested in the safety of themselves, their family, and their property should consider. Unlike many books of this type, instead of telling us how to survive a post-nuclear appocalypse it focuses on planning for the problems that are most likely to happen to most of us, from fire to natural disaster to financial collapse, and makes practical recommendations to not only survive them, but to survive in a fashion that maintains physical and emotional health, and leaves you prepared to recover and continue after the disaster has passed. I suspect there are thousands f people in New Orleans who wish they had made an invetnory of their important documents and collected them so that in the event of an evacuation they were able to take them with them as they left. This guide not only suggests what should be gathered, but provides a convienent format for recording the information so that it is available when you are getting ready to head for higher ground.

I spent 20 years in the military, been a Scoutmaster, 4H Instructor, Paramedic, and Camp Staff member, and I have never encountered a more useful, to the point, and easily used reference. Dr. Bradley has done a wonderful job of researching the available information on keeping ourselves and those important to us safe and consolidating it into concise, well written chapters that cover the preparations required to enable a practical response to real world threats. Equally importantly, he provides a bibliography to help you explore each topic in greater detail if desired....

Perhaps the best feature of this guide are the various appendices that contain checklists and blank forms to help you to assess your current condition, and to make preparations to protect yourself and your possessions from the kind of natural and man-made disasters we see everyday on the news. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is in a position where they are responsible for the well being of others, not just heads of households, but schools, employers, scout leaders, and anyone else who is concerned with getting through the next Katrina with their health and sanity intact.

Thank you sir for the service you have provided by addressing practical and attainable preparation for situations that we are actually likely to encounter. Read more ›