Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse [Paperback]

James Wesley Rawles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2009

America faces a full-scale socioeconomic collapse—the stock market plummets, hyperinflation cripples commerce and the mounting crisis passes the tipping point. Practically overnight, the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure fall, and wholesale rioting and looting grip every major city.

As hordes of refugees and looters pour out of the cities, a small group of friends living in the Midwest desperately tries to make their way to a safe-haven ranch in northern Idaho. The journey requires all their skill and training since communication, commerce, transportation and law enforcement have all disappeared. Once at the ranch, the group fends off vicious attacks from outsiders and then looks to join other groups that are trying to restore true Constitutional law to the country.

Patriots is a thrilling narrative depicting fictional characters using authentic survivalist techniques to endure the collapse of the American civilization. Reading this compelling, fast-paced novel could one day mean the difference between life and death.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

America faces a full-scale socioeconomic collapse in the near future. The stock market plummets, hyperinflation cripples commerce and the mounting crisis passes the tipping point. Practically overnight, the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure fall, and wholesale rioting and looting grip every major city

As hordes of refugees and looters pour out of the cities, a small group of friends living in the Midwest desperately tries to make their way to a safe-haven ranch in northern Idaho. The journey requires all their skill and training since communication, commerce, transportation and law enforcement have all disappeared. Once at the ranch, the group fends off vicious attacks from outsiders and then looks to join other groups that are trying to restore true Constitutional law to the country.

Patriots is a thrilling narrative depicting fictional characters using authentic survivalist techniques to endure the collapse of the American civilization. Reading this compelling, fast-paced novel could one day mean the difference between life and death.

About the Author

James Wesley Rawles has been an enthusiastic survivalist since his teenage years. He is now a survivalist author and lecturer and the editor of www.SurvivalBlog.com. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University with minor degrees in military science, history, and military history. A former U.S. Army intelligence officer who held a Top Secret security clearance (with Special Background Investigation) and access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), he was awarded Officer specialty 35A (tactical all-source intelligence officer), and the additional skill identifier 5M (electronic warfare officer). He achieved the rank of Captain, attended the Army NBC defense officer's course, as well as Northern Warfare School at Fort Greeley, Alaska.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Ulysses Press; 4th Expanded edition (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156975599X
• ISBN-13: 978-1569755990
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.3 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,247 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #71 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Religious & Inspirational > Mystery

More About the Author

James Wesley Rawles has been an enthusiastic survivalist since his teenage years. He is now a survivalist author and lecturer and the editor of www.SurvivalBlog.com. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University with minor degrees in military science, history, and military history. A former U.S. Army intelligence officer who held a Top Secret security clearance (with Special Background Investigation) and access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), he was awarded Officer specialty 35A (tactical all-source intelligence officer), and the additional skill identifier 5M (electronic warfare officer). He achieved the rank of Captain, attended the Army NBC defense officer's course, as well as Northern Warfare School at Fort Greeley, Alaska.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

449 of 511 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Militia-Style Survivalist Manual in a Fiction Format June 7, 2007

By Kyle Pratt VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Patriots is a TEOWAWKI , militia-style survivalist novel packed with information. While Patriots does mention stockpiling food and the use of non-hybrid seeds this is not a book about self-sufficiency. The premise of the novel is that an economic depression spirals out of control. The economy completely collapses, money becomes worthless, the mail stops, the power grid and phone system shuts down and the government at all levels disappears. In the story this period is understatedly called the Crunch, but no depression in the history of the United States has been nearly so severe. Even church services appear to stop for several years.

With the United States in turmoil and collapse, the United Nations and at least some international banks have survived. Together they become the catalyst behind a provisional federal government that seeks to exert near dictatorial control over America. Frankly, I believe there is much more strength in the institutions of the United States than there ever was in the United Nations and so this plot scenario strained believability for me. However, when asked, James Rawles stated, "I made the scenario in the novel a near `worst case' in order to make it more interesting reading, and as an opportunity to show the need for planning and preparedness in a variety of areas..."

Using the Crunch as a literary device Rawles packs the novel with data about guns, medicine, fuels, equipment and tactics. The book has been described in several online reviews as a "survival manual fairly neatly dressed as fiction." Indeed it is much more entertaining than reading the facts in a reference book or manual. But this is also the greatest weakness. It is hard to pack facts into a novel without the author intruding into the story.... Much of this story is told in the form of narration, as opposed to showing within the flow of the events. Characterization is weak. Both author intrusion and narration weaken the literary quality of the story but add to the amount of information Rawles packs into the book

Recommendation: The information is five-star, the literary quality is two star. Buy Patriots for the "survival manual," not the fiction story. Read more ›

296 of 363 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Put it Down! March 27, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Excellent work by Mr. Rawles. In it he explores the possibilities and what ifs of a total collapse of the civilized world that we have come to know and upon which we depend. Imagine, if you will, that the economy spins out of control and takes civilized society with it. Imagine this event making the Great Depression look like a walk in the park. How would one survive or thrive during such a chaotic experience? Can it be done alone? What are the real problems and issues that might need to be overcome? Mr. Rawles novel explores those possibilites. His information is well presented. Obviously a lot of thought and research went into this novel. It reads more like a contingency plan and less like some escapist fantasy. It beats any sci-fi novel hands down. I strongly recommend "Patriots" to anyone who's ever wondered what would happen should the day come when they dialed 911 and nobody answered.(Remember Hurricane Andrew and the LA Riots?) Read "Patriots" and find out. It is definitely time well spent. However, let me offer a word of warning. Pick up "Patriots" and you won't want to put it down until its finished!

139 of 173 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring and Flawed Novel August 16, 2010

By Stephen Edge

Format:Paperback

Obviously the author of this book knows what he is talking about when it comes to preparedness. This however does not translate into being able to write an effective novel.

There are a lot of other reviews that I am sure go over the plot in detail so I will just touch on those things that made me give this a 1 star.

First off almost 10-20% of this book is not actual dialogue, plot, or any other form of narrative. It is instead a compilation of lists. For instance there is a scene in the book where two brothers are fleeing from the police in a van with gun show merchandise. The contents of the van are described in excruciating detail. The type and number of specific weapons, the type and number of different load bearing equipment, the specific number of each type of bullet for each type of gun in the van and how they are packed in different types of containers etcetera etcetera. Only for the van to then be left behind and neither it nor its contents ever are mentioned again, so what was the point of all of that itemization? The book is filled with examples of this unnecessary clutter of lists.

Which leads to the second point. The author goes into detail about mundane of pointless activities throughout the book. For instance in the above mentioned chase scene he goes into how many magazines the people load and with what types of ammunition and the capacity of the magazines just in case they get into a fire fight with the police. But they dont, so again there is no point. Or another example; there is a chapter where the book goes into agonizing detail about how people build a fence. It was less than riveting.... Most of the detail and "filler" in the book is useless and never plays a part in the book in any way, which leave you wondering why you bothered to read it at all.

The third issue I had with this book is that it is billed as a survivalist novel, but it really isnt. Once you get past all of the various detailed inventories there is very little talk about life after the collapse and the rebuilding that follows. It is just magically accomplished because people pray everyday. And there is hardly anything approaching "survival in the face of the collapse" because the characters in the book are so well stocked with every sort of supply possible that routinely giving away supply's to strangers posses no hardship on them. It should instead be called a novel of "having more than you could want while the world goes down the drain". And that hardly makes for entertaining reading, so the last third of the book is a flawed and oversimplified recounting of how the evil UN tries to take over the US on the behest of some nameless global consortium of bankers who secretly run everything. Of course the militia are able to win in the end because they have the moral high-ground. Though even the manner in which this victory is achieved smacks more of deus ex machina than anything approaching reality. As the "invading" forces simply give up and switch sides to the militia seemingly overnight and without any tangible reasoning behind this dramatic shift.

Fourth down on the list is how badly written this novel is. The characters are wooden, one dimensional and there is absolutely no character development present in the book, apparently because the author believes them to be the paragons on virtue and what it means to be an American. This concept is enough to scare you because these "patriots" have such skewed and warped sensibilities that it is impossible to believe it is real. They wont eat canned food they find abandoned because they consider it stealing. But at the same time the have no problem at all ambushing and accosting strangers who are simply walking down the road, only to examine all of their possessions and grill them on each and every thing they possess.

There is no moral gray area in this book at all. It is written in such a way that you are supposed to side with the obviously righteous and religiously fanatical heroes. The book is filled with moral polarization. The "bad guys" are so over the top on the 'make them contemptuous' scale that its sad. The author wasnt willing to let the bad guys just be looters because you might empathize with them; so they were also cannibals. But it doesnt stop there because that wasnt bad enough and they are eventually found to be cannibal looter Communists who are eating children, the only surprising thing about this is that the author didnt also try to paint them as pedophiles.

After reading this book you are left with the unmistakable feeling that the author isnt so much writing about a tragic but foreseeable occurrence, but is instead writing about something that he secretly HOPES will come about. This is clearly shown in the laundry list of constitutional changes (some of which may be reasonable but others which are just laughable) that are unanimously voted in and miraculously reshape the country (that was only months before engaged in civil war) into a gleaming edifice of prosperity.

This book is not worth your time or your money. If you are interested in collapse of civilization novel you are much better off going somewhere else. Try reading "Dies the Fire" by SM Stirling, or "The Road". Both are much better examples of the genre on every level. Read more ›

214 of 270 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If "TSHTF," You Had Better Have Read This Book! February 18, 2004

By Matthew Bracken

Format:Paperback

In Patriots, Rawles fully develops the critical themes of the importance of self-reliance, teamwork, preparedness, and dedication to our Constitution and our God. That's what "Patriots" means, to me. But what really uniquely struck me (as someone who benefited from excellent training by VN era SEALs many years ago on Uncle Sam's dime) was Rawles unique emphasis on tactical awareness and readiness. His characters always "stay tactical" appropriate to the situation, and the importance of that cannot be overestimated! This is something glossed over in 99% of books, where the heroes go merrily "smoking and joking" along, and somehow always develop ESP, or get a lucky break, just in time to avoid disaster. It doesn't work that way! In reality, in a SHTF scenario, survivors must always "stay tactical" using 360% security and all of the other drills and SOPs Rawles lays out so well. If there is one thing I hope readers take from Patriots, it's that lesson! If they do nothing else, I hope that after reading Patriots, survivalists will be encouraged to include some very good military field manuals in their libraries, and learn the small unit tactics and SOPs laid out so convincingly in Patriots. The best "stuff" in the world is of no use if you can't keep it, because you left holes in your security, or you were careless. The tactical SOPs written about in Patriots are designed to make the survivor cover all of these bases at all times. Rawles entire book is a great reminder of the critical importance of incorporating brass-tacks tactical SOPs in any realistic survivalist preparations. I very highly recommend that it occupy a center space on every serious survivalist's bookshelf.

Matt Bracken, author of "Enemies Foreign and Domestic" and "Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista."