Customer Reviews

The Secure Home

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The author made a living constructing or designing high security homes and self sufficient homes, and writes this tremendous volume in a clear, all encompassing, format from his experience in the field, and from keeping abreast of new technology.

Make no mistake about it, the author does not parrot information in other survival or construction books, rather everyone else copies Skousen! This is the dictionary and encylopedia of not only secure room construction, but home construction in general.

After discussing some 'survival' philisophical issues, the book cuts right to the chase discussing properly laid out homes, from all angles. Beginning with the home, from location, ground, terrain, sun exposure, vegetation, water supply, (the author sticks in little tricks, like instrad of bullet proofing walls with kevlar, just fill a chasm with sand and gravel for better and cheaper results) room layout, expansion of rooms, schematics of extending a roof, basement, etc., its all laid out.

At this 'home' section the author lays out a goal for the planner, for example one goal would be 'have two seperate and distinct 'cooking heat' sources. Using the author's techniques and recommended equipment, this can be accomplished by almost anyone. This doubling up principle applies to everything, like water. You get ways to store water, resivoir it, etc., all within the confines of various types of houses. This book is good eneough that it covers the situations of like 95% of Americans.

This doubling up takes the better part of the book. From installing solar arrays in hot sunny areas, to gas, to portable generators, supply systems, high security shelters within the secure home, plumbing, transportation, sanitation, security systems, etc. Its all covered in EXHAUSTIVE detail.

As this type of work project requires in some cases, tremendous effort and sometimes too, money, and this material may save your life should you ever be the subject of criminal activity, you want the best plans and ideas. Clearly, there is no other book like this on the market period that gives so much information. In fact this book goes so deep into construction of homes, this book is a good primer for anyone looking to buy a home, whether they want to make it secure or not.

My hat definitely goes out to Joel Skousen. He did it first and did it the best!

Have you ever felt...vulnerable? Me too. Well, the sad fact is that 'The Secure Home' will undoutedly make you feel much more so. As an example: the author explains that where the population denisty exceeds 100 people per square mile - the population is enherently at risk even in minor shipping crises (caused by strike or natural disaster). The book will have a different effect on each who reads it. However, everyone who reads this text must agree that the author "knows what he is talking about." There are 20 well-detailed chapters on such topics as ("Lifestyle changes under self-sufficiency", "Strategy and Training For Quick Reaction To A Crisis", "Peparedness Planning and Threat Assessment", "Security", "Choosing the Right Household Appliances(awesome chapter!)", "Building a High Security Shelter" ). As I read these chapters I kept finding myself wishing that Mr. Skousen was my father! Why? Because REAL fathers prepare their children for the harsh realities of life. Too many parents want to shelter children from reality. It boggles my mind to think that parents refuse to discuss potential threats with their children because they are afraid it may cause them too much undue stress! Americans are simply not prepared to cope with crises today. My parents sure didn't help prepare me! I strongly suggest that you purchase this text and read it. When you find that you feel utterly vulnerable...ACT...make steps towards preparedness. (1) plan to relocate - try your best to move to a more rural location. Finally, this book is a must have if you are building your own house - TRUST ME - if you follow the author's sage advice (especially about which appliances are preparedness friendly, such as dual-fuel appliances!) your home will be able to handle crises WHEN one strikes.

The author also publishes a book Strategic Relocation: North American Guide to Safe Places. In Strategic Relocation the author lists the criteria that doesn't occur to the normal American when attempting to relocate one's residence or preparedness retreat. There is a great deal of text devoted to the author's notion that Russia poses a real (first strike)nuclear threat. I believe that he is dead on. However, those of you that believe that Russia poses no threat to America will undoubtedly be confused (at best) or annoyed (at worst). Joel Skousen opened my eyes to my vulnerability and empowered me with the steps that I can take to assuage that risk.

A full 3/4 of this book has nothing to do with a "Secure Home"! This 674 page book which weighs 4 pounds is a waste of money. The author must think that electricity will be freely available forever. He writes about televisions, clothes washers & dryers, electric ranges and cooktops, refrigerators and freezers and other appliances. He skims over alternative sources of power with an emphasis on generators and very little "how to" advice on how to hook up everything in a system. Only one diagram that does not show wind generators, mini hydro generators or a controller to hook it all together. Here's an example of his recommended "other survival equipment - transportation" section: electric & hybrid vehicles, trucks, snowmobiles, motorcycles & motorbikes, bicycles,electric bikes, motor homes, airplanes, helicopters, experimental jets and boats. What do those things have to do with a "Secure Home"? He goes into great length about hot water heaters and home heating systems, all standard items we already have in our unsecure homes. He never mentions outdoor wood furnaces like "Central Boiler"* (*registered trademark) that heats the whole home plus the home's hot water. The author dances all around how to get water but never really does address this critical issue in the 11 pages he dedicates to it. He never even mentions hand pumps like "Bison"* for shallow and deep wells. It's as if he is a "city boy" and has never been to a 1920s country home! His 1 page on waste disposal doesn't even mention human waste. I guess he figures the sewer system will always be available. I'm not even going to go into all this author's paranoia which fills up many many pages of this book. This book is a totally irrelevant book with a catchy title.

I ordered mine from Amazon. It's a great book for someone considering a new house and is worried about security.

I just received mine and it is already 1/2 underlined. It's 678 pages long, lots of new stuff compared to his previous editions. The size is a full 8 1/2 x 11 pages. There's lots of interesting design and construction ideas here.

For example, he details his concepts of using gravel to bulletproof your walls. Lots of great stuff on basements, and tieing in to the foundation. Great coverage on water self-sufficiency. Lots and lots of construction details. Drawings nicely supplement the text.

He talks about remodeling as well as new construction. Lots of practical tips you can apply right away. Here's a quick quote to illustrate how clearly written it is: "Brick and hollow block are only marginal shields for high powered projectiles. But they are readily available and relatively affordable. Both can be made much stronger with re- bar and ladder wire in the voids. Concreate block is often reinforced with voids filled. But few people know that brick can also be reinforced..."

The author has outdone himself on this book. He showes the lay person how to make his present home secure and self-sufficient, without running for the hills or digging a hole in the back yard. His ideas are backed with detailed examples of "how tos". The author has had 30 years experience in the security design field and "knows of what he speaks". His printed solutions to problems have been used in the past with success. This is not trail by error. He also includes a detailed resouce list of vendors for the hard to find equipment. I have used them and have been very pleased. A "must read" for the person who wants to secure their home and future.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I laughed quite a few times while reading the extensive new world order conspiracy theory, and rolled my eyes while the author complains about people with "that supposed thyroid problem" and advising people to just stop taking their medications, and that God won't allow the world to be destroyed by nuclear weapons, so that's why it won't happen. The author should stick to the subject that he is clearly an expert, building secure homes. Also advised to ignore the whole sections on food, dieting, psychology, politcs, and of course religion as this author nearly discredits himself by coming across as an irrational, outdated, and quite crazy survivalist. His fear of communism and those darn Russians also dates this book and belies the age of the author. This book contains a wealth of knowledge on building a secure home, down to the finest of details, giving a wide variety of security choices depending on a persons income. I enjoyed this huge book and the tons of knowledge that it contains, and if looking at the silly parts as a fluff dessert for the mind, this book is a full meal, for sure. two survivalist thumbs up.

Buy anything else but this. I wanted to build a retreat, and I knew more than this guy. If you want good info, go to Survivalblog.com. If you spend money here, you won't get your necessary info, you won't learn much but you will feel rooked. The state of the art has moved on considerably since this was written, and all (and I mean ALL) of the info here is now free on the net. Any unique insights this tome might have once contained are now open source knowledge. If you want to build something, get a book on construction. If you want to be randomly flailed with disconnected facts and common knowledge, this is your stop! I'd have revised this ten years ago, and then again a couple of years ago to keep it current - this was just sad.

This book pretty much covers everything you would want to know about building or converting an existing home to a secure home. Everything from how to build bullet resistant walls, to Emp protection on your power grid. Also in the back of the book, The author gives a wonderful products list so the reader can research some of these great products and ideas for him or herself.

This is not a back to land book. It is not a "how to raise a goat" book. It is a book on how to protect yourself and family in your home from a variety of potential disasters whether natural, man made, or whatever else might come down your way.

Everyone I know that has this book loves it!

This book, 'Secure Home' is awsome. I could not set it down. Read it the first of may times, in 4 days. I have broken all my own rules of not putting pencil marks, no highliting, no ear marks, etc., But with this book I have done it all. I might have to purchase a second copy to put on the shelf and keep this one hidden.

This book goes way beyond just a Secure Home. I highly recomend this book! This book is not for those seeking wealfare, hand-outs and so forth. This is for those who want to preserve their wealth, their health and their well-being. Purchase 2 copies now, cause you'll be marking the first one profusely.

The author has an amazing wealth of knowledge which he has graciously shared with us through this book. Skip all other secure home building references and just get this if you are on the fence about which one to choose. I will keep this book is on my top shelf, it is worth every penny and then some.

Some might say you might be able to find this same information online, but it is usually just an unorganized tsunami of information located on a few survival blogs all over the internet which will take you hours to synthesize into the information you may need right away for a project.