When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance and Planetary Survival (Paperback)

~ Matthew Stein (Author)
Key Phrases: peak oil, natural capitalism, prairie wolf, United States, New York, White River Junction (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review From John Egan, proprietor of the website SurvivalistBooks.com
Matthew Stein has written a clear, concise book on the subject of survival that, while educating, also does what few others have managed to do - entertain and engage the reader.
Throughout the book you'll find personal stories accompanying the text to further illustrate or drive home a point. The use of these asides brings you into Matthew Stein's life, as he recounts personal stories of survival and tells the stories of others who have managed to overcome the odds to survive. Not just a survival book, Matthew also covers topics like alternative therapies; how to create a survival mindset; survival strategies; renewable energy; companion gardening; prophecies etc. as well as all the regular topics found in such books - edible plants; first aid; making a survival kit; growing, hunting and foraging; making tools; creating shelters; spinning/weaving/tanning etc. The book has some great illustrations that make plant identification and first aid that much easier to understand and each chapter finishes with a reference section listing books (along with a short review) and resources (with web addresses where available). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

"Stein's excellent guide to simplifying your life, reducing your environmental impact, and pulling yourself out of a jam is sure to gather no dust on your bookshelf... This book is a personal and planetary empowerment tool." -Richard Heede, Ph.D., author, Homemade Money: How to Save Energy and Dollars in Your Home

"A marvelous guidebook for helping us through the worst of times, and even improving on the best of times" -Thorn Hartmann, author, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

"When Technology Fails is a massive project done well. First the book gives a superb presentation of WHY one should be more aware and prepared—and then HOW one should go about this. The scope of this book... is thorough. Not only is the information presented well, but a solid bibliography can carry the student as far as he desires in any particular area of interest."—John McPherson, author, Primitive Wilderness Living and Survival Skills

"We may all need a survival reference when technology fails. Matthew provides one — fact-filled, with useful tips on all aspects of survival, clothing, food, shelter, water, etc., including such vital subjects as grazing and the green pharmacy."—James A. Duke, economic botanist, USDA (ret.) and author of The Green Pharmacy

"The depth of this book, covering everything from building materials to spiritual healing, is astounding. It is a one-stop source... to create a self-sufficient, earth-friendly lifestyle. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in preserving the health of themselves and the planet—and moving toward a sustainable, sane way of living."-Robyn Griggs Lawrence, editor-in-chief, Natural Home magazine

"Whether you are seeking self-reliance and a simpler life or fear the collapse of social services, this compendium of practical information for sustainable living belongs on your bookshelf..."-Fred C. Walters, editor, Acres U.S.A. magazine

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Product Details

• Paperback: 405 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing (May 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933392835
• ISBN-13: 978-1933392837
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #477,523 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

195 of 206 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read for the wary -, February 29, 2004

By	EmBee (Oregon, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance & Planetary Survival (Paperback)

This is a great book about preparing for short-term societal or environmental crises - how to conserve water when the water's not running (after a hurricane, say), how to stay warm and safe when the ice-storm of the century wipes out your natural gas and electricity, or an earthquake shakes your house down around your ears in the middle of the night.
The true beauty of this book is the wealth of information for longer-term "doing without," or slow erosion of a situation of plenty we now take for granted. Here is information on dealing with medical problems when no doctor is forthcoming, growing food organically and with your own saved seed, how you might store food over the winter with no refrigerator.

If we lost the luxury of the machines that run our world, would we find ourselves back in the stone age, having lost the knowledge handed down for generations beyond count of how to shelter, clothe, feed and doctor ourselves? These skills are all touched on in this book, with voluminous resource lists so that the reader can learn more about any of these subjects.

Technology, too, is given its due - renewable energy sources like solar and wind are discussed and the best water filters on the market.

Change is coming. That's apparent. If you're worried, wary - this is a good book, a jumping-off place to learn skills you may some day be very thankful for, or at least gather a library of relevant information against the day when it is needed. Survivalist paranoia not required.

329 of 366 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 90% Great, 10% Newage Garbage, April 18, 2001

By	K. Rule (Beaverton, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance & Planetary Survival (Paperback)

Most of this book is very good. It is a good survey of many issues related to self-sufficiency. It has great references that make it easier to find the materials needed for a more in-depth understanding of most of the topics.

However, I had the feeling while reading the book was that it was written by Abby (Dharma's mother from Dharma & Greg). Great, pragmatic information is tainted with pseudo-science nonsense and newage garbage. Most of which is harmless, but some of it may be downright dangerous.

For example, there is a half page editorial on the moral issues of hunting followed some pages later by a long discussion of tanning. There is a story of how blessing water turned undrinkable swill into sweet healing water. There's enough folk and eastern medical advice to make your head swim.

If you believe everything you read, this probably isn't the book for you. However, if you can discern the likely from the silly, you might find this book useful.

139 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good information, not all is practical or needed, December 29, 2005

By	Maria (Plantation, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance & Planetary Survival (Paperback)

There is a lot of good information in this book, especially good are the reference and resource areas and websites the author includes.

With that said, I found a lot of stuff that simply wasn't practical or necessary to have. Some questions I have after reading it are: Where would the average person store that roughly 1200 lbs of grain, 240 lbs of legumes, 200 lbs of dairy, etc, etc. needed for a family of 4 to survive a year? And what would you do at the end of the year when you had eaten all your food? Also the average uban dweller probably isn't likely to be able to drill their own well for drinking water. And what about your neighbors? Is it really practical to expect that they would let you eat drink and be merry while the whole village starved?

Some of the things the author lists for survival also seem ridiculous. How about the condom that you can put in a sock to create a water bottle. Why not just keep a couple water bottles around? He lists a compass and matches and candles. Unless you are planning to do hiking in previously unnavigated areas, the compass seems not necessary. Candles and matches! I live in South Florida where we get a lot of power outages from hurricanes- the last one left us without electricity for two weeks. My best suggestion is a couple really good flash lights (battery powered and solar) and some solar lanterns and stock up on those batteries.

I couldn't decide if this book was for the end of the world, a nuclear attack, or a beginning primer to for the end of fossil fuels. This book seemed more like a hodge podge of other more succinct works giving the most extreme examples.

Since we aren't at the end of the world yet, there are lots of ways to reduce your personal dependence on the modern electrical grid. If we all do this collectively, then a manual like this becomes less necessary. Buy compact fluorescent light bulbs- 1/4 the energy usage- lasts 10x as long. Get a tankless water heater or one that is solar powered. Turn off your lights and unplug your appliances when you aren't using them. Buy appliances that have an energystar rating. Plant some trees- they will give you shade and soak up some of that carbon modern societies love to emit. Plant some vegetables. Compost & buy a rain catcher for plant irrigation. Recycle everything! Buy a hybrid car. Plan your shopping excursions to maximize your time out driving. ETC, ETC. And most importantly demand an energy policy that works from your elected officials!

You can also buy those appliances that won't leave you stranded if there is an extended outage. Solar cookers, gas grills, solar refrigerators, and like I noted earlier the flash lights and solar lanterns. Stock up on some water and non perishible items if you live in a place that gets hit with hurricanes.

So, in sum, while this book gives a lot of good advice, its not very concise and also gives you a lot of info that you won't likely need.