For those who do not/have not followed Rawles on his SurvivalBlog.com web site for any period of time, one of the precepts he espouses is "have a list of lists". The idea is a solid one--you a list of the lists of the things you have (or need) to prepare for bad times. It keeps you organized, since you know what you have, how much you have and where it is, or you know that you need it and have yet to acquire it. Tools For Survival is one of those lists--a list of the tools a family or a group of families would need to have in the event of a long term situation where outside help was not available. (Picture Hurricane Katrina, except help didn't show up for months instead of days.) The book is a comprehensive survey of all areas that would need to be addressed in such a situation.
In this book Rawles goes over each major grouping of tools in short form. It isn't meant to be an in depth study of any of the area covered. For example, the archery section is roughly 13 pages long and covers what is known as "traditional archery" (basically, long and recurve bows). He covers very basic information on bows, arrows and how to use them. And here is one of the problems: outside resource materials are relegated to a relatively undifferentiated lump in an appendix. They aren't organized by chapter or subject, but by who suggested them. They would be far more helpful if attached in a paragraph or two at the end of each chapter. especially since chapters in this book can be read individually as needed.
In another area, covering hand tools, Rawles makes a mistake that simply has me scratching my head. When saying, "You should have one of these", rather than giving the reader a manufacturer and a model number so we can find it ourselves no matter when we read the book, he relies on the SnipURL service, which is an ephemeral Internet-based URL shortening service. I've just checked over a dozen of the included URLs, and the majority are now defunct. The reader is now in the position of knowing that they need spare 120 VAC duplex outlets (for instance), but not knowing which ones the author suggests or why.
These two issues combined they make the book less useful than it should be. For someone like me, who has some skills in every area the book addresses, this isn't an insurmountable problem. But for someone new to preparedness or someone who lacks skills in a given area, these problems will render the book far less useful than it should be. Rawles should address both issues in a future edition.
- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Plume (December 30, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0452298121
- ISBN-13: 978-0452298125
- Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 149 customer reviews
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- #53 in Disaster Relief (Books)
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- #13 in Sports Equipment & Supplies (Books)
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