TRP

TRP

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

“Day of Wrath” and “Liberators”

I’ve been reading a lot lately and while much of it is OK, there are two great reads that I recently finished that I wanted to share. The authors both played a big part in my becoming a Prepper (however reluctantly) and I always look forward to their newest offerings. (The following links are Amazon affiliate links.)

Day of Wrath is the newest book by William R. Forstchen. He wrote the now classic small-town-dealing-with-an-emp tome One Second After. If you’ve never read OSA, do yourself a favor and download it now. Day of Wrath is a novella which means it’s short. I read it in about 3 hours. Three of the scariest and most thought provoking hours I’ve ever spent with my nose in a book. The premise is that ISIS radicals have decided to attack the US directly. Instead of assembling an army at our border, they send in dozens of 3-5 man teams who simultaneously attack 30 or so elementary schools (“gun-free” zones) all around the country. Then, as every parent in the country clogs the roads to go retrieve their children (like we all would do), other teams attack the interstates. Hundreds die but the point is not a high body count, but to sow the seeds of insecurity on our soil.
Warning: The book goes into PAINFUL detail about what would happen in the schools drawn from what has actually happened in faraway countries they have already attacked. It’s tough to read as it involves children. Sadly, if you are looking for a happy ending, keep looking.

Liberators is the newest in the Patriot series by James Wesley Rawles. JWR takes a lot of heat for his writing style as his stories are usually pretty weak, the dialogue is robotic, and the good guys are always in really good shape. Here’s the rub: you don’t read JWR books as story books. You read them as textbooks. The information for survival is presented as a field manual in story form. He thinks of the things I don’t. He puts mountains of Prepper information in an easy to read form that is not boring. There are so many characters in this series that I can’t possibly keep it straight, but I remember most of what I need to set up a decent survival ranch. That is why I don’t recommend these in Kindle books. You need the hard copy to make notes and such. In my opinion, it’s a great book, but make sure you read all the other ones first.

TRP

Monday, August 4, 2014

Ebola? It Ends Like This?

Ebola is in the news a lot right now. Frankly, it's a bit overhyped. Ebola is a deadly virus, depending on the strain that is active. It could kill you in a very ugly way. However, it is not an easy virus to get. Trully airborne strains do not exist. You need direct bodily-fluid-to-bodily-fluid contact. That doesn't mean someone sneezing on you won't infect you. It's just not easy. Of course the worst part of ebola is its fast action. It can take just a few days from contact to full blown, life effecting symptoms. But this is also its limitation. If you are not in a large city with a major airport, your chances of contracting the virus are almost none existent (at least at this point). If you live in a populated area, simple precautions such as hand washing and avoiding symtomatic (sick) people will save you most of the time. The best book on the subject is still The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus I highly recommend this book if you want to understand the virus. Stay safe, but don't go crazy. Some minor protective gear wouldn't hurt, but I wouldn't hunker down just yet. TRP