Rating: 
Summary: A modern day "Alas, Babylon"
Review: A fascinating story about survival following the breakdown of our existing structures of social order. The novel is a modern day "Alas Babylon" in which the breakdown is brought about not by nuclear war, but by economic collapse. (Rawles' previous edition of this book was self-published.)
Rating:
Summary: If "TSHTF," You Had Better Have Read This Book!
Review: 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."
Rating:
Summary: A partial cure for "Head in the Sand" syndrome.
Review: I heard the author some months ago promoting this book. As I understood him, he had compiled the practical survival info some time ago as a "how to" book for surviving a possible societal collapse in the near future. The feedback was so great that he made the info into a novel. The majority of the main characters are christian but not all of them. Given the locale of the story, I find this fact to be no more distracting than if the book had been written by a chinese author, having characters who were practicing buddhists. To focus on such matters is to miss the valid lessons in the text. If you are concerned about current events, you might want to buy this book for your personal library. If you believe that man is infallible, that there is no god, that you are a genius, that human technology will overcome nature, that the leaders of the world today really do care what happens to you, that there will always be food when you are hungry, etc. then read the book for a good chuckle. As for myself, I will study the ant.
Rating:
Summary: Can't buy book!!!!
Review: I would like to know how and where these people who reviewed this book bought it. I have been trying since June 2004 to get this book from Amazon and all I got was a run around!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best researched books ever
Review: This book is a real gem. It is both a gripping piece of fiction, as well as a useful resource on survivalism. I would not have thought it possible for a survival book to be so interesting, but this one really is. The storyline itself is very interesting and holds your attention, but in addition to that the book is full of little pearls of wisdom about how and where to acquire things that make one better prepared. When I was in the early stages of the book I was impressed by all of the references. Later when I was most of the way through the book and still kept finding more and more nuggets of wisdom I was truly amazed. The breadth of knowledge displayed by the author on a wide variety of subjects is truly amazing. This book is very well researched, and best of all, it is also very interesting to read. Several years ago this book might have been simply an interesting work of fiction, but now in the post-9/11 world it is something to think seriously about. Also, the opening chapter which focused on the start of the economic crunch reminded me of the summer of 1997 when Asia and Russia's economic crises coupled with the near bankruptcy of a large US firm called Long Term Capital Management and almost sent the world into economic collapse. Add to that some other recent events such as the bursting of the dot com bubble in 2000, the stagnation of the economy shortly after 9/11, and the high gas prices of 2004. It just goes to show, the circumstances in this book are quite possible, more so than any of us would like to admit.
Rating:
Summary: If "TSHTF," You Had Better Have Read This Book!
Review: 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."
Rating:
Summary: I wish there were more like this
Review: Like other readers, I was inspired to send the author a personal note thanking him for writing this book. Several excellent reviews have already been written, so I will just add that I wish there were many more books like this. In addition to the wealth of information it contains, it is one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. I know I'll read it again soon (after I finish Unintended Consequences).
|
