B2B Book Reviews 3: Preparedness

It seems that more and more people are becoming aware of the need to be prepared. Not only because of economic and political uncertainties, but for times of joblessness or natural disaster when resources are slim to none. Being prepared for hard times only makes sense, and the Back To Basics Living Bundle has some good offerings on this subject.

There are a couple of really good preparedness plans in the bundle, but for those just getting started I especially like Melissa K. Norris’s 30 Days to Preparedness: Old-Fashioned Skills to increase self-sufficiency. It starts with a preparedness checklist, and is divided into weekly sections. Week 1 discusses things to keep in your car, alternative light sources, keeping warm without electricity, and an introduction to bulk food storage. Week 2 addresses food storage mistakes to avoid, storing and purifying water at home, growing and foraging for food, seed saving, and introduces raising backyard chickens and other animals for meat. Week 3 discusses home butchering of meat, dehydration, canning, choosing a grain mill, and sourdough starter. Week 4 gets into cooking without power, starting a fire without a lighter or matches, bartering, herbs, and old-time natural remedies that work. This book doesn’t claim to take you to full preparedness, but between it and the rest of the B2B Living Bundle, you will have the tools and information you need to get there.

Food Storage Made Easy: a three-part program by Jodi Moore and Julie Weiss obviously focuses on food preparedness. It can help the beginner get started, as well as help the rest of us evaluate, organize, and fill in the gaps. Part one includes weekly checklists for goal setting. The checklists give you things to do, things to buy, and recipes to try (included in the recipe section). Part two is an encyclopedia which covers emergency preparedness, shelves (where to put it all is something one doesn’t usually think about at first), water, the 3-month supply, and long term planning. It goes on to cover grains, legumes and meats, baking ingredients, fruits and veggies, comfort foods, and non-food items. Part three is a huge selection of recipes utilizing the foods you’ve stored in your pantry.

While the two eBooks above are good examples of general preparedness, One Second After the Lights Go Out: How to Survive in a Post-EMP World by Lisa Bedford addresses preparedness for the extreme. Most of us would like to think that an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP), coronal mass ejection (CME), or cyberterrorism are simply the stuff of books and movies and therefore highly unlikely. The author begins by explaining what our power grid is, how it functions, and what experts say about the actual likelihood of extensive damage to it. By assuming a worst case scenario she takes you through the consequences of such an event and actions you can implement to be better prepared. Such a catastrophe may seem sensationalistic, but the information in this book is very common sense and practical. If you’re prepared for this, you’ll be prepared for almost anything.

The Back To Basics Bundle will be available through January 22 and includes 73 homesteading, self-reliance, DIY, and preparedness eBooks, courses, plus about a dozen bonus offers. You can choose online access to download the bundle for $29.97, the flash (aka thumb or USB) drive option for $54.97, or both for $59.97 (one for you and the other as a gift).

BONUS: If you buy the bundle through my blog, I’ll gift you with your choice of one eVolume from my The Little Series of Homestead How-Tos. After you place your order simply email me at 5acresandadream @ mail. com, and let me know which one you’d like. I’ll send you a link to download a free copy.

Tomorrow I’ll review two books on low tech and off-grid living.