I consider this book one of the "MUST HAVE" books in any survival library. Not only does this book contain fantastic and interesting reading, but with its dozens of charts, lists, drawings and photos, this book serves as an excellent reference on surviving ANY major disaster. It is one of the few reference books I keep in my personal bookshelf beside the computer. When I read this book for the first time I was amazed by what I THOUGHT I knew. I was VERY wrong in many of my beliefs. Even the US government used Dr. Clayton's research to revise their policies in some areas.

Chapters covered include:

It's a disaster

Everything you ever wanted to know about nuclear war

To flee or not to flee

Home sweet hole

Nobody makes housecalls anymore

and MANY others that will keep you reading, and more importantly, will keep you alive no matter what the disaster.


Best general purpose book out there   June 6, 2003
 10 out of 13 found this review helpful

It would be difficult to write a better all purpose survival manual. The author understands that preparing for one emergency somewhat prepares you for them all. He focuses on the practical and doesn't get immersed in the arcana of combat firearms or sidetracked into politics. I'd love to see a revised edition but the principles he outlines will be good forever.


out of date at best   August 15, 2000
 10 out of 45 found this review helpful

The information in this book is suited for no other disasters than a minimal nuclear accident. The information is old., dated and poor.


Great Book!   July 12, 1999
 4 out of 19 found this review helpful

Bruce did a great job researching the subject. Gret BOOK


THE Bible of Survivalism   January 2, 1999
 22 out of 23 found this review helpful

This book was published during the nuclear arms race of the Carter and Reagan years, when the prospect of nuclear war looked much worse than it does now. Still...with the Y2K bug looming and countries like India and Pakistan now possessing the Bomb, you owe it to yourself to have a copy of this, "just in case". Besides covering the possible effects of nuclear war, it also covers a large variety of natural and man-made disasters, from floods to hurricanes to a financial crash to nuclear power plant accidents. Includes information on do-it-yourself emergency medicine, gardening and food storage, and shelter, that could be applicable to any number of potential disasters, not just nuclear war. What I like best about this book is it provides all this information without even a hint of the right-wing extremist politics that often infests other survivalist literature (the political slant here if anything seems to be closer to that of _The Mother Earth News_). As companion books to this I would highly recommend the _Foxfire_ books on traditional southern Appalachian skills, Cresson Kearny's _Nuclear War Survival Skills_, and David Werner's _Where There Is No Doctor_.