Book 8 of my 2014 Goal

Survival Guide for Beginners by Vitaly Pedchenko
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am not a person who is into the Zombie Attacks or Dooms Day Prepper such as I have seen on TV where I think aliens are coming to wipe mankind out or some of the conspiracy theories where everyone from invading nations to the government are coming to get me. What I was interested in is how to be prepared for disasters where my family could survive without utilities when a disaster strikes. By a disaster, I am talking more so about natural or man-made disasters that we already have faced time and time again. Everything from tornadoes which seem to be on an increase even here in New England to all these blizzards, super storms, and hurricanes that knock out the power for days/weeks. Lets not forget the possibility of power plant leaks, terrorist bombings, or even plane crashes. No matter what the disaster is, I want to be prepared so my family can survive even if all utilities are not working and going to get gas or to a grocery store is not an option. Reading "Survival Guide for Beginners" by Vitaly Pedchenko is a wonderful place to start to gain knowledge about this task.

The book has different lists of supplies needed for different disasters. After all, if you need to survive a devastating blizzard in the dead of winter, you will need different supplies from someone trying to survive a Tsunami in the middle of summer. These lists do seem repetitious throughout the book since some of the basic supplies are needed no mater what or when the disaster is (e.g. shelter, food, water) and although the author could have possibly made one list of these basic needs at the beginning and just referred future pages/disasters to it, it does save a lot of page turning plus makes it easier to see a complete list for any disaster that is covered so in this book, I thought the repetition is needed.

Not only does the book tell what list of supplies you should have, it tells you which kind is best for storage and how much. In cases of long-term, it even goes on to tell you how to do certain things like the different ways to purify water and the pros and cons of each. It also covers subjects such as being mentally prepared, what you need to take or do if you are being evacuated, and much more.

In the back of the book is a website for more survival and preparedness tips however I wasn't able to get it to work on my browser (not sure if it is my browser or the site is no longer available) although I was able to get to the Facebook Page that was also listed. I looked at it briefly and saw the seven best 'Bug Out Bags' (these are also covered in the book) as well as other supplies found to be really good for survival. I will have to go back and spend some more time there as it has some great information.

This book is written in easy language and has a lot of useful information although I do wish it would cover 'where to get it' or 'how to get it' type information for some of the items. An example of this is about the suggestion to have a month's supply of your prescription medication on hand. Great suggestion since if there is no power or you're snowed in for a week you can't jump in your car and go to your pharmacy to pick up a refill but the problem is no drug store or insurance company I have dealt with would allow me to get an 'extra' month supply of my medication. They will say it is not time to refill it nor will the insurance company pay for it. So how do I go about doing this? Do I need to go to the Dr. first, get a one time prescription for each (explaining why I want the extra month supply) and just fill it paying cash? Will the pharmacy fill it even though it is the same pills I am currently taking? Another suggestion is to have antibiotics and it lists a few as well as what they are used for in your first aid bag, but I don't know any Dr. I can go to with a list of antibiotics that will write me a prescription for them when I am not currently sick. So how do I go about filling my first aid kit?

Other than the problem I face on how and where to get some of the things mentioned in the book, I thought it was good advise and a good starting place for being prepared for a disaster. I do recommend this book for everyone who are just starting out to put a survival items together.


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