First Thoughts
Preparedness and Survival Guide for Beginners is only available electronically but it is downloadable for free on Amazon.com. I hope you can also download it without paying a cent. It's pretty easy to download this ebook (Kindle version) because you won't have to enter any card or bank account information whatsoever. Just hit the one click purchase button and it will show on your Kindle app (I use the PC version of the Kindle app).
I can't say if it is a must read, but I can tell you that your knowledge will broaden a bit if you read this book from start to finish. There are about 42 chapters, with about 2-3 pages per chapter but it depends on what your Kindle font settings are. It took me about three and a half hours to finish reading. I find it odd that the table of contents only note about 36 chapters, whereas there are 42 chapters in this e-book.
Generally Speaking...
It tackles about general stuff you can read on prepper blogs, but it has that sense of continuity and order that would make you want to flip to the next page. There are links at every end of a chapter but I didn't manage to visit them because I find it a hassle to look for other information aside from what's written in the e-book. There are small pictures in the start of every chapter but that's all there is regarding pictures. You will not read any how-to sections in this book, only pointers and tips.
The vocabulary used in this book is basic, meaning if you're a native English speaker, you won't have to get a dictionary to search for words, but I did find looking for the meaning of some words like flue because of my language proficiency. The explanation on every point is concise but a bit general, in my opinion.
Table of Contents
Here is the title of every chapter. You can tell what is discussed in every chapter; most of them are guidelines to do when a disaster strikes.
Chapter 1 - Why Being Prepared for a Disaster is Important
Chapter 2 - Types of Disasters That can Happen
Chapter 3 - Being Prepared Mentally for Survival
Chapter 4 - Physical Readiness Being Prepared for a Crisis
Chapter 5 - Essential Emergency Survival Supplies
Chapter 6 - What to do When Disaster Strikes
Chapter 7 - Essentials for Your Bug Out bag
Chapter 8 - Water Purification and Storage
Chapter 9 - Emergency Food Storage for Your Home and for Evacuation
Chapter 10 - Bug Out Vehicle How to Get Ready
Chapter 11 - Electricity and Fuel During a Disaster
Chapter 12 - Heating Sources
Chapter 13 - Survival Gardening
Chapter 14 - Medical Supplies and First Aid
Chapter 15 - How to Prepare your Home and Shelter During Evacuation From a Crisis
Chapter 16 - Communications During a Survival Situation
Chapter 17 - Home Defense
Chapter 18 - Firearms and You During a Crisis
Chapter 19 - Business in Bad Times
Chapter 20 - Surviving a Hurricane
Chapter 21 - Surviving a Tornado
Chapter 22 - Surviving an Earthquake
Chapter 23 - Surviving a Blizzard
Chapter 24 - Surviving a Flood
Chapter 25 - Surviving a Power Blackout
Chapter 26 - Lessons From Japan 2011
Chapter 27 - Preparedness the First Steps
Chapter 28 - Emergency Preparation Checklist
Chapter 29 - Preppers Must Have List
Chapter 30 - Common Survival and Preparation Mistakes
Chapter 31 - What to do During a Mass Evacaution
Chapter 32 - Preparedness Food Storage List
Chapter 33 - Emergency Wintertime Essential for Your Vehicle
Chapter 34 - Surviving a Forest Fire
Chapter 35 - Backpack for Survival
Chapter 36 - Vehicle Essentials for Summertime Travel
Chapter 37 - Advices to Survive an Active Shooter Scenario
Chapter 38 - Surviving a Riot
Chapter 39 - Surviving a Pandemic and Outbreak of Disease
Chapter 40 - Surviving a Water Infrastructure Problem
Chapter 41 - Survivng a Major Food Crisis
Chapter 42 - Items to Barter in Bad Times
Limitations and Rating
Preparedness and Survival Guide for Beginners is geared towards survival in mostly an urban environment. It doesn't tackle about bush-crafting or wilderness survival. It points out how you can prepare from the comforts of your own home or in an office or a mall. My favorite chapters are chapter 14 and chapters 17-18 because I have a pre-med background and I have current fascination about guns. You won't get bored reading this material but I won't recommend it as your ultimate pocket survival book. I give this book minus two stars out of five because it is not a life-and-death book to have and it is not specific enough. But you won't waste your 3.5 hours reading this book.
Caution: This book debunks the 72-hour bug out kit
