What is the first thing that a suburban homesteader does?  I’m sure you guessed correctly – they start a garden.  It’s probably the easiest thing to do to start a self-reliant lifestyle because of many reasons. There’s a low barrier to entry – you just need some dirt and a few seeds – and it’s also more socially acceptable than storing large quantities of food, water and/or ammunition. Amy Stross of TenthAcreFarm.com fame has realized this fact.  She also knows that starting a micro-farm on her suburban plot has started her walk to self-reliance.  She’s taken all she’s learned during her years of micro-farming (read: large-scale gardening) and put it together in one of the most well-written, easy to read books on the topic that I’ve ever read.  Read on to find out why you need The Suburban Micro-Farm in your suburban homesteading library today!

Book Set-Up

Amy put her heart and soul into this book and it’s quite obvious.  She takes a very intelligent approach to the layout of the book.  It is broken down into three parts – Getting To Know the Micro-Farm, Becoming A Micro-Farmer and Advanced Micro-Farming Techniques.  Each part has sub-chapters and each chapter has subsections.  This intensive breakdown allows you to use this book as a reference book and quickly get to the area that you need immediate information on.

Likewise, the book is written in such a way that you can read it from beginning to end (I did) and build upon the sections you’ve already read.

The parts and chapters of this book are as follows:

Introduction

The Introduction is just that – an introduction to the book and a general layout of what Amy plans on teaching us and how the book is laid out.

Part I – Getting To Know The Micro-Farm

Chapter 1 – Suburbia: Civilization’s Opportunity

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• The Suburban Problem
• Suburban Micro-Farming Myths
• The Suburban Micro-Farm Solution

Chapter 1 is a very interesting chapter because you get to hear a lot about Amy’s journey through suburban gardening to suburban farming.  You hear – at a high level – about some of her pitfalls and the errors she made.  You also get to explore some of the myths associated with farming/gardening in the suburbs and what the truth really is.

Chapter 2 – Managing Expectations

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Prevent Garden Overwhelm Syndrome
• Life Hacks for the Busy Micro-Farmer
• When It’s Not Enough
• Overcoming Brown Thumbs
• Setting Up Your Neighborhood for Success

Many suburban gardeners and farmers are discouraged when they don’t have immediate success.  Amy walks you through some life hacks to see better results early and get a few quick wins.  You’ll build on these wins and get comfortable as a suburban farmer.  The biggest tip I took out of this section was to spend fifteen minutes every day (every.single.day) in the garden.  This approach will make sure that you see what’s going on and don’t let things go too far and become a bigger problem.

Chapter 3: Developing Healthy Soil

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Building Soil Health and Fertility
• Guide to Organic Soil Amendments
• No-Till Micro-Farming
• Constructing a Simple Compost System
• How to Compost
• Cultivate Worm Castings with Vermicomposting

Soil is the lifeblood of a great suburban micro-farm.  This chapter of The Suburban Micro-Farm is great because it walks you through all the different ways to build high-quality soil.  These approaches will create a great base layer for your crops and allow you to achieve success earlier.

Chapter 4: Vegetables On The Farm

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• The Efficient Micro-Farm
• Guide to Planting and Growing Vegetables
• Choosing Crops to Meet Your Needs
• How to Place Vegetables
• Extending the Season with Cold Frames

Soil is great, but folks plant gardens and farms to get produce.  This chapter is chock full of information on many different crops you can grow.  It tells you how to grow them, what crops to grow with them to promote successful harvest and how to rotate your crops annually.

Chapter 5: Micro-Farming Fruit

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Growing Fruit Trees
• Growing Berries for Beginners
• Choosing Fruit for Your Circumstances

So, you’ve got your vegetables squared away, right?  What about fruit?  Fruit is sometimes easier for the suburban micro-farmer because it is typically an annual product.  You only plant it once and receive output (harvest) every year after that.  This chapter is a goldmine of information on where to plant certain fruit, how to harvest it and when to harvest it.  This chapter has really prompted me to plant currants and grapes in my yard.

Chapter 6: Growing Herbs On The Micro-Farm

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Kitchen Garden Herbs
• Herbs in a Pollinator Garden
• Create an Herb Spiral

If you like to cook then you know how important herbs are to making that special dish really pop.  Herbs are also instrumental in medicinal settings (see Cat Ellis’s book Prepper’s Natural Medicine).  And, on top of those things, they also attract pollinators to your crops.  This chapter provides great guidelines for planting herbs and designing your suburban micro-farm in a way that utilizes your herbs for many different factors.

Part II – Becoming A Micro-Farmer

Chapter 7: Organizing Your Micro-Farm

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Make a Garden Sketch
• Make Seed and Supply Purchases
• Month-by-Month Micro-Farming
• Checklists and Monthly Calendars

Good farmers are organized farmers.  Amy has spent a lot of time putting together a companion website to this book (you’ll have to buy the book to find the website address).  The resources on this website help you plan and track the performance of your garden.  I’ve already dug into these and plan on using them this summer.

Chapter 8: Seed Starting & Planning

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Starting Seeds Indoors: A Step-by-Step Guide
• How to Sow Seeds Directly Outdoors
• How to Transplant Seedlings Outdoors

Seed starting isn’t always as simple as it sounds.  Amy does a great job of explaining seed starting in this chapter of The Suburban Micro-Farm.  She also talks heavily about transplanting and the – to me – always nebulous task of hardening off transplants.

Chapter 9: Maintaining The Garden & Harvesting The Produce

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Daily Garden Visits
• Mulching in the Garden
• Watering
• Pest Management
• Guide to Harvesting Vegetables
• Cleaning up the Garden for Fall
• Easy Seeds to Save
• Storing Seeds

You’ve set up your garden, started your seeds and transplanted them successfully to the garden.  Now, what do you do?  Mulching, water, pest management and harvesting are all tasks that help promote suburban micro-farm success.  Amy spends a good amount of time talking about all of these tasks and also delves into seed saving.  Seed saving is SO important because you can capture seeds from produce that survived in your area and slowly build a seed base for plants that will be more successful in your location.

Part III – Advanced Micro-Farming Techniques

Chapter 10: Edible Landscaping

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Why Landscape with Edibles?
• Things to Consider before Breaking Ground
• Landscape Design Principles for Visual Appeal
• Planning Techniques for the Edible Landscape
• Choosing What to Plant
• Utilizing the Parking Strip

Amy has taken the next step with her micro-farming and moved onto an edible landscape.  She’s slowly removing the useless lawn on her property and replacing it with plants that are not only beautiful but functional.  Learn how she’s doing it in this chapter!

Chapter 11: Digging Deeper: Permaculture & Micro-Farming

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Using Water Wisely
• Building Plant Guilds
• Farming the Contour
• Terracing with Check Logs
• Managing the Edges
• Permaculture Plants

Interested in permaculture?  This chapter is, by far, the longest in the book.  It’s also the most information-dense chapter.  Amy basically compressed an entire Permaculture Design Course (PDC) into one chapter.  I absolutely loved this chapter because it’s not only permaculture-centric but it is permaculture-centric to the suburban homeowner mindset.  I would often struggle to see how approaches learned in a PDC could be utilized in a suburban setting.  Amy helps guide us in that direction.

Chapter 12: Making Money On The Suburban Micro-Farm

This chapter consists of the following parts:

• Perennial Crops
• Annual Crops with a Long Season
• Shade Crops
• The Edible Plant Nursery
• Cut Flowers
• Maple Syrup
• Cottage Food Products
• Homemade Soap
• Teaching and Writing
• Tips for Success

If you follow all the tips, trick and techniques in of The Suburban Micro-Farm, you’ll most likely have more produce than you and your family can handle.  Why not make some money off of it?  Amy walks us through ways to monetize your suburban micro-farm.  Genius ideas here.  Worth the price of the book in and of itself.

Conclusion

Amy ties it all up in the conclusion.  She has additional sections such as Acknowledgements, Bibliography, and Additional Resources (Books and Online).  These sections are incredible as well and allow the reader to continue their self-education in a variety of different places.

Why I Liked The Suburban Micro-Farm

There are a lot of things I liked about this book.  But, most importantly, I think the fact that it’s a hands-on book is what I like most.  All the information here is not theoretical but, rather, it’s proven tactics with suggestions on how to implement them yourselves.  Tactics and strategy in the same book.  Incredible.

Amy’s companion websites and resources – there are at least four Google spreadsheets she’s set up for you – are just incredible.  She could probably sell these as a kit themselves but they are “free” with a purchase of the book.

Finally, I liked the layout of the book.  It grows the reader’s knowledge if read chronologically but also allows for pinpoint referencing of information.  Great approach Amy!

What I Didn’t Like

I hate saying that there’s nothing I didn’t like about a book but there isn’t anything I don’t like about this book.  I think it’s great!  In the first edition, the one thing I didn’t like was was the printing. The first edition was printed in black and white and it was quite obvious that the master copy was in color. The black and white printing did all the pictures and colored text injustice.

Amy fixed this issues in the second edition and I have to say that it made an already great book incredible!  Even if you picked up the first edition, I would suggest getting the second edition.  The addition of color to this printing is just amazing!

Overall Thoughts on The Suburban Micro-Farm

Point blank, this book is a must-have for any suburban homesteader who is even thinking about growing fruit, vegetables or herbs on their land.  Amy Stross underestimates her ability to convey complex information in a simple, straight-forward manner.  Likewise, she has done a great job of putting together a book that is both awesome in its long form as it is a pinpoint resource book.

It is very, very rare that I state emphatically that a book is required for your suburban homesteading library.  This book goes alongside Cat Ellis’s Prepper’s Natural Medicine and Anna Hess’ The Weekend Homesteader as MUST HAVES in your library!

Disclaimer: Amy Stross supplied a copy of The Suburban Micro-Farm for me to review. I can assure my readers that I gave it a fair and honest review.

You’re a suburban homesteader.  You know how to raise your own food, protect your land, hunt for your protein, fix just about everything around your home and work with your neighbors to make your world that much better.  But, do you know how to deal with any acute medical emergencies that show up?  Scott Finazzo’s book Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook will help you not only identify medical issues, but also treat them to the point where you can get them to higher-end medical care.

Book Set-Up

Survival medicine is a broad topic as you might image.  Scott Finazzo breaks down this immense topic into sixteen segments that, while still large, make the overall topic a bit more digestible.  This breakdown allows for quicker reference which will be important when seconds count.

The chapters of this book are as follows:

Introduction

The Introduction is just that – an introduction to the book and a general reasoning behind why Scott wrote this book.  His time as a firefighter and the research he did into military medical response are leveraged heavily in the advice provided in the following chapters.

Chapter 1 – Basic Procedures

Sometimes the best place to start is the beginning.  This chapter speaks highly of understanding your situation, working towards a positive outcome and being prepared to take care of things when they go south.  Gear – protective clothing, first aid supplies, and the like – is discussed as are certifications and classes that individuals may want to take part in.  I was especially interested in the section on smartphone apps that may be helpful.

Chapter 2 – Controlling Blood Loss

This chapter is the first in a long line of “meat and potato” chapters with actionable advice.  As you might imagine, topics such as direct pressure, elevation, tourniquets and clotting agents are addressed.

Chapter 3 – Trauma

Trauma is a big word and encompasses a few major different types of injuries.  Scott uses this chapter in Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook to discuss such topics as blunt force trauma, falls, gunshots and stabbings/impalements.

Chapter 4 – Shock

Shock is probably the most overlooked medical situation when a situation goes sideways.  Events such as gunshots or head injuries are quite apparent visually.  Shock can sometimes sneak up on you.  Scott outlines the four stages of shock and how to best treat them.

Chapter 5 – Fractures

Imagine being in the middle of a fifty-mile multi-day hike with a buddy when he slips and breaks his leg.  Would you know how to treat it properly so that he’s both comfortable and not enduring further injury?  This chapter will teach you how.

Chapter 6 – Burns

Burns can range from that sunburn after a little too long at the beach to full blown third-degree burns which result from prolonged exposure to flames.  Scott uses this chapter of Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook to dive into each type of burn and explain how to treat it.

Chapter 7 – Heat-Related Emergencies

Heat-related emergencies include dehydration, heat exhaustion, cramps and heat stroke.  They can be just as dangerous and cold-related emergencies and, sometimes, harder to treat.  Scott’s advice could help you save the day after long exposure to sunny, warm days.

Chapter 8 – Cold-Related Emergencies

The human body does not like to be cold. Frostbite and hypothermia can be dangerous situations.  With the right information, they can be avoided or, at the very least, treated in short order.

Chapter 9 – Allergic Reactions

Like many medical situations, allergic reactions can range from the benign (seasonal allergies) to the severe (deadly food allergies).  Treatment can be tricky as each person can have a different reaction to epinephrine but Scott does his best to help provide solutions that will make the patient comfortable and stabilize them.

Chapter 10 – Bites and Stings

Bites and stings fall into the same category as allergic reactions.  Some are benign – mosquito bites for instance – and some can border on deadly – picture shark bites or some snake venoms.  Learning how to not only identify the guilty predator but also provide the right treatment is critical to success in these situations.

Chapter 11 – Common Medical Emergencies

Cardiac arrest, seizures, and diabetic attacks can all be life-threatening.  Scott spends some time in this chapter of Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook talking about each and how to deal with them if you do not have immediate access to professional medical services.

Chapter 12 – Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear First Aid

While the general population is not immune to such situations, this chapter was definitely written with military personnel in mind.  The good news is that the average reader will probably never have to experience this kind of trauma.  The better news is that this chapter gives you a fighting chance of surviving it if you do.

Chapter 13 – Specific Climate Survival

The big three – fire, water and shelter – are discussed heavily here.  After all, they are three of the most important skills to survival.  Food and medicinal plants are also discussed at length.  Specific climates such as desserts, cold/icy environments, mountain ranges and forest areas are presented as well.  Each terrain style is broken down into detail about what to look for and how to make do in your surroundings.  While interest, this chapter could be a book unto itself.  I would caution the reader that each topic is just touched on and not gone into detail due to the need for some kind of brevity.

Chapter 14 – Rescue Operations

So you’ve made your buddy comfortable after that fall or traumatic event.  How do you go about extricating yourself and him from the situation?  Do you know how to perform one- or two-man carries? Build a stretcher? Or even drag your fallen buddy appropriately?

Chapter 15 – Psychological First Aid

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious issue and one that can raise it’s ugly head after a situation goes sideways.  Learn how to identify it and possibly treat it so that everyone can get out of the situation safely.

Chapter 16 – Resuscitation

Blood flow and oxygen are critical to survival.  Scott goes into great detail in this chapter of Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook to talk about resuscitating someone who has stopped one or both of these critical functions.

Editor’s Note: While the information provided in this chapter is high quality, it in no way replaces a Red Cross CPR certification.

What I Liked About Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook

Scott took a very straightforward approach with this book.  His chapters read clearly and both the identification and treatment sections are quite clear.  It’s evident that his years as a firefighter and his time researching military medical response have aggregated into all the information in this book.

What I Didn’t Like

Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook was definitely written from more of a military/group perspective than a homesteader or suburbanite.  That’s not a knock on the book; it’s more of a heads up for the readers of this site.

Overall Thoughts on Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook

Those of you who were ever a Boy Scout remember the booklets that each merit badge had associated with it.  Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook reminds me of those booklets on steroids!  It’s chock full of both identification and treatment information.  It’s definitely geared more towards immediate treatment so that you can get the patient to more professional treatment.

I’d recommend this book as a good back-up to any formal first aid training you’ve received in the past.

Disclaimer: Scott Finazzo supplied a copy of Prepper’s Survival Medicine Handbook via Ulysses Press for me to review. I can assure my readers that I gave it a fair and honest review.

Armed defense is always an interesting topic when it comes to prepping, survivalism and suburban homesteading.  At the end of the day, I strongly believe in a person’s right to stand their ground and protect themselves.  Jim Cobb shares that belief.  He has used his latest offering, Prepper’s Armed Defense, as a means of explaining how individuals can arm themselves in the pursuit of self-defense.

Book Set-Up

Jim Cobb has written numerous books to date and he has hit on a style that just plain works.  He uses this style in Prepper’s Armed Defense.  It’s a concise, intelligent approach that walks you through each topic and allows the reader to grow their knowledge base chapter by chapter.  That being said, the inquisitive reader can skip to any chapter and consume that knowledge without needing the information provided in previous chapters.

The chapters are as follows:

Chapter 1 – The Realities Of Self-Defense

The unfortunate truth is that self-defense is nothing like it is shown in the movies.  If the good guy thwarts the bad guy in a lethal manner (or even just maims him), he doesn’t get to ride off into the sunset with the girl.  More than likely, he’s going to have a long talk with the local authorities and possibly even spend a night in jail before everything is squared away.  Jim understands the reality of this situation and spends this chapter talking about these kinds of topics.  He talks about such things as situational awareness, training, post-confrontation action plans, self-defense legal concepts (read up on the Castle Doctrine) and the difference between criminal and civil law.  If you take one thing away from this chapter it’s that self-defense is not without possible legal ramifications and you should be prepared to handle that part of the act as well.

Chapter 2 – Non-Lethal Self-Defense Options

As Jim says, “the whole point of self-defense is to make sure you’re still alive and kicking come the next morning.”  That means that if running gets you out of a situation, then it is just as good of a self-defense option as fighting (possibly a better one from a legal perspective).This chapter of Prepper’s Armed Defense centers on all kinds of non-lethal approaches to protecting and defending yourself such as pepper spray, stun guns, tasers, flashlights, and restraints.  On a personal level, I found this chapter to be one of the most beneficial ones in the book as I believe the topic is highly underrated when it comes to self-defense in the prepper/survivalist/homesteading world.

Chapter 3 – Firearms

Ahhh, guns! Every keyboard commandos favorite topic.  Listen, I’m a firm supporter and practitioner of the Second Amendment and completely believe in having firearms for self-defense.  At the same time, I hope to never, ever have to use my firearms in a defensive manner.  That being said, you can’t write a self-defense book without addressing the 800lbs gorilla in the room.  Jim does a great job of writing about firearm selection, ammunition selection, safety (both in the home and handling) and maintenance required.  Truth be told, this chapter of Prepper’s Armed Defense is a great primer for folks who are looking to buy their first firearm.  Even this (somewhat) experienced firearm owner learned a thing or two.

Chapter 4 – Projectile Weapons

Keeping your distance from an attacker may be the difference between life and death in a self-defense situation.  Projectile weapons help you keep that distance while also maintaining a certain degree of safety.  Obviously, a firearm is the most lethal projectile weapon.  But what if you can own a firearm or don’t want to?  Well, there are other projectile weapons like bows and arrows, crossbows, slings and slingshots that can fill the void.  Jim does a great job of describing all these weapons and spends a lot of time explaining how to properly fit and use them.

Chapter 5 – Knives

If you’ve been around this site at all, you know I like sharp things.  Knives are something of a hobby for me (not as much as my buddy Mike at The Backyard Pioneer, but I digress…).  That being said, I loved this chapter of Prepper’s Armed Defense. Jim dug right in and laid down all the basics about knives – folders vs fixed blade, blade material, handle material, blade geometry and general knife terminology.

Much like the firearms chapter, this chapter could be a stand-alone primer for the new knife owner.  Once the basics were laid down, Jim spends time talking about knife fighting and how personal of an experience it will be.  It’s not presented in a manner that is intent on scaring you off, but more as a means of laying down the reality of the situation.  In his words, “Using a knife to intentionally harm another human being takes a certain mindset and commitment.”  Be prepared if you’re going to use a knife for self-defense.

Chapter 6 – Melee Weapons

What’s a melee weapon you ask? Well, I didn’t really know either.  According to Prepper’s Armed Defense, a “melee weapon is used in close proximity to your attacker.”  They can basically be broken down into two categories – blunt weapons and bladed weapons.  Blunt weapons include items such as brass knuckles, batons, bats, canes and walking sticks.  Bladed weapons include items such as machetes, spears, tomahawks and karambits.  Training is key for these items as understanding moving with them in hand is critical to success.

Chapter 7 – Martial Arts Weapons

It’s easy to foresee a situation where a trained martial artist would want to use something they’ve trained with such as a bo staff, nunchaku, tonfa or kubaton.  In reality, unless you’ve spent a lot of time training with them, these weapons are not very realistic or practical for self-defense.  Jim spends some time in this chapter walking you through some common martial arts weapons and the rest talking about important training with them is to your success.

Chapter 8 – Homemade Weapons

The MacGyver chapter of Prepper’s Armed Defense! Jim walks you through a bunch of homemade weapons such as homemade pepper spray, Molotov cocktails, hairspray flamethrowers, modified baseball bats (Lucille anyone?) and slungshots (not a typo).  You’ve probably got everything you need in your house to make most of these and, while they’re not ideal, these items can be a great last line of defense.

Chapter 9 – Force Multipliers

Simply stated, “force multipliers are devices or tactics that allow you and your group to be far more effective against intruders than they might otherwise be.”  Think about how surveillance cameras, drone cameras, alarms and booby traps could be in upping your ability to defend yourself.  This chapter of Prepper’s Armed Defense had me thinking about The Walking Dead and all the preventative measures the different groups have set up around their locations.  Jim does a good job describing the pros and cons of each force multiplier and he spends times talking about how you can roll them into your self-defense plan.

Final Thoughts Section

Jim summarizes the books and gives a few parting shots of wisdom which hinge on the fact that taking a life is no small matter.  One must be prepared for the after effects of such a catastrophic event.

Resources Section

Prepper’s Armed Defense is gear and information heavy.  Jim outlines a bunch of recommended resources – both knowledge-based and hardware – in this section.

Why I Liked Prepper’s Armed Defense

I’ve reviewed a lot of books by Jim Cobb at this point.  In fact, I jump at the opportunity to read his books above most other folks in this genre.  The reason for that is that Jim is very formulaic in the way writes a book.  He provides information in a straightforward, no-BS kind of way.  Jim’s approach doesn’t confuse and doesn’t mince words.  He gets to the point and explains things in plain English.

What I Didn’t Like

Prepper’s Armed Defense didn’t spend a lot of time outside of Chapter 2 talking about ways to avoid the fight.  Why is this important?  Taking a life is a catastrophic event for both parties.  The person performing the act will forever be haunted by it to some extent or another and I think that exaggerating the fact that one should avoid it as much as possible could have been more strongly presented to the reader.

Overall Thoughts on Prepper’s Armed Defense

I think Prepper’s Armed Defense by Jim Cobb is a good addition to your library if you are at all concerned with situations that would warrant self-defense.  While it is gear heavy, it has to be to meet the requirements of the book.  There is also a lot of thought on topics such as the end-effect of self-defense and how to avoid situations where self-defense may be required.  As usual, Jim Cobb doesn’t disappoint.

Disclaimer: Jim Cobb supplied a copy of Prepper’s Armed Defense for me to review. I can assure my readers that I gave it a fair and honest review.

Bushcraft survival is something that a lot of folks in the prepping community have an interest in.  Most of us spend some time outdoors away from our homesteads.  Knowing how to survive if SHTF in those situations is quite important.  In his book The Complete Survival Shelters Handbook, Anthonio Akkermans walks you through the different ways to construct shelters and how each can be used appropriately given your situation.

Book Set-Up

The Complete Survival Shelters Handbook is written in a chronological manner.  That means that it starts with talking about the fundamentals of shelters and then progresses through shelters from natural materials, shelters from modern material and then store-bought shelters.  Finally, the book sums up the shelter process with a chapter on mental preparedness.  The chapters are:

Chapter 1 – Shelter Fundamentals

Shelter fundamentals is an important base of knowledge to know before you go headlong into building shelters.  This chapter is full of information on shelter knowledge – starting with clothing (your first line shelter), move onto to sleeping equipment and finishing up with information on where to build a shelter and what materials to use.  There are two “bonus” sections on how to make cord and a hammer from elements found in the backwoods.

Chapter 2 – Making Debris Shelters With Your Bare Hands

This chapter gets into the fundamentals of what it takes to use natural (backwoods) material to build shelters.  As you might imagine, different areas of the country and different seasons dictate the use of different shelters.  For that reason, the author has provided how-to knowledge on the following types of shelters:

• Natural Shelter
• Rock Shelter
• Debris Hut
• Lean-To
• Stacked Debris Wall
• Round Debris Wall Shelter
• Bent Sapling Shelter
• Subterranean Shelter
• Snow Shelter

Additional information is provided on improvements and furnishing such as fireplaces, shelving, and bedding.

Chapter 3 – DIY And Modern Material Shelters

Anthonio moves into more modern shelters which involved man-made materials.  The topics covered in this chapter include shelter bags, emergency foil blankets, bansha/tarp shelters, Scandinavian Lavvu and a ger or yurt type shelter.  Essentially, this chapter starts with “cowboy camping” situations and finishes with more permanent structures that are built to last more than a night or two.  I was most interested in this chapter due to the breadth of knowledge represented here.  My interest was probably also due to the fact that living in a permanent structure for a long duration interests me greatly.

Chapter 4 – Modern Store-Bought Shelters

All you campers will like this chapter.  In it, Anthonio talks about your basic camping gear including standard hiking tents, hammocks, bivvy bags and bell tents.  The pros and cons of each option are discussed.  In addition, there is a good amount of time spent talking about the best way to use each and how to set each up properly.  I’m an avid camper and try to spend a good amount of time sleeping outdoors.  I agreed with a lot of what was written here but did disagree with a few minor points.  In all honesty, though, my disagreements were so minuscule that they are not worth discussing.  They were more personal preference than technical disagreements.

Chapter 5 – Mental Preparedness

Anthonio wraps up The Complete Survival Shelters Handbook with a smart talk about mental preparedness when it comes to shelter.  He talks about how you should drill (or practice) any shelters you may use as trying to build them under stressful situations is nearly impossible.  In addition, he talks about ways to handle the stress involved with surviving in a shelter and how to gain confidence as you go.  Adopting the right mental attitude is key to surviving in a shelter.

Why I Liked The Complete Survival Shelters Handbook

Anthonio Akkermans takes a very large topic and boils it down to a simple presentation.  The way he systematically approaches shelter building and living is intelligent and easily digestible.  One chapter builds on the next.

The other great part about this book are the pictures.  The Complete Survival Shelters Handbook is picture heavy which makes understanding the topics presented much easier.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

What I Didn’t Like

There were two things about this book I didn’t like.  

First, as odd as it may sound given the section above, is the pictures.  While they are plentiful, the pictures are all black and white.  Most are also quite washed out meaning they don’t have good contrast.  This fact makes them hard to read and sometimes lacking in information.  I understand that color pictures cost more during printing, but it would definitely help to better convey the quality information provided in this book.

The second thing I didn’t like about The Complete Survival Shelters Handbook was the writing.  The knowledge presented in this book was top-notch but it often read like a textbook.  That fact alone made getting through this book difficult at times.  A writing approach that was a bit lighter and more story-telling might help make this an easier read.

Overall Thoughts On The Complete Survival Shelters Handbook

I think The Complete Survival Shelters Handbook by Anthonio Akkermans is an overall interesting read.  The knowledge base is top notch and the information presented may help save your life one day.  It’s presentation, while dry at times, is successive in its presentation meaning one part builds on the previous.  While I do not necessarily think this book is a “must have” for a prepping library, I would definitely put it in the “nice to have” category.  It lends itself more to the bushcraft crowd and, for them, I would lean more towards the “must have” category.  

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and think you would too if you have any interest in being in the woods for any reason.

Natural medicine is something you will invariably hear about as you get involved in the prepping community.  We, as a general society, have become very dependent on conventional medicine – doctors, hospitals, pharmacists, etc.  If a SHTF scenario ever happens, we’ll need to be able to take care of ourselves both from a conventional medicine standpoint and a traditional medicine, or natural medicine standpoint.  Cat Ellis’ latest offering, Prepper’s Natural Medicine, walks you through the unnecessarily intimidating world of natural medicine.

Book Set-Up

Cat has created Prepper’s Natural Medicine in a very concise, direct manner.  Each chapter listed below is presented in an intelligent chronological manner which builds on the information already presented.  The chapters in the book are:

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Cat uses this chapter to introduce herself and her background.  She also spends a significant amount of time talking about why we should use natural medicine, the benefits of using natural medicine in a SHTF scenario and, most importantly, her version of natural medicine.

Chapter 2 – Stocking The Home Apothecary

This is where Cat starts to get into the nuts and bolts of natural medicine.  She takes the time to describe all the different items you will need to start in the natural medicine movement including formula ingredients such as herbs, alcohol, vinegar, glycerin, raw honey, beeswax, propolis, mushrooms, oils and fats, bentonite clay, kaolin clay, activated charcoal, salts and essential oils.  Don’t worry – you don’t need to have all of these things to get started! Cat just does a great job of outlining everything you may need!  In addition to these ingredients, she also discusses containers and other equipment you may need to start working with natural medicine.

Chapter 3 – Basic Skills

Very simply put, this is the ‘how to’ section of the book.  Cat goes through all the different ways you can create natural medicine and walks through the general directions for the creation of each.  The methods discussed include:

• Tisanes – Infusions and Decoctions, as well as Blending Herbs for Tisanes
• Tinctures
• Aceta
• Herbal Wines
• Glycerin and Glycerites
• Oxymels
• Syrups
• Elixirs
• Infused Honey
• Electuaries
• Powders
• Pastilles
• Poultice
• Infused Oils (both cold and warm infusions)
• Salves
• Lotions and Creams

She also discusses topics such as fresh vs dried herbs as well as the effect of alcohol percentage in tinctures.

Chapter 4 – Materia Medica

“Materia Medica” is a Latin medical term for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing.  This section is the meat and potatoes part of the book.  There over sixty-five pages of information on fifty individual herbs and plants which are used in natural medicine.  Common material such as cayenne, comfrey, garlic, ginger, lemon balm, sage, thyme and valerian are discussed as well as lesser known items such as Chinese skullcap, hyssop, ma huang and sida.

Cat discusses the Parts Used, Actions, Preparations, Dose, Uses and Contraindications for each item.  The information discussed here is incredibly in-depth and useful.

Chapter 5 – Herbal First Aid Kit

As you might expect from the title, this chapter walks you through building a first aid kit which consists of natural solutions.  Cat talks about how each person’s first aid kit will differ, but she does spend some time walking through different items she recommends everyone have including ingredients required and the directions on how to construct them.  She includes natural medicine solutions for some common situations including infection, inflammation, burn care, constipation, earaches, nausea/vomiting, sore throats, sprains, stress and wound wash (among others).

Chapter 6 – Everyday Natural Medicine

In addition, to the remedies mentioned in Chapter 5, Cat spends a significant amount of time in this chapter talking about preventative, as opposed to reactionary, natural medicine solutions.  You would use the solutions in this chapter if you have a chronic situation or know that you require a longer term solution.

Appendices & Indexes

There a multiple different tables and lists that summarize different natural medicine solutions as well as herbs that are used in different situations.  In addition, there are lots of links to external information sources.  Definitely a treasure trove of information.

Why I Liked Prepper’s Natural Medicine

Plain and simple, Cat Ellis takes a very daunting, ambiguous topic and brings it down to a simple presentation that just makes sense.  I’ve not only been able to understand her writing but have started to implement some of her suggestions and can attest to the fact that her directions are complete.

In my opinion, that’s the best part of this book – the level of knowledge that is presented in a clear, concise manner.

What I Didn’t Like

I don’t want to be that guy, but there was not much to not like about this book.  It reads as an information book and is definitely more of an educational tool than a theoretical or opinion-lead work.

Overall Thoughts On Prepper’s Natural Medicine

I think Prepper’s Natural Medicine by Cat Ellis is a solid addition to your long-term survival library.  The natural medicine information provided is straight-forward and no-nonsense.  In addition, the presentation is put together in a chronologically intelligent way.  You can build on the information as it is presented to you.  The book, in its non-digital form, will be a great possession to have in your survival kit.

Financial freedom is something I often preach about here on Suburban Steader. All suburban homesteaders can benefit from being free of financial burden.  How do you get there?  There are lots of ways to go about it.  You can get quite overwhelmed with all the different ways to get to financial independence.  Jim Cobb’s latest offering, Prepper’s Financial Guide, walks you through different topics which will lead towards financial independence.

Book Set-Up

Jim has laid out Prepper’s Financial Guide in a very concise manner as is typical with his books. Each chapter is precise and addresses both the why and how of each topic. The chapters are as follows:

Chapter 1 – What Is An Economic Collapse?

Jim spends some time talking about the definition of an economic collapse as well as describing what can cause one.  He goes into depth talking about some economic collapses in history including Germany (1921-1924), the US (1929-1940) and Argentina (1998-2002).

Chapter 2 – Debt Reduction

The first step in finding financial freedom is debt reduction. You’re halfway home if you don’t owe anyone anything.  Jim discusses topics such as authoring a budget, reducing your realistic debts (debt snowball, anyone?), managing credit cards and cutting your expenses in both soft and hard approaches.

Chapter 3 – Currency

Do you know the difference between commodity and fiat currencies? Want to understand more about exchange rates? This chapter of Prepper’s Financial Guide will set you straight.

Chapter 4 – Precious Metals And Minerals

Most preppers know that gold and silver are the mainstays in ‘prepping currency.’  Jim dives into these precious metals and others.  He also talks about minerals (diamonds, rubies, etc.) in this chapter.

Chapter 5 – Post-Collapse Barter And Trade Goods

Stocking up on vices, consumables and medical supplies is recommended in this chapter because barter items will be the ‘normal’ currency in a SHTF scenario.

Chapter 6 – Bartering Skills Instead Of Stuff

Don’t have any material possessions to trade? No worries. Jim talks about trading time and sweat of your brow in this chapter.

Chapter 7 – Safeguarding Valuables

Safes, hiding spots, and caches – as you might expect – are the main topics in this chapter.

Chapter 8 – Investing In Self-Sufficiency

This chapter of Prepper’s Financial Guide is one of the longer ones.  Jim spends a lot of time explaining how the best way to survive a financial downturn is to reduce your dependence on purchasing power.  Grow a garden, raise your own livestock, learn about medicinal plants and herbs, grow your handyman skill set – these are all skills you can be doing now to reduce your financial dependence later.

Chapter 9 – Putting It All Together: The Home Of The Self-Sufficient Investor

Setting up your property to be self-sufficient and maximize your investments is a key part of being a financially free prepper.  Jim’s exploration of this topic is broad and general due to the fact that each situation will be unique.

Chapter 10 – Final Thoughts

Jim summarizes the books and gives a few parting shots of wisdom.

Why I Liked Prepper’s Financial Guide

You’ll notice that Jim doesn’t have any Earth-shattering information in his book when you compare it to most financial books. Everything he presents is rock solid advice that most anyone will provide AND he paints it in a prepper’s hue. In my opinion, there are a few things in this book that make it a quality addition to your long-term survival library:

• Bluntness – Jim has a history of not sugar-coating anything. An economic collapse situation is going to be tough. Getting your mind wrapped around that idea and accepting it is going to be half the battle.
• Checklists – Much like in Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide, Jim disperses valuable checklists in the chapters and provides a large, long barter item checklist at the end.
• Creativeness – Jim’s approaches are not always in line with mainstream thinking.  He’s not afraid to think outside of the box and present unorthodox ideas.

What I Didn’t Like

In my opinion, an economic collapse will bring out the worst in people.  Folks will be capable of doing most anything when they are hungry, thirsty and cold.  I would have expected a bit more in the chapter about safeguarding your valuables.  I think Jim’s view is a little too utopian – although this book wasn’t intended as a prediction of social environments.  I have to say that I was a bit surprised that the “Oldest Profession In The World” didn’t come up in Chapter 6.  I wouldn’t expect Jim to promote it, but I would expect that – if you’re talking about bartering “skills” – the topic would come up.

Overall Thoughts on Prepper’s Financial Guide

I think Prepper’s Financial Guide by Jim Cobb is a solid addition to your long-term survival library.  Most of the financial information and advice provided is no different than the majority of financial books and websites out there, however, the book is written with the prepper in mind.  That last fact makes it a good read.

Disclaimer: Jim Cobb supplied a copy of Prepper’s Financial Guide for me to review. I can assure my readers that I gave it a fair and honest review.

Julie Sczerbinki’s latest offering – The Survival Savvy Family: How To Be Your Best During The Absolute Worst – is different than most survival and preparedness books.

Most are written from a gloom-and-doom, the-world-is-about-to-end point of view. Those books and the skills described in them have their place. I, however, enjoy survival based books which present clear, concise information without fear mongering.

The Survival Savvy Family nails this approach with its instructive, easy to read style.

Set-Up of The Survival Savvy Family

Julie – who describes herself as a Coach purse carrying, Go-Bag packing wife and mom – has obviously gone through great pains to lay out the book in a way that allows you to walk through the stages of getting your family prepared for all possible scenarios.

Each chapter has actionable items and clearly explains the reasoning behind her suggestions. The chapters are as follows:

Introduction

This section is a quick few pages that outline Julie’s thoughts on preparedness. She begins with asking a few questions:

If my family had to evacuate, where would we go?

How would we have managed if our tap water was contaminated?

What would I have fed the kids if we were stuck on the Atlanta interstate for ten hours like thousands were during a winter storm?

What exactly goes in an emergency kit?

A few personal anecdotes roll into a strong reasoning to become prepared as a family. The stories here are the genesis for the chapters to follow.

Chapter 1 – Family Emergency Plan

What you should prepare for and how to create your plan are the main topics in this chapter. Julie hits on some topics that most people don’t think of such as:

• Divorced Family Plans
• Plans For Family Members With Special Needs
• Pet Plans

The end of the chapter has a template you can use to start formulating your own Family Emergency Plan.

Chapter 2 – The Emergency Kit

Emergency Kits, Go-Bag, Bug-Out-Bags, GOD Bags – there are all kinds of names for the same thing.

This chapter in The Survival Savvy Family talks about how to build one for each member of your family.

Have you thought about what your child’s bag should include and shouldn’t include? What about extra gear that you may be able to grab if you have time? Are you pets accounted for? Julie addresses all of these concerns.

The chapter concludes with a nifty checklist that you can use to begin building your own Emergency Kit.

Chapter 3 – Be Ready In Your Pantry

You are fairly well-versed on building a pantry if you’ve spent any time in prepping or suburban homesteading circles.

Julie’s approach is nothing new but she does a good job of calming the new-comer’s fears as well as describing a systematic approach to building a quality pantry.

There’s even a checklist of non-food essentials that you should make sure are in your pantry.

Chapter 4 – Medical Readiness

One of my biggest fears as a parent is having a medical emergency involving one of my children and not being to act on it. This chapter in The Survival Savvy Family has helped alleviate some of those fears by showing me ways to prevent it.

The chapter starts with ways to increase your level of health. She’s taking the ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ approach. She then goes into ways to build your medical skill set – including how to teach your kids to handle medical emergencies.

In addition to the skill sets, Julie provides a great checklist for building your Home First Aid Kit and a great template for adding medical history to your Family Emergency Plan.

Chapter 5 – Financial Readiness

You know that financial preparedness is near and dear to my heart if you’ve spent any time on this blog. Taking care of your finances is the first big step in taking care of your family.

Like me, Julie is a big fan of setting up an emergency fund and then paying off debt. She even recommends the debt snowball approach made famous by Dave Ramsey.

Other topics such as insurance, wills and creating a Grab-And-Go Binder are discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 6 – Away From Home

Being safe at home is all well and good, but what happens when you’re on the road? The Survival Savvy Family goes into great depths in the chapter with sections on:

• Everyday Carry
• Get Home Bags
• Car Preparedness
• Work Preparedness
• School Preparedness
• Safety On Vacation

As usual, there are great checklists at the end of this chapter for building a Get Home Bag and setting up ‘survival’ kits for different locations.

Chapter 7 – Power Outages

What is the one situation that each of us is almost guaranteed to encounter in our lifetime – regardless of geographic location, age, economic status or social standing? If you said a loss of power, you’d be correct.

In this chapter of The Survival Savvy Family, Julie does a good job of how to get prepared for a loss of power. All areas are covered including lighting, cooking, temperature management and choosing a backup power source.

As always, there’s a great checklist for making a Power Outage Kit at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 8 – Be Ready To Stay Or Go

I’m embarrassed to admit that I got a song from the Clash (Should I Stay Or Should I Go?) stuck in my head when I started reading this chapter! That being said, Julie does a great job of explaining when you should bug-out or bug-in.

Including in this chapter are the following lists and templates:

• Making A Busy Box For The Kids
• Emergency Tool Kit List
• Last Minute Checklist For Bugging Out

Chapter 9 – Natural Disaster Savvy

Surviving and handling tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, floods, severe thunderstorm, and snowstorms are all covered in this chapter of The Survival Savvy Family.

Chapter 10 – House Fires

House fires are more common than you might realize and most people aren’t ready for them.

Julie goes into some excruciating detail about how to prevent house fires. She also describes how to fight them if they pop up and how to escape from them if they get out of control.

The last part of the chapter is all about creating a house fire evacuation plan.

Chapter 11 – Home Invasions

Is your home security beefed up? Are you sure?

Julie spends a good amount of time talking about door locks, windows, garage doors and sliding glass doors in this chapter. The pros and cons of each are discussed and ideas on burglar-proofing them are also presented.

The topic of vacation comes up as well in this chapter of The Survival Savvy Family. Julie spends some time talking about prepping your home for when you’re on vacation.

The topic of weapons in the home is also broached.

Chapter 12 – Personal Safety

Personal safety is always a tough topic to discuss because most people want to believe that they are aware of their surroundings.

When it comes down to it, most aren’t.

Situational awareness is a topic that is talked about a lot in this chapter as well as ways to defend yourself – both with a weapon and without.

Chapter 13 – Ready Kids Are Safe Kids

The final chapter of The Survival Savvy Family is all about your most precious asset – your children.

Abduction prevention, online safety, firearm safety and bullying are all topics Julie is not afraid to broach.

While it’s not a dyed-in-the-wool survival topic, this chapter may be the most important chapter for many of us.

Why I Liked The Survival Savvy Family

First things first – there’s nothing Earth-shattering in this book. Julie doesn’t provide the magic pill for being prepared.

What she does in this book is provide rock-solid suggestions in a progressive, mature manner. There are a few things about this book that make it a quality addition to your long-term survival library:

• Book Size: Believe it or not, the physical size of the book is appealing. It is 7.5″ tall and 5.5″ wide which makes it a great pocket reference. Literally, it fit in the cargo pocket of my pants and shorts.
• Progression: While she never stated it, I feel like Julie presented the chapters in a natural progression which allows the reader to us this book as a guide to preparedness. Complete all the chapters in order and your family will be in great shape!
• Checklists & Templates: This book is awesome for creating documents and kits based on the information Julie provides. The checklists and templates allow you to get started and then modify as necessary. They are going to be key to re-starting my family’s preparedness planning.

What I Didn’t Like

I mentioned that The Survival Savvy Family is not Earth-shattering but it is chock-full of knowledge. I think there are certain areas that need a little more breadth to them. For instance, the Home Invasion and Personal Safety chapters are both kind of weak on what to do if something happens. They spend much more time discussing how to prevent those actions. The book is already over 200 pages (remember, it is a physically smaller book than normal), so perhaps Julie was limited in her ability to add more depth while still covering the topics she wanted to cover.

Overall Thoughts on The Survival Savvy Family

Overall, I think The Survival Savvy Family: How To Be Your Best During The Absolute Worst by Julie Sczerbinski is a must have for your long-term survival library. The straightforward approach and progressive chapters build quite the family plan for preparedness. Following her suggestions and plans will result in a family that is ready to weather any storm. I can’t recommend the checklists and templates enough. They will get you over the hump and moving towards preparedness much faster than the information alone.

This book is a great reference manual for home and family preparedness!

Disclaimer: Julie Sczerbinski supplied a copy of The Survival Savvy Family: How To Be Your Best During The Absolute Worst for me to review. I can assure my readers that I gave it a fair and honest review.

A suburban homestead is the kind of place that goes hand-in-hand with prepping. Why else do you want your land to produce and become self-sufficient if not to be prepared to take care of yourself? But are you thinking about what would happen if we got into a long-term survival situation?

Enter Jim Cobb’s latest book Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide.

Book Set-Up

Jim has laid out the book in a very concise manner. Each chapter is very on-topic and begins with an interesting narrative that is a fictional journal entry related to that chapter’s central them. The chapters are as follows:

Chapter 1 – Long Term Events

Jim takes time to describe the different scenarios that may trigger a long-term survival situation. They include:

• Pandemics
• Famine
• Economic Collapse
• Freak Occurrences
• New Madrid Earthquake
• Yellowstone Caldera
• EMP

He spends a little bit of time describing each and talking about the possibility of it occurring.

Chapter 2 – Water

Storage, purification and filtering of water are essential to long-term survival. Jim addresses all three topics in detail within this chapter.

Chapter 3 – Food

Jim talk about finding, generating and preserving food in this chapter.

Chapter 4 – Medicine

Everything from setting up a “Crash Bag” to dealing with medications and what happens when they run out in a long-term survival situation are talked about in this chapter.

Chapter 5 – Hygiene

Staying clean can keep you healthy. Jim talks about bathing, laundry, waste disposal and all the other “unsexy” parts of prepping in this chapter.

Chapter 6 – Stay Warm and Keeping Cool

Clothing is addressed here as well as keeping your shelter warm or cool, depending on the season.

Chapter 7 – Security

Gotta protect yourself and your gear, right? Jim talks about how to do that here.

Chapter 8 – Tools

Which do you need? Which are going to be useless for long-term survival? Jim will tell you.

Chapter 9 – Surviving Boredom

Keeping morale up in long-term survival is key to getting by. Jim has a few thoughts on how to keep the mood light and have fun.

Chapter 10 – Barter and Trade

In a long-term survival situation, money may end up being useless. Learning how to barter and trade will be a critical skill for survival.

Chapter 11 – Community Survival Planning

Lone wolves won’t last in a long-term survival situation. Community planning is crucial for extended success in a dire situation.

Chapter 12 – Final Thoughts

Jim summarizes the books and gives a few parting shots of wisdom.

Why I Liked Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide

If you’ve been around prepping for a while, you’ll notice that Jim doesn’t have any Earth-shattering information in his book. Everything he presents is rock solid advice that most anyone will provide. In my opinion, there are a few things in this book that make it a quality addition to your long-term survival library:

• Reference Material – Jim isn’t afraid to point you towards an expert. In fact, he provides a four page reference directory at the back of the book. This list alone is worth getting the book.
• Checklists – While there are not a ton of checklists, the ones that are there are VERY pertinent to a long-term survival situation. The Medicine and Tool chapters are especially heavy on this information.
• Bluntness – Jim doesn’t sugar-coat anything. A long-term survival situation is going to be tough. Getting your mind wrapped around that idea and accepting it is going to be half the battle.

What I Didn’t Like

As I mentioned, this book is very straight forward. Jim doesn’t sugar-coat how hard life will be when/if life gets turned upside down. Jim seems to have a general sense that most people will band together and that, while life will be tough, the community will make it work. Perhaps I’m too cynical or perhaps he’s too utopian, but I think some time spent talking about what happens when the ugliness in people shows up would be beneficial to a book on long-term survival.

Overall Thoughts on Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide

Overall, I think Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide by Jim Cobb is a solid addition to your long-term survival library. Jim’s no-nonsense, straightforward approach to the book gives you the information you need in case the world as you know it goes south. Read it, use the checklists and keep it in an easily accessible area. You’ll want to grab this book from time to time because it’s great reference material.

Disclaimer: Jim Cobb supplied a copy of Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide for me to review. I can assure my readers that I gave it a fair and honest review.