Survival Theory: A Preparedness Guide (EMP)

No wonder this book is so highly rated. Former SERE instructor gives the low down on realistic threats (listed in the Theory part of the book), and then details how to prepare to overcome them with skills and equipment. Still, the subtitle of the book, "how to survive the end of the world on a budget" is a stretch. That's because it's a very expensive and time consuming process. Who could possibly bring all those resources to bear? Oh, and you're going to need his consultation service as well. Also, many of the items are not exactly what I'd call budget friendly. But when your survival depends on it, you have to get what works. Hollerman's insights go beyond what I've read by other expert authors including CIA officers and 10th Mountain Division soldiers. His multiple bag design is well thought out and minimal--just what you want if you have to hump all that gear. There are enough on-topic anecdotes to keep things interesting. In an afterward, he discusses the biblical case to be made for preparing and not. His logic is impeccable, particularly when applied on a set of writings that contradicts itself often. (i.e., you can make a case for almost anything based on biblical quotes). The only faults I find are that the appendix, "bug out bag checklists," lacks some of the contents detailed in the second part of the book, and that occasionally he uses a wrong but similar word. For example, "theory" is used in the pedestrian sense (premise, or sometimes hypothesis), not in the scientific sense (explains existing data and suggests new avenues of investigation). The mixture of fonts is also odd: serif body text, Gothic chapter heads, use of underscores rather than italic (typewriter convention), and shadow-drops on the title page.

I have read this book several times now.. I have some background in SERE.. I graduated in Class 72-01 Air Force SERE.. I also attended all of the Air Force Survival Schools , Arctic, Tropic, Desert, and Jungle. I attended the Army Special Forces SERE School. I have taught SERE in Washington State, Florida, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Jordan. This is a complete well thought out book, that thinks with you as you read.. He anticipates your questions and answers the "experts advice" that he sees as incomplete or in error.. There is no one way to Survive at a Grid Down scenario. Each of you will have to tailor your resources with your belief systems. It will be the most difficult thing you will ever have to do.. This book is a great resource. It clearly defines the threat. It lists resources that you may have or that you can obtain. It constantly reminds you that Wal Mart will be closed and those things you need you will either have or will improvise or go without. When it happens, what do I do? Where do I go? What do I need to live with my family and those in my group? Are groups even a good idea? Can we pool our resources and survive? How much food do I need? Should I buy food storage? It is thought provoking and will have you purchasing more books, and guides.. My experiences in East Africa in the early 80's gave me a harsh look at civil war. You have no idea what starving people will do and how hard it is to say "NO". This book is a must for each library, and is a good read for wives and children. Read it with your family and discuss the options for your family..Now the question for you is; "Can I do what I think I can do"? Ron Long USAF SERE Class 72-01

Solid EMP Preparedness Guide – Practical and Eye-Opening I'd give Survival Theory a solid 4 stars and it's a worthwhile read for anyone serious about emergency preparedness and understanding the real-world implications of an EMP event. The book covers the subject with enough depth and practical detail to be genuinely useful rather than just fear-mongering, and the preparedness guidance is actionable and grounded in realistic scenarios that serious preppers and community organizers can actually apply. The EMP threat is one of the most underappreciated and potentially catastrophic risks to modern infrastructure, and this guide does a solid job of breaking down why it matters and what practical steps can be taken to mitigate vulnerability and improve resilience at the individual and family level. The writing is accessible enough for readers who are new to the subject while still offering enough substance to keep experienced preparedness-minded readers engaged. For anyone building out a family or community preparedness plan, understanding the EMP threat picture is an important piece of the overall readiness puzzle that this book addresses effectively.

I've been an avid prepper since Y2K. It was that event that made me realize how fragile we could be as a society. I was the guy telling my friends and family there was absolutely nothing to worry about, but when mine, along with most other military units I knew of took that threat seriously enough to put armed guards in their weapons vaults for New Years 1999-2000, I thought maybe I should take it seriously too. Since then I have been reading and learning about our fragile infrastructure, and how to protect my loved ones in the not so unlikely event that it crashes down around us. One of the better book about how fragile our grid is, is Lights Out, A Nation Unprepared by Ted Koppel... yep, the guy from Nightline. A non-functional horror story that you might end up being a character in. And that's only one way we're fragile, not to mention, depending on where you live, earthquake, flood, hurricane, tornado. Then there’s pandemic, financial collapse, social disorder... the list goes on. Ok... I am not really sitting here with a tin foil hat on, I'm just saying that I've spent a good deal of time considering, reading, and preparing for the day when my family looks to me and asks, "What do we do now?" My biggest nightmare is replying "I don't have a clue. " This is the best book I've read that helps answer that question. "What do we do now?" We rely on the knowledge and the training we got before everything went to splick. And go!

I have read so many of these preparedness books (including many highly rated ones) that were a complete waste of my time, I couldn’t even tell you. I’m sure many of you have too. 99% of these genre of books are spitting out the same regurgitated information over and over again. It’s an embarrassment. They might as well just copy and paste each other’s pages to each other (maybe they do). Jonathan Hollerman’s book Survival Theory is a breath of fresh air, among a field of mostly arm-chair commandos. You can tell from reading him, that he is the real deal. He doesn’t just talk about it. He didn’t just read about it from other “preppers”. He studies it, does it and has experienced it (well, much of it anyway...hopefully we’ll never find out). This is finally a survival book worth highlighting! The greatest part about him, is he uses real common sense to understand or theorize events or outcomes...along with a ton of study behind it. So many books, blogs, and comments I’ve read...amazingly, don’t. He has done his research, and it shows. I’ve been through multiple hurricanes. I’m CERT certified (twice). I hold 5 FEMA IS certificates. I’ve been activated at our EOC during Hurricane Irma, working alongside Fire, EMS, Police, EM and city officials. I’ve been without power for days. I’ve experienced and have been trained a little bit. Here’s an example of what many don’t realize and you won’t hear it mentioned in most other books (except Jonathan’s). If you are connected to city sewer (a whole-lot of us are) and the power is out city-wide...those pumps that keep that sewage moving and processing at the wastewater plant, aren’t working. The sewage starts building up in the pipes (because people are still flushing with pool water, lake water...whatever they can) and eventually after pipes clogs enough, it starts backing up into properties and homes. I have seen this happen to people during Irma in as little as a week due to compounding issues. Sections of town were not able to use their toilets and had to go to other areas to do their business. So, the books out there saying everything will be fine when the grid goes down in surburbia, as long as you’ve stockpiled enough food, made friends with your neighbors, lay low, have enough ammo for unruly people, and hunker down in your home...are clueless. They don’t understand the big picture. They haven’t truly researched all angles of these scenarios. Sewage backing up into your property WILL make your home uninhabitable. Then what? Overall, Jonathan’s book does paint quite a bleak picture because he’s mainly talking about the worst case scenario...grid down. I applaud him for taking on such an immense and complicated subject. It is not easy, and most “authors” just merely skim through it. He does not. Is it a realistic thing for Mr. and Mrs. Jones to worry about? Worry every day? No. Be somewhat mentally and physically prepared for? Absolutely yes. There is information out there, if you’re willing to hear it, about how the US has malware implanted into other countries to be able to shut their grid down, if they “needed to”. There are countries that also have malware implanted in the US, with those same capabilities, for if and when they “need to”. This particular country has already proven their capabilities by cyber-attacking multiple US large banks (like Wells Fargo) to “test” the waters not too long ago. Is a grid attack on us likely to occur? I sure hope not. But...it is certainly possible and they are quite capable. Thank you Jonathan! I am only halfway way through it and I’ve already learned a ton.

I hope Jonathan will respond to this. This book has a lot of fantastic information in it. We only started prepping 4 years ago and while we have made some huge inroads we have a long way to go. Fortunately I am not one of the poor guys that has to convince his wife as she gets it. Jonathan is correct in my opinion that things will melt down faster than most people realize. The day things start to happen will be too late for those un prepared. The author says to practice, practice, practice. As true as this is I believe most of us have a tough time with time. I work 12 hours a day. One of the few issues I have with the book is of course, the firearms section. Being an avid reader, shooter, and outdoorsman, as well as being ex military myself, I definitely question the comments about gas piston firearms. Steyr AUGs, FN FALs and all of their variants to name a few are piston driven and absolutely reliable. I am doing my own experimentation with my AUG and my Ruger SR556'and other gas piston guns to see where failure is. AUG is at 2700 rounds with no cleaning. Ruger is at 3853 rounds. Neither firearm is really as dirty as I expected. After all, all of us ex GI's out ther know about the direct impingement m16's/m4's and how cruddy they got. FN FAL and variants were used by about 70 nations for only 40 or 50'years. So you can see that this very important piece of info is skewed?!. Glocks! Nuff said. Discounting the ultra reliable 1911 is very hard to swallow. Love my Glocks BUT they have only another 70 or so years to come close to the 1911's. Military tried to kill the 1911 and now EVERYONE makes one. Soldiers and shooters fought the government and won. I agree they are for more experienced shooters, but as far as combat pistols go all others combined pale by comparison. LOL a Tikka rifle instead of a 700 BDL. Get parts. Good luck. From my point of view, and Jonathan expects this, this is the worst recommendation in the book hands down. Biblical references I cannot argue with. Well thought out and well researched. Overall people this is a great reference work. Almost seemed like Jonathan was at our kitchen table.mhighly recommend this. For those of you who have not read his other 2 books,do yourself a favor and read them. Well written. Still awaiting his sisters book in the fall and his next book as well. Keep up the good work sir, wife and I read everything and will continue to do so. Help you finance your prepping!

This book is a very thorough but concise layout of what the worst cases that we need to be preparing for, and how to do it. I appreciate that he provides a lot of information without getting too wordy, but also provides enough detail that you're not left wondering how to apply what you've learned. The other thing I liked is that IMO Jon's analysis of a worst-case scenario is dead on. Too many authors of this genre act like being in a community is a huge plus during a grid-down crisis (I'm looking in your direction Light's Out). That's true only if the community you're in is prepared, which very few are. Otherwise it just means that you're a person with food surrounded by starving people. This book also gives some ideas about BOL's that I hadn't considered before, like making sure your location isn't visible from the road, disguising the driveway to look like something besides a residence, and finding a family living at a farm/acreage that's already an ideal bug-out location that you could partner up with. I've also had Jon do some basic consulting for me, and have found him to be responsive, down-to-earth, and helpful in determining what specific options are best for me. Highly recommended all around!

Overall, Hollerman's work offers a comprehensive guide/compilation on necessary preparations for the loss of the American grid. Unfortunately, he touts his guide as a budget-focused plan. That may be true if your budget is 1.5 mil+ and you make $200k a year. That's a bit of hyperbole on my part, but it paints the Hollerman's dire outlook for those of us who belong in America's middle class. Written pre-COVID, this work does not account for the egregious property costs, building costs, and high interest rates we are currently experiencing now in 2024. Even in rural areas. If you have not already built your retreat or bought property by now, get bent if SHTF. I believe his information is valuable, straight-forward, and unbiased, and I don't want to discount the important steps he lays out in this guide. However, those of us who make an average living wage and don't already own a retreat property will have a hard time approaching this guide with any realistic sentiment of reality. Quite properly, we will likely be among those who die off in the first 6 months of a grid-down scenario. According to Hollerman's advice, surviving the hypothetical struggle is an achievement for the wealthy or privileged only. If you're in, you're in and have a standing chance against adversity. If you're not, you're not. Great read, but mostly discouraging. I will not be recommending this work to any of my friends or family because they also belong to the class of Americans who simply cannot afford to meet Hollerman's dream for surviving the apocalypse.

I feel like I am not naïve as to what could happen in the end of world scenarios! I just don’t know anything about survival specifics. I think this is an awesome informative book if you don’t know where to start! I like how he gives multiple options on different survival situations. I also appreciate how honest he is in the book. I don’t like anything to be sugarcoated and I think it’s important. People read things as they are not how they wish it could be. 5 Stars ⭐️

I have read many SHTF books recently and this one caught my attention through a short YouTube reading that was so well written I went for the book. I ended up looking up each product mentioned on Amazon so that I could see what it was and am in the process of purchasing some of them. I enjoyed the sections that talked about scenarios and what to do. Eye opening and alarmingly realistic! This book will at least wake you up if you are thinking dreamily about what might happen. Wake up!

I'd rate this as 2.5 stars, and it is better than most prepper books, but it is aimed more at the beginner prepper and it is too ambitious in trying to cover all of the subject matter around prepping. My biggest concern is one that most prepper books are guilty of - what if the shtf event is a 'slow burn' one where it lasts over a period of years to a decade of financial collapse, job losses etc.. but the lights never quite go out during that time? Most books do not address this scenario and suppose a quick downfall of society following an economic collapse, grid down, pandemic etc.. and this is their achilles heel. It is possible for people to suffer and die in a slow burn downfall of society lasting years to a couple of decades and traditional prepping wisdom does not account for how to accurately prepare for this. I know many would argue that the same principles apply as used in a quick collapse, but if you suffer, say, a job loss, and the crisis lasts a couple of decades where the lights do not go out, yet people starve and die on the streets, worse than war zones or say Venezuela at the moment, then a different strategy is required to survive and even thrive in such an environment. The author readily admits that his book is geared mainly towards those who can afford their own off-grid, independent survival retreat, which is very few people and his strategy is about bugging out to the said retreat. This leaves a very small proportion of his audience who whilst they may extract certain useful ideas from the book are not going to get much use out of large tracts of it. At least there are some good ideas making it a worthwhile read and as a primer to preparedness it is useful, but for preppers who have been in the game a little while it is more useful to buy books each focussing on a specific topic, such as: -security -self defence -communications -hygiene -medical when shtf -dental care when no dentist is around -canning -gardening/homesteading -how to capture game animals -how to prepare animals to be eaten -etc.. This book has chapters acting as primers for all of the above without getting into the nitty, gritty aspects of what is needed to be done for each section. It as such, follows the flaws of many similar books on preparedness. The author merely tries to get you to be aware of the relevant ideas; there is much that has been left out with regards to security/self-defence and ideas surrounding it. It is also mainly geared to the American market with a chapter focusing on guns, whereas in Europe alternative weapons may be used by aggressors considering the lack of guns in the UK and other similar territories.

Ok . But tells you to look up things alot in the book .