I was chatting with a prepper friend whom I've known most of my live, and we started talking
about books that we've both read. Being veterans as well as fans of fiction, we have similar tastes and our libraries have a lot of
overlap. We started comparing our views of some of the popular prepper books of the last 30 or so years and came to the conclusion
that while nobody had a crystal ball that told them everything, they
each foresaw a corner of what has happened in recent history (or
could happen soon).
I'm going to mention some titles that you may or
may not have heard of; some of them have acquired bad reputations and
others are just not politically correct. I really don't care what the
SPLC thinks about a book or author; if a story is well-written and
can make me think a bit, it's good enough to keep around. Here are a few examples:
I picked up a copy directly from the
author when it was first published back in 2008. The story is fairly
simple: the Federal government signs on to a UN gun ban and people in
a western state decide that they will not comply. The story has a
strong start and middle, but a weak ending in my opinion. Some of the
scenarios are believable even 12 years later, which makes it a good
source of “what if” material for my late night musings. I think I
paid $10 and shipping for my copy; it was a form of crowd-sourcing
funds for a larger print run. A quick check on Amazon shows that
copies are now selling for $46 used to $910 new.
The fiction is strong, some of the
heroes are borderline superhuman, and the concepts and scenarios are
more believable now than when they were written ca. 2011. I have the
paperbacks buried somewhere in a box. I bought them new for $6 or so; they're still available new for $20 from Amazon. Not quite as collectible due
to a larger print run and continued popularity, but still four times
the money in ten years.
The Turner Diaries
A truly racist screed that culminates in
a race war and the extermination of “non-white” people, this book
has been banned from eBay and Amazon. It's been a long time since I
read a borrowed copy, but I recall some of the “predictions” and
a few of them have come true. If I ever find a copy it will go on the
shelf that contains other non-PC books as a reference library of
things to avoid. I'm sure I could find a pile of them at a local gun
show, on the same tables that sell other banned books.
A chronicle of the events following an
EMP strike on the USA and the destruction of our electrical systems,
this book gets a few things right and a few things wrong. Mass
printed, so used copies can be found for a few dollars. Not a bad read, you just have to double check
some of the science and remember that it is fiction so “artistic
license” is being used.
The effects of a nuclear strike from
the vantage point of one man and his extended family, as written by
an aerospace engineer. The science is tight; the original edition
even had diagrams in the back for building your own
Kearny
Fallout Meter. The interpersonal and logistical problems of the
first week in a fallout shelter are well-written and ring true. I'm a
fan of Mr. Ing, as he writes good fiction and this one is actually
helpful. Used, you can find this one for less than $5.
I read a lot of books. I buy them when
and where I can, and I have a diverse library that is heavy on reference
books but also has a fiction/fantasy section for entertainment. I try
to have a few books aimed at audiences of all ages and education
levels so information can be preserved and passed on. I am a strong believer in having a physical library for anything more important than entertainment, as digital books
are too easy to electronically delete (it has already happened with
some copyright issues) and I don't like the direction our education
system is heading when I see reports of “teachers” claiming that
math is subject to social pressure. History is constantly being
rewritten and I like to have hard copies of how the stories used to
be told.
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