The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse
by Fernando Ferfal Aguirre
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Book Summary Information
Author: Fernando Ferfal AguirreEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-09-11
ISBN: 9870563457
Number of pages: 254
Publisher: Fernando Aguirre
Book Reviews of The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse
Book Review: Minor flaws, but a useful roadmap nonetheless
Summary: 4 Stars
Ferfal does have some good points. But he's also way off the mark on others.
Pros:
1. Ferfal has sage advice for those who think they can protect their goods and family during a societal meltdown by setting up a compound out in the woods. Those folks will be fodder for roving bands of criminals who will eat their food, rape their women-folk, murder everyone when they're done, and burn the homestead to hide the evidence.
2. Like many survivalists before him, Ferfal understands the value of living in a mid-sized town or city where folks can band together. Compared to living remotely in the boonies, urban areas even have certain benefits (food, some degree of police and fire protection, hospitals, etc.)
3. No matter how enthralled you are with stocks and bonds, paper currency, 401Ks ... i.e, the whole CNBC-Jim Cramer ethos ... Ferfal understands that silver, gold and jewels will in the future have the same allure they have held for people for thousands of years. You neglect that fact at your own risk.
4. Ferfal has obviously spent a lot of time hanging around gun stores. Even a life-long shooter like myself was able to learn a few things from him. I now know you can make gallons of home-brewed gun cleaner for the price of a few bottled of gun boutique cleaning solution. And his analysis of gun types and caliber choices is enlightened, and largely free of the embarrassing emotional attachments some guys have for a particularly beloved gun or ammo.
5. No matter how bad things get in the U.S. and other countries, (a) there won't be an unofficial starting date for SHTF (i.e., when the caca hits the rotary air circulator) or a bell announcing the event's kickoff, and (b) if you gun down your neighbor (or even a local thug) after the SHTF, you'll still end up accounting for what you've done in a court of law - albeit one that might be significantly less sympathetic to your bad childhood or other proffered mitigating circumstances.
Cons:
1. While the idea of living in a small town where folks could pull together in tough times has great appeal, the truth is that at least in the U.S., we've spent the last 50-odd years mainly learning how to hate and mistrust one another, and how to block one another from doing anything for the public good. Faux News has only pumped more steroids into that situation over the past decade. Thanks, Rupert! Maybe Americans would quickly overcome all that cultural conditioning to start singing Kumbaya around the campfire if push came to shove. But I wouldn't bet my life on it.
2. I appreciate Ferfal's fascination with knives and knife fighting. But it's probably wasted advice on most modern Americans. I just don't see Bill and Betty Sixpack learning how to cut and slash an attacker. Most likely, they'd end up just providing their attacker with a new, sharper weapon.
3. A bit more on the preparations regular people can make now would be good: food and water storage, investment advice, home security, etc. I got more out of Max Brooks's Zombie Wars books on those topics.
4. Ferfal makes a great point about the distinction between finding a job, and actually making money, after the SHTF. Sadly for most Americans, however, we've already hit that stage. It started in 1981 with Ronald Reagan, and it has been evolving in slow-motion ever since - so slowly in fact, that most folks can't really recognize the massive socio-economic shift we've undergone. For most, Americans, it's already a life of burger flipping at McD's or stocking shelves at Walmart. Jobs are so scarce that many Americans now work free overtime to avoid getting laid off. Many more take all kinds of abuse from ignorant, power-mad bosses to avoid losing their jobs. And the rank and file Teabaggers are doing all they can to cut their own throats by killing off what's left of collective bargaining. Brilliant!
5. If you live in the U.S., don't get too caught up in Ferfal's advice about good real estate locations. I'm sure he's right about Buenos Aires. But as the great James Howard Kunstler points out, Americans have, more than any other place on earth, destroyed their cities in fealty to the almighty automobile. What worked for Ferfal in Argentina, might not work in America.
***
When all is said and done, however, I like what Ferfal has done here. Sure, I was ready to send the book back for a refund after 10 or 15 pages about selecting the best blade for a knife fight.
But upon further reflection, the thoughtful advice of a first-world, educated man who has lived through a nation's really hard times is, at the end of the day, well worth the money. So I won't begrudge Ferfal his share of this $24.95. I'll read the book again, take some notes, and pass the book along to someone else I care about.
Bravo Zulu, Ferfal!
Summary of The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse
My book is a Modern Survival Manual based on first hand experience of the 2001 Economic Collapse in Argentina. In it you will find a variety of subjects that I consider essential if a person wants to be prepared for tougher times: -How to prepare your family, yourself, your home and your vehicle -How to prepare your finances so that you don't suffer what millions in my country went through -How to prepare your supplies for food shortages and power failures -How to correctly fight with a chair, gun, knife, pen or choke with your bare hands if required -Most important, how to reach a good awareness level so that you can avoid having to do all that These are just a few examples of what you will find in this book. It's about Attitude, and being a more capable person and get the politically correct wimp out of your system completely.Reference Books
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