The other day I received a package with three books in it. I hadn't ordered any books and called my daughter, Candace, to see what was going on.
"Oh, didn't I tell you? I signed you up to review these books on your blog. You'll like 'em, I promise!"
Well, I'm never one to turn down a good book so I grabbed the first one which caught my attention, Barbara Salsbury's
Preparedness Principles.
I love to garden. I love to tend my orchard and my greenhouse. A natural by-product of that is the harvest every fall and the subsequent canning of every single thing I've grown during the season. I am a farmer by trade and being prepared is something deeply ingrained in my DNA. So Barbara's book looked interesting. Fortunately for me, it was.
From the backliner we read:
How, What and Why to Prepare
News of Calamity, disaster, and war got your down? Afraid of how you'll survive if you lose your job? Wondering what to do when the "big one" hits?
Wonder No More.
Personal Preparedness Expert, Barbara Salsbury, brings together years of research and experience, giving you the know-how to set up an organized, practical, personal preparedness program that will provide for most wants and needs in any emergency situation.
Preparedness Principles, the most comprehensive preparedness guide ever published, offer exclusive details about:
- Four new categories of preparedness
- New bare-bones basics
- The Pantry Principle
- Storm shelters, safe rooms and safe havens
- Indoor farming
- And much more!
If you're serious about a personalized preparedness action plan, this quintessential reference book is for you!
She's not kidding. Barbara covers every aspect of preparedness that could ever arise.
The first section of the book covers what the authors calls "Essential Elements" such as the basic principles of preparedness, preparing within your budget, food storage is possible, even in a home or apartment with limited space, what to do with "food" storage once you get it and planning a food storage while making it delicious and nutritious.
Next we come across "Surviving Worst-Case Scenarios." Writing with the voice of experience, Barbara helps her readers to be prepared to survive with the bare-bones basics. This section is where she teaches you the principle of "indoor farming."
The next section discusses "Provident Living." In other words, these are scenarios we could face every day of our lives: job loss, extended illness, disease, etc. My children have often found themselves in these situations, i.e. Candace's husband has end-stage renal failure, and Barbara's book walks the reader through preparing for and surviving these types of crises.
Then comes the section on "Dealing with Disasters." Storm shelters, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods. pandemics, war . . . when all services are cut off and you left in your home to survive without heat, water or electricity. How will you survive? She walks you through it and helps you make an untenable situation bearable.
Lastly comes the scenario where you are evacuated from your home. She helps you compile "a home away from home" in the kits you will grab before you run. She says, and I agree, the ready made 72-hour kits are a nice place to start, but do they cover your families immediate needs. Dietary restrictions, medications and more are what 72-hour kits should be built around. Barbara walks you through this process. According to the nation's foremost leading expert on disaster preparedness: "Don't forget the chocolate!" should be your mantra.
All in all, I was very impressed with this book and pleased to add it to my library. I can safely recommend it to everyone I know.
Candace pulled this bio of Barbara Salsbury off Amazon.com for me:
Best-selling author Barbara Salsbury, a nationally recognized personal-preparedness expert, is one of America’s leading authorities on self-reliance. For more than twenty-five years, she has been teaching self-reliance and showing people how to get more for their money. In November 2002, Family Circle Magazine named her one of the “Top Five Penny-Pinchers in America.” She has produced two national newsletters and three videos. In addition, she is the author of seven books, including Just Add Water, Just in Case, and Plan, not Panic. Active in church and community, Barbara serves as a personal preparedness consultant for Sandy, Utah, and has served as assistant director for San Francisco Key Cities Area Public Affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She and her husband, Larry, live in Sandy, Utah. They have two children, seven grandchildren, and one spoiled dog.
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Cedar Fort Inc. (August 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0882908065
ISBN-13: 978-0882908069
Average Customer Review:
Abel Keogh's book, Room For Two, is the touching story of a young husband, whose mentally ill wife takes her own life and that of the unborn little girl she is carrying. This book chronicles the young husband's struggle to understand the horror of her suicide and to forgive her, whom he adored, for killing not only herself, but their little girl.
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(6 customer reviews)
