Summer/Fall 2014 Book Festival: Countdown to Preparedness + Giveaway

Today I am thrilled to welcome back Jim Cobb for another interview and giveaway in the Summer/Fall 2014 Backdoor Survival Book Festival.  This week we are featuring Jim’s popular book, Countdown to Preparedness: The Prepper’s 52 Week Course to Total Disaster Readiness.

So what is it that I like so much about this book?  In classic, Backdoor Survival style, Jim guides you through the steps to becoming a full-fledged prepper in just 52 weeks. Each chapter represents a single week with a summary page of assignments at the end of each week.  Not to worry, the tasks are are not daunting and can be accomplished without a lot of stress and without a humongous budget.

Enjoy the interview and be sure to check out the details of this week’s giveaway below.

An Encore Interview with Jim Cobb

One question on everyone’s mind is what they would do if a disaster or even a collapse occurred in their own back yard. If that happened to you, would you bug-in or bug-out and why.

I strongly believe bugging out is a last resort, not a primary plan, for most disasters. For most of us, our homes are where we have the bulk of our supplies and it makes little sense to abandon all of it unless we truly need to do so.

If you did decide to hunker down and bug-in, what items would you include for comfort? Or would you?

Comfort items and boredom relievers are very important to psychological well being. They can occupy the mind and reduce stress. For myself, I have a ton of books to read as well as several board games to play with the family. We also typically have a fair amount of comfort foods (chips, popcorn, candy, etc) on hand, which is great for both kids and adults.

These days, it seems as though a new book about survival or preparedness is released daily. How is your book different from the others and why should we read it?

COUNTDOWN TO PREPAREDNESS is a very task-oriented book. Rather than just giving information, it is designed to get one moving and actively preparing, rather than just letting it all be a mental exercise.

The book is structured like a class, where each week there is a reading assignment, specific items to purchase, and other tasks to be completed. The plan is that if someone goes through each of the 52 weeks in the book and completes all of the assigned work, they will be fully prepared for just about any disaster that could last upwards of three months.

What is your favorite survival, disaster, or post-apocalyptic film or TV show?

I loved the first season of Jericho and feel it was very realistic in how it portrayed the human element of disaster recovery.

It is said that everyone has a book inside them. What advice do you have for the budding author?

To paraphrase the best piece of advice I ever received myself, “butt in chair, fingers on keyboard.”

Thinking about writing a book won’t get it done. Endless research won’t get it done. Talking about writing a book won’t get it done. If you’re serious about writing, the only way to do it is to put words on the page. Even if you can only carve out 15 minutes a day, sit down and get writing.

The Book Giveaway

A copy of COUNTDOWN TO PREPAREDNESS  has been reserved for one lucky reader.

To enter the giveaway, you need to utilize the Rafflecopter form below.  There are two ways to enter including a “free for everyone” option that requires just a single click. Easy peasy!

The deadline is 6:00 PM Pacific next Thursday with the winner notified by email and announced in the Sunday Survival Buzz.  Please note that the winner must claim their book within 48 hours or an alternate will be selected.

The “Rafflecopter”

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Final Word

Jim Cobb is the well-grounded author of a number of preparedness books.  You would think there would be a lot of overlap in his books but I have found each to be unique in its approach and content. Going through the chapters of COUNTDOWN TO PREPAREDNESS reminded me that a prepper’s job is never done and that sometimes, it is the smallest of things that are most easily overlooked.

I hope you will enter the giveaway to win your own copy of this book for your survival library!

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye

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Spotlight Item:  Countdown to Preparedness: The Prepper’s 52 Week Course to Total Disaster Readiness

Every year, rivers flood, hurricanes strike, and earthquakes shake buildings to the ground. Catastrophic disasters can hit anywhere at any time. There’s simply no escaping them. The only reasonable thing you can do is get prepared.

This beginner’s guide to prepping shows how to create a self-sustainable home for surviving anything from a power outage to societal collapse. In just a few hundred carefully thought-out pages, Countdown to Preparedness takes you and your family from clueless to completely ready.

The life-saving program includes information on gathering food and water rations, stockpiling emergency supplies like batteries and first-aid materials, creating a bug-out plan, and even choosing firearms and other weapons for home defense.

Accompanied with detailed illustrations and charts, Countdown to Preparedness offers a six-week course that takes you by the hand as it leads you from unprepared to expertly armed in every way. By the end of this book, you learn the survival skills, emergency stocks, and intuitive know-how to save your own life and the lives of your families in the worst of situations.

Bargain Bin:  Today is all about books.  Listed below are all of the books in the current Backdoor Survival Book Festival. There are both fiction and non-fiction titles and a bit of something for everyone.

Note:  If you covet an e-Book reader, consider the Kindle.  Prices start at $119 although a basic kindle is only $69.  And if not, at the very least pick up the free Kindle app so that you can read Kindle books on your PC or favorite electronic device.

Summer 2014 Book Festival #6 – Fiction

Day After Disaster
Jingling Our Change (Liberty Dying Series Book 1)
Nanny State Nightmare (Liberty Dying Book 2)
The Shadow Patriots
Survivor Max: Too Smart to Die
Collective Retribution
Event Horizon (The Perseid Collapse Post Apocalyptic Series Book 2)
Forsaking Home
Sanctuary: A Postapocalyptic Novel
299 Days: The War
Bishop’s Song (Holding Their Own Book 6)

Summer 2014 Book Festival #6 – Non-Fiction

The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch
Food Storage for Self-Sufficiency and Survival: The Essential Guide for Family Preparedness
The Provident Prepper: A Common-Sense Guide to Preparing for Emergencies
Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide: Food, Shelter, Security, Off-the-Grid Power and More Life-Saving Strategies for Self-Sufficient Living
Duct Tape 911: The Many Amazing Medical Things You Can Do to Tape Yourself Together
The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Step-By-Step Guide To Help You Through Any Disaster
Countdown to Preparedness: The Prepper’s 52 Week Course to Total Disaster Readiness

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Shop the Emergency Essentials Monthly Top Sellers!

As we get down to the wire this month, I thought you might be interested in this month’s top sellers at Emergency Essentials.

The top ten items are listed below.  Not surprisingly, one year supplies are selling like hotcakes right now and I have learned from other food storage vendors that employees are working overtime to get orders out.

1. Mountain House® 6 Month Supply of Entrees (48 cans)     
2. Premium 2000 One Year Food Supply
3. Gourmet 2000 One Year Food Supply
4. Emergency Essentials® Diced Beef (Cooked and Grill Marked) – 24 oz 
5. Traditional 2000 One-Year Food Supply            
6. 1 Month Bucket Combo (3 Buckets)   
7. Premium 1600 One Year Food Supply
8. 4 Person 72 hour Food Bucket   
9. 6 Month Supply of Lunch and Dinner (60 cans)              
10. 320 Gallon Ultimate Water Reserve Combo

If you have prepping for awhile, purchasing a year supply of food may be overkill.  On the other hand, this may be the way to go for someone that is just starting out. My choice?  The #1 seller: a six month supply of entrees from Mountain House!

Shop the Emergency Essentials Monthly Specials

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Need something from Amazon (and who doesn’t)? I earn a small commission from purchases made when you begin your Amazon shopping experience here. You still get great Amazon service and the price is the same, no matter what.

The Amazon Top Ten Most Wanted Survival and Outdoor Items
Emergency Preparedness Items from Amazon.com

Help support Backdoor Survival. Purchases earn a small commission and for that I thank you!

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A Practical Guide to Storing Food For the Long Term

When most people start thinking about family preparedness, they focus on food. Not shelter, gear, sanitation, power, self-defense or the myriad of other concerns that need to be addressed following an emergency or disaster situation. Quite simply, food is the number one concern people have second only to their concern for having an adequate supply of water.

The Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage is a book about food: What to store, how to store it and best practices. It is a roadmap for showing ordinary citizens that long-term food storage is not something that will overwhelm or burden the family budget.

>>>>> 99 cents for the eBook – also available in print! < <<<<

This book is based upon my own tried and true personal experience as someone who has learned to live the preparedness lifestyle by approaching emergency preparedness and planning in a systematic, step-by-step manner.