This was written in a great style with solid information. One of the few EMO books I have read that didn't leave me felling worried or depressed. ( )

Real life survival skills in a cartoon filled and extensively documented book. Good for this type of book. ( )

To describe this book as a "fun read" downplays the seriousness of the topic...but I really did enjoy reading it, and learned some important survival tips at the same time. The author, Cody Lundin, clearly is a master of survival skills. His book lays out for you what you need to survive a disaster, what you need to address, and in what order.

Assuming you have adequate air, you need to address the following things in this order:
1) Keeping your core temperature at 98.6 degrees
2) Shelter
3) Water
4) Food
5) Protection from predators

He goes through each topic, and gives tips on what you might use. Some are unappealing, but in a life/death situation, it is good to know what options there might be.

Hopefully I will never have to utilize any of the information in this book; but it is good to know! ( )

I am so glad I read this book. I first heard of Cody Lundin while watching Dual Survival on the Discovery Channel. My first impression of Cody was that he was crazy because he didn't wear shoes, but I quickly saw past the eccentricity and came to admire him for his practicality and independence. This thorough book covers all aspects of survival from psychological to physiological to practical skills. Before reading this book, I had long been interested in wilderness survival skills and self sufficiency, but everything I knew came from watching Survivor Man, Man vs. Wild, and Dual Survival on the Discovery Channel. I had no confidence in my ability to actually survive in a wilderness situation. Also, before reading this book, I did not take emergency preparedness or urban/suburban survival seriously and thought those that did, must be paranoid, fearful, freaks. After reading this book, I am confident in my ability to survive both in the wilderness or in a more probable urban/suburban survival scenario. Although I previously thought urban/suburban survival situations were unlikely to occur, or only affected people in third world countries, thanks to Cody’s book I now realize that these situations are more common and likely than being lost in the wilderness or stranded on an island somewhere.

This book isn’t about homesteading or “living off the grid” but rather focuses on realistic, practical ways to prepare for and stay alive in an emergency/disaster situation where the average person is rescued after three days. This book made me realize how vulnerable urban/suburban folks are and how much our lives are dependent on the things we take for granted such as electricity, running water, natural gas, etc. Quite frequently, these services are disrupted during extreme weather, earthquakes, or other situations, and this book teaches the skills needed to stay alive until things return to “normal.”

I found this book to be enjoyable but uneven in ways that are likely to leave you either liking it or despising it.

Part of the problem is the audience for such books. On the one hand you have moms like me who just picked it up on a whim when we saw it at the library, and and on the other you've got your professional-styled survivalists who already have a library of books on this complex subject.

It's the last group that are least likely to enjoy WAHBL. Partly because Cody includes some very basic information which is going to bore them to tears, and partly because his approach to the material is whimsical most of the time. (I won't mention that he sometimes makes fun of the fringe element who have been waiting since the 1970s for the imminent demise of the North American infrastructure. Not likely to make him friends in that camp.)

As for people who aren't knowledgeable about disaster preparedness there's quite a bit of interesting material about things you know a little about already, and things you might not have thought about. Sanitizing water for one, keeping meal time sanitized with little water is another, with how to take care of a body should you run across one thrown in for good measure-- really the list is quite extensive. And disasters aside, it's just plain interesting at times to hear how this fellow lives in the American southwest, where he basically has cut himself off the grid, saving water in barrels, and using the strong UV to sanitize his dishes.

"When All Hell Breaks Loose" covers two aspects of survival; psychological preparedness and physical preparedness. Again there are going to be those who eschew the first because they don't like anything touchy-feelie like how Uncle Fred might loose it. But for everyone of them, there's going to be someone else who is going to have an 'ah-ha' moment.

For myself, I have to say that it took awhile for me to get into sync with the book. I really didn't like the quirky artwork. It didn't enrich my experience by helping me to understand the concepts better nor did it make me smile.

For the most part I thought the information was fairly well explained, although from chapter to chapter the depth to which topics were covered was uneven. Some where barely touched upon, while in others there was a great deal of detail. There were points when I skimmed information I have known since I was a young adult. And then there were other points where I really wished that the author had gone into more detail. I think, for example, that I could build a distiller. But there's no way I could make a solar oven based on either the diagram or the description. (It would be cool to build one with my kids.)

But, as the author points out, it must be remembered that disasters come in all flavors and there are many many points of departure so that it is almost impossible to cover all subjects to the depth where city dwellers, suburbanites, townies and farmers would be given exactly the right advice for them. So maybe my expectations are too high.

THE SKINNY:::
"When All Hell Breaks Loose" is a survival book that's interesting but which struggles to find its voice. At points it's approach is too simple, while at others it's not detailed enough. This book really serves the broad segment of the populace who isn't well read on the topic of surviving for an extended period of time without electricity and water.

I thought WAHBL had a nice introduction to the psychological aspects of surviving a disaster. Non-touchie-feelie types might not appreciate these chapters, but history has shown that the right mind-set separates the living from the dead in dangerous situations.

I also personally liked that Cody pointed out that you cannot survive well on your own. That the central unit of survival is a family or small community unit like a neighborhood. Your 'tribe', as it were.

People living in hurricane and flood prone areas -- really any areas where you could loose electricity and water -- could benefit from a quick perusal of this book. Just ignore the parts that annoy you. ( )