Joe Nobody, author of Holding Your Ground, has another book out – Without Rule of Law: Advanced Skills to Help You Survive. I have a review copy. Check it:
The “formal” book description reads as such:
WARNING: This book contains material that may be offensive to some readers. It is an instructional guide covering tactical actions and capabilities which should only be executed in last-resort survival situations.
This book was written for non-military readers who believe in self-reliance and wish to develop advanced, just-in-case capabilities for themselves and their families. It leads the reader through progressively more complex preparations and activities.
The work covers topics such as camouflage, breaching, hiding, stalking, looting, scavenging, infiltration and disguise. The book includes numerous examples, special equipment, exercises and instructional text on how to plan, equip and execute these actions in a potentially hostile, post-SHTF environment. It takes the reader through various scenarios and provides guidance should TEOTWAWKI occur and extreme measures are required to survive.
I’ll get to the bold WARNING piece in a bit, but let me first describe the books contents a bit more. It begins with covering gear, but its approach is a bit different. It talks about how to think about your gear, what to carry, why and how to train with it. It talks about your primary weapon (Joe Nobody is an AR platform fan). Then, at least for me, it starts getting into the more interesting stuff, things I hadn’t thought of before. How to hide. How to evade. How to infiltrate. How to scavenge.
Now on to the bold WARNING. This book may tick some people off. It’s not “offensive” in the way of foul language or graphic images. What it does is tell you how to do things that some might find immoral. The generally accepted prepper belief is that you prep to be self-reliant, secure. Taken a step further, it’s about adding additional preps, to help your family, friends, neighbors and strangers. It’s not about planning to kill, loot or steal.
Now we’ve had the looting debate before. If you’re of the mindset that looting is ethical under absolute necessity, for example: taking food to live versus a television to watch, than you won’t find Without Rule of Law offensive. If you’re of the mindset that stealing under any and all circumstances, and teaching someone how to steal, is immoral, than you might find Without Rule of Law offensive. Joe Nobody writes the book on the premise that if, for whatever reason, all of your preps have been expended or destroyed, there are skills you can deploy to increase your chances of living. This book describes those skills. It’s the kind of book that you don’t want in the hands of someone that is… evil.
As an example! Check this pic:
The left pic is a sample aerial photograph. The author suggests making a list of potential locations to pillage, and using the internet for photographs. The right pic shows a fictitious pilfering trip where the individual can hit multiple targets in one trip. Joe Nobody writes:
Clearly, the best time to start scavenging is at the end of the social grace period, and prior to complete desperation. Unfortunately, it may be impossible to accurately judge what is happening around you out there in the real world. ….. This is not to say that you should start raiding the local grocery store at the first sign of trouble. … There are so many variables involved, it becomes impractical to develop any realistic guidelines on when to evolve from a “law abiding prepper” to a “survive at any cost scavenger.” There are, however, some recommendations based on common sense and an honest evaluation of the situation …
… and he goes on with his recommendations. The book talks about breach and entry, systematic looting, hauling off the goods, and so on. You get the idea. Is it immoral? Only you can answer for you.
Without Rule of Law is a close second to Joe’s Holding Your Ground, in my view. Where the latter is about defending your home to survive, Without Rule of Law is about leaving your home to survive. The two seem to go hand-in-hand. I like both.
15 comments
Almost $20 new. Better to buy a set of bump keys and get some practice with them while waiting for the BitTorrent copy of the book imo.
Use google earth images of places to scavenge? Free aerial reconnaissance? Where does this guy get this stuff? Ok, I’m in.
Know your enemy.
There is one diff I see immediately, even w/o reading the book.
That Chad Person schmuck recommends ransacking his neighbors – something that will cause instant bad will, if not instant death by lead poisoning. It also alienates your neighbors and leaves you on your own, which is itself a death sentence in a post-collapse world.
OTOH, in this book, I suspect that they’re talking about scavenging businesses, facilities, and abandoned homes. Now that would actually make a ton of sense.
I’m about halfway though and it really is more about how to move around without becoming a target and how to find useful things, then it is about how to take advantage of others.
I am not a big believer in sticking my head up “you know where” and hope for the best..
This book is not moral or immoral.
It is one of the books that everyone should have in their BOB.
I don’t have a problem with some frank talk about tough times. I would not have a problem with anyone “scrounging” food if they are hungry and trying to survive. What I do have a problem with is the idea that planning to scrounge food and non-food after TSHTF is a good idea. It is not. It is likely to get you killed. If you have the time and energy to read this today then you have the time and energy to prepare so you won’t need to be out scrounging other people’s property post SHTF. Especially then! Anyone would be within their rights to soot you dead no questions asked if they find you stealing their stuff or their nieghbors stuff.
At a point where I am needing to regroup and refocus my efforts, you directing me toward this series of books is a huge blessing! Thank you so much!!!
Trapper: Try out the birdseye view at Bing Maps. http://www.bing.com/maps/
It is much easier to understand unless you have experience at ariel recon interpretation.
Joe has some interesting books. I found his novel frustrating. Rather than a relistic assessment of a EOTWAWKI scenario it turns into the special forces version of the wild west.
Seems like if you are morally opposed to looting someone else’s goods to survive, you still need this book. I say that because someone else will try to loot your stuff and you need a plan to counter their looting. If you know what potential ways they can loot you, then you can be better prepared to “Hold your ground.”
Seems to me Talk is cheap…………
Camoflage and stealth are great things to know. Systematic looting of abandoned buildings and homes. I agree you should have a plan when you run into other looters or the owners what you gonna do? Fight or Run
What do people really think will happen when TSHTF…… people are gonna roll over and play dead? Runaway and abandon anything of value they may have.
When it gets too the point people are doing that I would shoot any and all people acting suspious that posed the slightest threat. When your going Wild West, example is the rule thats why they hung people and let them rot there as a deterent. I think we need a few more books on being moral and for those caught up in that “will take what we want by force mentality” afew books on successfully begging you way out of being Killed beacasue you foolishly thought you could take someone elses stuff.
Well, now he’s talking about how America could very well resemble Somalia in the future. Nope. Not gonna happen. But, a lot of America probably will resemble Detroit and Flint MI.
Well said Michael. I don’t see the US turning into Africa, but I can see the rust belt spreading throughout the continent.
The only problem with that IMO is that its officially illegal to have more than 1-3 weeks supply of food in your home.
…and it will all eventually run out anyway. Everyone is freaking out like the guy is advocating home invasions or something. Like all of your neighbors will still be alive in their homes. This isn’t shit you do the day after everything goes sideways. Use your head.