Book Review: Emergency

Emergency, by Neil Strauss

One thing you have to give Neil Strauss credit for is that he is willing to learn. In Emergency, Strauss becomes convinced that society is falling apart, and so he takes it upon himself to learn things that will help him survive. His political perspective is a little different from most survivalists, who are usually libertarians or conservatives, in that Strauss's fears were triggered by worries about the Bush administration, which in retrospect seems like worrying that President Taft might declare one man rule. But nevertheless, like many survivalists, once the trigger is pulled or the switch is flipped on, he becomes committed to a course of learning.

At first, he focuses on getting a foreign passport, thinking that if the American political system falls apart, he could simply go elsewhere, in his case, to the island of St. Kitts. But as his thoughts on survival evolve, he realizes that if America is screwed, probably everywhere else is, too -- so he begins to study the necessary arts of survival: stockpiling food, learning about weapons, learning how to live in the wild, learning how to raise a goat in the backyard of his Los Angeles apartment. At the same time, he helps his girlfriend, who is paranoid and does not have a driver's license, learn how to drive -- she sees that by him overcoming his fears, she can overcome hers. In the end, Strauss signs up for courses as an EMT in order to learn how to become a person who overcomes disasters, rather than merely fleeing from them.

The book has its high points and low points, but Strauss does hit on an essential part of the Survivalist school of thought -- the idea of Survivalism as a problem of self. Strauss has fears, and so he allays these fears by learning, and finds that as he becomes proficient in different skills, these fears are mitigated. I think this is true to a point -- as I become more proficient and knowledgeable, I also find I am less fearful. The book is more of a personal journey than a survival guide, but as such, it is an interesting read.