I've been seeing ads for this book everywhere. It seems to be the most heavily advertised book in this hobby I've seen, so I wanted to get it and post an honest review of the book for anyone looking at the $40 price tag. That's about as expensive as renting one of my college textbooks, so I'm assuming people want to know if it is worth the price, and how applicable it is.

The good: -the project instructions are very clear, and the authors are clearly better handymen than me. I am looking forward to starting some of the projects, it really feels like they put effort in to make sure the average joe can do these projects. -the pricing is by and large accurate. If there is a project listed for $100 you can find the part listed for the price. That being said, not every project has a price, and it would be nice to have seen more pricing options in there. -The solar power section, and really the whole "projects related to electricity" section, is very well written and breaks down a topic that is very intimidating to people without much electrical experience like myself. After reading it, I am confident in what I need to get and how to set up a small scale solar power station. -the medicinal herb section is very nice. Lots of options and redundancies in herbs listed, and as a prepper who focuses a lot on gardening, the info lined up with a lot of what I knew before reading the book.

The bad: -Holy damn do not make the canned Amish poor man's steak. The canning process described in the book is bluntly dangerous, and will make someone sick who uses it. Meat should never be canned with a water bath only. I assume this is common knowledge, but for a $40 book I would expect better. The rest of the food section is milquetoast at best, but nothing as egregious as this "canned" meat. -"The only 7 seeds you need to stockpile for a crisis" really hams home the point a poster made last week about people needing experience with the seeds they save up. Two of the recommended seeds were emmer wheat and amaranthe, with no information on threshing or winnowing to make the grains useable. Someone with little knowledge on gardening would be screwed following their garden practices, and anyone who preps for a garden really doesn't need to spend money on this book. -the book advertises reasonable cost setup for preppers. Then they advertise raised beds, one of the most expensive ways to get into gardening. I would have liked to see a section that summarized some other no till methods, or even how to till a garden for use. It's not like SHTF tilling is going to be the worst thing to go down. -The book makes some bold claims about herbal remedies. I love herbal and natural remedies wherever possible as much as the next guy, but some things need medicine. That's why we prepare. The book talks about inserting a garlic clove into your hoo hah to treat a yeast infection in page 269. I mean, SHTF it might work. Or you can keep antifungal in your first aid kit.

The ugly: The typos and poor formatting that are present through the entire book makes me believe they never put this before an editor, and if they did, that editor really needs to find a new line of work. Again, I would expect better from a $40 book.

The projects are really cool, and I'm looking forward to piddling around the garage to do them and maybe get a little more prepared if they work. The rainwater collection system and biogas factory are first on my list, because they look cool.

Overall, I would not recommend buying this book as part of a prep unless you like the look of the projects. The price point is too high for the quality and effort of over half the book. Let me know if you agree or disagree.