We live in uncertain times: Economic insecurity, rise of international terrorism, the nuclear arms race – all of which pose a potential threat to the thin threads keeping our civilisation together.

Reading Howard K. Bloom’s The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History is sobering. He lists off the civilisations that have gone before ours – the Carthaginians, Romans, Babylonians – all eventually crumbled and consigned to history.

There is no reason to believe that our relative period of peace and prosperity will continue forever. It pays to be smart. And prepared.

Guys like David The Good have been thinking about this for a while:  How would we survive a complete breakdown of the fabric of our society and economy?

If you’ve read Max Brooks’ World War Z you’ll know that this is one of his main points (the book is actually razor sharp satire rather than the pulpy horror of the movie).

How would modern western civilization cope following the complete breakdown of everything that we rely on. Right now, it seems like science fiction. But will that always be the case?

Is there not a chance that our kids may grow up in a tougher world. One where they have to struggle for survival?

this dad does how to rebuild our world

The Knowledge by Lewis Dartnell – A Survivors Guide

Imagine that you’re one of the last surviving people left on earth. You’ve survived the first few decades on stockpiles of tinned goods from the supermarkets. But things are running out – you need to switch from survival to rebuilding. Where would you start?

The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World After an Apocalypse by Lewis Darntnell addresses this. How would we go about building back up what we’ve lost. Dartnell starts with basic survival before moving progressively through different aspects of our society including:

  • Food and clothing
  • Chemicals and explosives
  • How to run a car on wood energy
  • Basic medical care and treatment
  • Harnessing electricity including how to make a basic battery cell

This is quite a high level guide but the author offers plenty of resources for further reading. There were many a ‘Wow, I did not know that!’ moments for me, especially the chapters on chemicals and metals.

This gave me plenty of food for thought about how prepared I would be if the worst happened. Would I have the skills to survive? Probably not, although I’ve made a point of learning basic survival over the last few years ‘just in case’.

I’m no mad prepper/doomsday enthusiast. But I do believe in being prepared. With knowledge, its better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Will Science Save Us?

As I read through the book, I came to wonder one thing – what about defence and weaponry? The author seems to be willing to accept that the post apocalyptic future will be a land of peace and plenty.

A place where disparate groups of people live in commune set ups and share knowledge and technology freely. But what does history tell us?

Going back to Bloom’s The Lucifer Principle, the precedent from the past paints a picture of warring factions and tribes who would be quite happy killing, stealing and pillaging to elevate their tribe, status or territory.

Human nature remains the same – apocalypse or no. The need to survive and prosper will override any fuzzy feelings we have for building a Utopia.

Depressing? Maybe. Realistic? Almost certainly.

I can understand why a modern author wouldn’t want to explain how to construct lethal weaponry but a section on basic tactics, fortifications and settlement location would have been a useful addition.

If you’re a technologically advanced nation, there will always be others who want to take that from you (think: the fall of Rome).

the_knowledge_apocalypse_book_lewis_dartnell

That is only a minor suggestion and barely even a criticism of the book. There is so much excellent information in this book, you’ll be boring your kids and colleagues about how to make soap from beef fat for weeks!

Knowledge for the Future

I bought this book because it sounded like a bit of fun. But it turned out to be an education. Rebuilding our civilization from scratch would be a challenge but not impossible. Dartnell paints a picture of a ‘Steampunk’ future where pre-industrial technology is cobbled together with the more modern.

Hopefully we’ll never need this book, but at least you can learn from it in case one day you or your kids do.

Click Here to Buy on Amazon

P.S. Liked this? Check out some of my other travel/adventure writing:

 

 

About Neil M White

Neil has been writing for a number of years. He has worked as a freelance writer both in the UK and internationally and has worked on a number of high profile media projects. Neil spends his spare time hiking, in the gym or hanging out with his family.

4 comments add your comment

  1. “Human nature remains the same – apocalypse or no. The need to survive and prosper will override any fuzzy feelings we have for building a Utopia. Depressing? Maybe. Realistic? Almost certainly.”
    Sounds a lot like what I believe as well so I might get this book

    • Thanks Timo, yes it’s a good book. A little naive I feel but on reflection, it is focused more on the science and technology aspect than pure survival. There seem to be other books that cover that in considerable detail too.

  2. Neil,

    A bit like you mate I’m one of those people who appreciates the value of these sort of skills and, like you, I’ve put some time and effort into acquiring them.

    Starting a stockpile of tinned foods, fuel and the thousand other items is a big step though, not least of all in terms of where do you stop? One year’s worth? Three? Five? And what lengths would you go to to defend it (assuming that nobody else in your part of town has taken similar precautions). Scary.

    Going to check out these books all the same. Thanks for the reccomend!

    • Hi Tom, thanks for your comment. Yes the book is really helpful and isn’t a ‘preppers guide’. It’s more about what we do after the dust has settled and start to rebuild our world. The Lucifer Principle is pretty heavy going but Bloom is a good story teller and makes dry subjects interesting. I’ve recently downloaded ‘The Global Brain’ which you need to be switched on to understand.

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