When Technology Fails (Revised & Expanded): A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency An in depth interview with engineer, designer, and author Matthew Stein about the impending collapse and how we can prepare for it. The key to being prepared is planning and educating yourself before disasters strike. M.I.T. graduate Matthew Stein is one of the foremost authors about planning for man-made and natural disasters. His two books When Disaster Strikes and When Technology Fails will show you how to be prepared, self-reliant, and able to survive in an incredibly wide array of potential future catastrophes. Save when you purchase these two important books together and learn how to be self-reliant in an increasingly fragile world. In this interview, Matthew Stein begins with his universal advice for developing basic preparedness -- a 72-hour kit covering the basics needs for living, an emergency plan for your family, lining up local and out-of-town contacts, etc -- and discusses specifics on what gear to procure and steps to take in unexpected emergencies. For more protracted periods without access to central services, many more situations are covered in his books and at his website. It's important to note that Mat isn't a doomer fanning fears of a zombie apocalypse (though those concened about social collapse will find much utility in his work). Like Chris, he believes that our current fossil fuel-driven, hyper-consumptive, and over-leveraged way of life is not sustainable. So before the unsustainable, by definition, stops - it's best to invest now in developing the skills and habits that will serve us in this new future; one sure to place a higher premium on self-reliance.
