James Wesley Rawles
Encyclopedia
James Wesley, Rawles is a New York Times best-selling survivalist-fiction author, blog
ger, and survival retreat
consultant. Rawles is a Christian conservative. He is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a blog
on survival and preparedness topics. Rawles is the author of the survivalist novels Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
and Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse
as well as the national bestseller How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times.
in 1960 and received a BA
degree from San Jose State University
. He was a United States Army
Military Intelligence
officer, serving from 1984 to 1993. He resigned his commission as an Army Captain, immediately after Bill Clinton
was sworn in as President of the United States. Rawles worked as an Associate Editor and Regional Editor (for the Western U.S.) with Defense Electronics magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s and concurrently was Managing Editor of The International Countermeasures Handbook. He worked as a technical writer through most of the 1990s with a variety of electronics and software companies including Oracle Corporation
. In 2005 he began full-time blogging.
He is now a freelance writer, blogger and retreat
consultant. He has been called a "survival guru." Rawles is best known as the author of the survivalist novel Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
.
on survival and preparedness topics. According to a Businessweek
article from August, 2011, SurvivalBlog receives 260,000 unique visitors per week. The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threats toward society. In his various writings, Rawles has warned about socio-economic collapse, terrorist attacks, and food shortages. As a consultant, Rawles advises his clients primarily via telephone on emergency preparedness.
set in a near future period of hyperinflation
and socio-economic collapse first titled: Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, and later re-titled: Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
. The book was originally released in draft form as shareware
under the title "Triple Ought" in the early 1990s but was later printed by the Christian partner publisher Huntington House. After Huntington House went out of business, the book was re-released by Xlibris
, a "print on demand" publisher. Starting in April, 2009, the novel went back into wide circulation, in a 400-page trade paperback edition, published by Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California. This new edition was updated and expanded to include a glossary and index.
In early April 2009, shortly after its release, it was ranked number 6 in Amazon.com's overall book sales rankings, but fell to number 33 a week later. By the end of the month it had fallen to number 98. The book's initial popularity caught librarians unprepared because the book was considered a niche title, and had not been reviewed by the major book review publications. According to Library Journal
, the topic struck a chord with "a small but vociferous group of people concerned with survivalism" who share a sense of societal anxiety associated with the economic recession. The journal went on to say that Patriots was "reportedly originally conceived as a nonfiction guide. According to a number of Amazon.com reviewers, the novel will not win any literary prizes; its strength lies in its practical reassurances, focus on guns, and Christian ideology." Librarians then scrambled to purchase copies of the book to meet the unanticipated demand.
is a contemporaneous sequel novel that parallels the events that occurred in Patriots, following a hyperinflationary socioeconomic collapse and the subsequent events known as "The Crunch." The novel follows several new characters (as well as some characters from Patriots) as they attempt to survive in the United States following The Crunch as they deal with criminal gangs, a provisional American government and the general breakdown of society. The book was released on October 4, 2011. It rose to #2 in Amazon's overall book sales ranks, the same day. On October 23, 2011, it was listed at #3 in the New York Times best-selliers list in the fiction hardback category. Less than a month after publication, the novel had gone through four printings and had 52,500 copies in print.
on preparedness topics. SurvivalBlog has about 160,000 unique visitors per week. The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threats toward society. In his various writings, Rawles advises preparedness in the event of catastrophe, including preparedness against the risks of a post-disaster society which include looting, armed violence and food shortages. He also recommends preparedness measures including the establishment of rural safe havens at least 300 miles from the nearest major city, financial planning for a future barter based economy, water retrieval and purification, food production and storage, security and self-defense techniques and strategies.
The book received a favorable book review on the weblog of Orville R. Weyrich Jr. There was also a summary of the book published in the March–April 2010 issue of The Futurist
magazine, under the headline: "Alarmingly Practical Advice For Doomsday." The book is briefly quoted and the title is mentioned in the article "Are You Ready for the End of the World?" in the January 2010 issue of The Philadelphia Trumpet
, a publication of the Philadelphia Church of God
.
In an interview with Rawles about the book, syndicated radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy
said that the book "posits a collapse of civilization." When interviewed by syndicated radio talk show host Laura Ingraham
about the book on October 5, 2009, she said that the book "goes through point by point the basics of being prepared and heightening your chances of surviving some type of major crisis." Echoing Rawles's writings, Ingraham warned that "there is a thin line between order and total anarchy in time of a crisis, when peoples lives are on the line—and all the nicities and the rules go out the door."
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It has 14 chapters and three appendices, 336 pages, ISBN 9780452295834. September 2009. First Printing (September 2009): 20,000 copies. Second Printing (October 2009): 6,000 copies. Third Printing (October 2009): 25,000 copies. An unabridged audiobook edition is also available (ISBN 978-1441830593), produced by Brilliance Audiobooks. It was narrated by Dick Hill
. As of March 2011, there were 132,000 copies of the book in print, and it had gone through 11 printings. There were 10 foreign publishing contracts in place to produce editions in nine languages.
) reference pages, primarily on firearms topics, such as one on antique guns
that is often cited.
" areas. His preparedness philosophy emphasizes the fragility of modern society, the value of silver and other tangibles for barter, recognition of moral absolutes, being well armed, maintaining a "deep larder," relocation to rural retreats, and Christian charity
. In an interview in The New York Times
, Rawles referred to himself as a "guns and groceries" survivalist.
Rawles is a strong proponent of the right to keep and bear arms, having said that people are "merely exercising a pre-existing right" when they carry firearms to public events such as political rallies. When he was asked about open carry
, "but...without a permit?", he replied, "We have a permit—it is called the Second Amendment,"
Rawles is outspokenly anti-racist.
" media image has developed in part because of the actions of a radical few such as Timothy McVeigh
. He called this a distortion of the true message of survivalism. Unlike the fringe proponents, Rawles focuses instead on "family preparedness" and "personal freedom". Rawles explains that the typical survivalist does not actually live in a rural area, but is rather is a city dweller worried about the collapse of society who views the rural lifestyle as idyllic. Speaking from his experience, Rawles cautions that rural self-sufficiency actually involves "a lot of hard work". In 2009, he was quoted as saying: "There's so many people who are concerned about the economy that there's a huge interest in preparedness, and it pretty much crosses all lines, social, economic, political and religious. There's a steep learning curve going on right now."
concept. This plan designates five western states (Idaho
, Montana
, Wyoming
, eastern Oregon
, and eastern Washington) as a safe haven for conservative Christians. The concept was endorsed by former Presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin
, who had recently relocated his entire extended family to western Montana. It also soon inspired the launch of a weekly podcast by Christian Libertarian journalist John Jacob Schmidt, called Radio Free Redoubt.
newspaper asserts that the ranch is in northern Idaho. Others have claimed that the "undisclosed location" of the ranch is in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming or even in Central America. A CNN Europe article written before his wife died noted that Rawles "...lives on a ranch in an undisclosed location with his wife (who he refers to in his blog affectionately as "the Memsahib") and their children. Their life is almost entirely self-sufficient: They keep livestock, hunt elk and the children are schooled at home. Stored away in the ranch somewhere is a three-year supply of food." In an article titled "The Most Dangerous Novel in America", Rawles told The Daily Beast: "I’m not at liberty to discuss where I live. It’s part of an agreement I made with my wife. I really can’t go into the details. We live in a very remote area. I embrace technology. We don’t live in a cellphone area, but I’m online constantly. We’re just prepared to live off-grid, if the power grid goes down. Because of the nature of my blog and my novel, I don’t just want anonymity, I need anonymity. I could wake up some morning in the aftermath of some crisis and look out in my barnyard and see five Winnebagos and some TV crews. I don’t want fans of my books to descend on my property, so I have to be perspicacious." In 2009, Rawles told an Agence France-Presse
reporter: "I'm surrounded by national forest. A river runs through the back end of the property, so there's no shortage of water and no shortage of fish or game to shoot. If Western civilization were to collapse tomorrow, I'd have to read about it on the Internet. I just wouldn't notice."
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, and survival retreat
Retreat (survivalism)
A retreat is a place of refuge for those in the survivalist subculture or movement. Retreats are also sometimes called Bug-Out Locations...
consultant. Rawles is a Christian conservative. He is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on survival and preparedness topics. Rawles is the author of the survivalist novels Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse is a survivalist novel written by James Wesley Rawles, first distributed as shareware in 1995 and first published in paperback in 1998. It was most recently updated and re-published in 2009. In one week of April 2009, shortly after its release,...
and Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse
Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse
Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse is a best-selling survivalist novel written by James Wesley Rawles. It is a contemporaneous sequel to Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse....
as well as the national bestseller How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times.
Biography
Rawles was born in Livermore, CaliforniaLivermore, California
Livermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 80,968. Livermore is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area....
in 1960 and received a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
. He was a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Military Intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
officer, serving from 1984 to 1993. He resigned his commission as an Army Captain, immediately after Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
was sworn in as President of the United States. Rawles worked as an Associate Editor and Regional Editor (for the Western U.S.) with Defense Electronics magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s and concurrently was Managing Editor of The International Countermeasures Handbook. He worked as a technical writer through most of the 1990s with a variety of electronics and software companies including Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
. In 2005 he began full-time blogging.
He is now a freelance writer, blogger and retreat
Retreat (survivalism)
A retreat is a place of refuge for those in the survivalist subculture or movement. Retreats are also sometimes called Bug-Out Locations...
consultant. He has been called a "survival guru." Rawles is best known as the author of the survivalist novel Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse is a survivalist novel written by James Wesley Rawles, first distributed as shareware in 1995 and first published in paperback in 1998. It was most recently updated and re-published in 2009. In one week of April 2009, shortly after its release,...
.
Blog presence and consulting
Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a popular blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on survival and preparedness topics. According to a Businessweek
BusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
article from August, 2011, SurvivalBlog receives 260,000 unique visitors per week. The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threats toward society. In his various writings, Rawles has warned about socio-economic collapse, terrorist attacks, and food shortages. As a consultant, Rawles advises his clients primarily via telephone on emergency preparedness.
Survivalist writings
James Rawles has written two books that are sold by mainstream booksellers. The sequel to Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse will be released on October 4, 2011.Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
His first book was a work of speculative fictionSpeculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
set in a near future period of hyperinflation
Hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is inflation that is very high or out of control. While the real values of the specific economic items generally stay the same in terms of relatively stable foreign currencies, in hyperinflationary conditions the general price level within a specific economy increases...
and socio-economic collapse first titled: Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, and later re-titled: Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse is a survivalist novel written by James Wesley Rawles, first distributed as shareware in 1995 and first published in paperback in 1998. It was most recently updated and re-published in 2009. In one week of April 2009, shortly after its release,...
. The book was originally released in draft form as shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
under the title "Triple Ought" in the early 1990s but was later printed by the Christian partner publisher Huntington House. After Huntington House went out of business, the book was re-released by Xlibris
Xlibris
Xlibris is a Bloomington, Indiana-based self-publishing and on-demand printing services provider founded in 1997., The New York Times stated it to be the foremost on-demand publisher. The founder and chief executive is John Feldcamp.- Overview :...
, a "print on demand" publisher. Starting in April, 2009, the novel went back into wide circulation, in a 400-page trade paperback edition, published by Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California. This new edition was updated and expanded to include a glossary and index.
In early April 2009, shortly after its release, it was ranked number 6 in Amazon.com's overall book sales rankings, but fell to number 33 a week later. By the end of the month it had fallen to number 98. The book's initial popularity caught librarians unprepared because the book was considered a niche title, and had not been reviewed by the major book review publications. According to Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
, the topic struck a chord with "a small but vociferous group of people concerned with survivalism" who share a sense of societal anxiety associated with the economic recession. The journal went on to say that Patriots was "reportedly originally conceived as a nonfiction guide. According to a number of Amazon.com reviewers, the novel will not win any literary prizes; its strength lies in its practical reassurances, focus on guns, and Christian ideology." Librarians then scrambled to purchase copies of the book to meet the unanticipated demand.
Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse
Survivors: A Novel of the Coming CollapseSurvivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse
Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse is a best-selling survivalist novel written by James Wesley Rawles. It is a contemporaneous sequel to Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse....
is a contemporaneous sequel novel that parallels the events that occurred in Patriots, following a hyperinflationary socioeconomic collapse and the subsequent events known as "The Crunch." The novel follows several new characters (as well as some characters from Patriots) as they attempt to survive in the United States following The Crunch as they deal with criminal gangs, a provisional American government and the general breakdown of society. The book was released on October 4, 2011. It rose to #2 in Amazon's overall book sales ranks, the same day. On October 23, 2011, it was listed at #3 in the New York Times best-selliers list in the fiction hardback category. Less than a month after publication, the novel had gone through four printings and had 52,500 copies in print.
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times
Rawles authored the international bestseller How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times, a non-fiction book drawn primarily from posts from SurvivalBlog.com, his popular blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on preparedness topics. SurvivalBlog has about 160,000 unique visitors per week. The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threats toward society. In his various writings, Rawles advises preparedness in the event of catastrophe, including preparedness against the risks of a post-disaster society which include looting, armed violence and food shortages. He also recommends preparedness measures including the establishment of rural safe havens at least 300 miles from the nearest major city, financial planning for a future barter based economy, water retrieval and purification, food production and storage, security and self-defense techniques and strategies.
The book received a favorable book review on the weblog of Orville R. Weyrich Jr. There was also a summary of the book published in the March–April 2010 issue of The Futurist
World Future Society
The World Future Society is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization in Bethesda, Maryland, US, founded in 1966.The Society investigates how social, economic and technological developments are shaping the future...
magazine, under the headline: "Alarmingly Practical Advice For Doomsday." The book is briefly quoted and the title is mentioned in the article "Are You Ready for the End of the World?" in the January 2010 issue of The Philadelphia Trumpet
The Philadelphia Trumpet
The Philadelphia Trumpet is a monthly news and prophecy magazine published by the Philadelphia Church of God . The editor-in-chief is Gerald Flurry, who is also the leader of the PCG and characterizes the magazine as the successor to The Plain Truth magazine when it was under the aegis of the...
, a publication of the Philadelphia Church of God
Philadelphia Church of God
The Philadelphia Church of God is an international church based in Edmond, Oklahoma. The Philadelphia Church of God was founded by Gerald Flurry and his assistant pastor John Amos and incorporated in the United States on December 20, 1989....
.
In an interview with Rawles about the book, syndicated radio talk show host G. Gordon Liddy
G. Gordon Liddy
George Gordon Liddy was the chief operative for the White House Plumbers unit that existed from July–September 1971, during Richard Nixon's presidency. Separately, along with E. Howard Hunt, Liddy organized and directed the Watergate burglaries of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in...
said that the book "posits a collapse of civilization." When interviewed by syndicated radio talk show host Laura Ingraham
Laura Ingraham
Laura Anne Ingraham is an American radio host, author, and conservative political commentator. Her nationally syndicated talk show, The Laura Ingraham Show, airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
about the book on October 5, 2009, she said that the book "goes through point by point the basics of being prepared and heightening your chances of surviving some type of major crisis." Echoing Rawles's writings, Ingraham warned that "there is a thin line between order and total anarchy in time of a crisis, when peoples lives are on the line—and all the nicities and the rules go out the door."
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It has 14 chapters and three appendices, 336 pages, ISBN 9780452295834. September 2009. First Printing (September 2009): 20,000 copies. Second Printing (October 2009): 6,000 copies. Third Printing (October 2009): 25,000 copies. An unabridged audiobook edition is also available (ISBN 978-1441830593), produced by Brilliance Audiobooks. It was narrated by Dick Hill
Dick Hill (narrator)
Dick Hill is an American audiobook narrator.Dick Hill has narrated over 400 audiobooks, and has won three Audie Awards. He is the recipient of a Golden Voices award from AudioFile magazine. He has worked with his wife, Susie Breck, who is also an audiobook narrator and director.-External links:*...
. As of March 2011, there were 132,000 copies of the book in print, and it had gone through 11 printings. There were 10 foreign publishing contracts in place to produce editions in nine languages.
FAQs
Starting in the early 1990s, he also authored or co-authored 17 Internet frequently asked questions (FAQFAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
) reference pages, primarily on firearms topics, such as one on antique guns
Antique guns
An antique firearm is, loosely speaking, a firearm designed and manufactured prior to the beginning of the 20th century. The Boer War is often used as a cut-off event, although the exact definition of what constitutes an "antique firearm" varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction...
that is often cited.
Philosophical, political and economic views
Rawles is an outspoken proponent of family preparedness, especially regarding food storage and advocates relocating to lightly populated rural "retreatRetreat (survivalism)
A retreat is a place of refuge for those in the survivalist subculture or movement. Retreats are also sometimes called Bug-Out Locations...
" areas. His preparedness philosophy emphasizes the fragility of modern society, the value of silver and other tangibles for barter, recognition of moral absolutes, being well armed, maintaining a "deep larder," relocation to rural retreats, and Christian charity
Charity (virtue)
In Christian theology charity, or love , means an unlimited loving-kindness toward all others.The term should not be confused with the more restricted modern use of the word charity to mean benevolent giving.- Caritas: altruistic love :...
. In an interview in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Rawles referred to himself as a "guns and groceries" survivalist.
Rawles is a strong proponent of the right to keep and bear arms, having said that people are "merely exercising a pre-existing right" when they carry firearms to public events such as political rallies. When he was asked about open carry
Open Carry
In the United States, open carry is shorthand terminology for "openly carrying a firearm in public", as distinguished from concealed carry, where firearms cannot be seen by the casual observer....
, "but...without a permit?", he replied, "We have a permit—it is called the Second Amendment,"
Rawles is outspokenly anti-racist.
The Survivalist movement
A central premise of the growing survivalist movement, of which Rawles is a leading spokesman, is concern about the risk of a coming societal meltdown and the need to prepare for the repercussions. Rawles said that an incorrect far-right "lunatic fringeLunatic Fringe
Lunatic fringe is a term used to characterize members of a usually political or social movement espousing extreme, eccentric, or fanatical views. It was coined by the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt , to describe some American anarchists, especially those who engaged in...
" media image has developed in part because of the actions of a radical few such as Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
. He called this a distortion of the true message of survivalism. Unlike the fringe proponents, Rawles focuses instead on "family preparedness" and "personal freedom". Rawles explains that the typical survivalist does not actually live in a rural area, but is rather is a city dweller worried about the collapse of society who views the rural lifestyle as idyllic. Speaking from his experience, Rawles cautions that rural self-sufficiency actually involves "a lot of hard work". In 2009, he was quoted as saying: "There's so many people who are concerned about the economy that there's a huge interest in preparedness, and it pretty much crosses all lines, social, economic, political and religious. There's a steep learning curve going on right now."
American Redoubt concept
In March, 2011, Rawles formulated the American RedoubtAmerican Redoubt
The American Redoubt is a relocation concept formulated by New York Times best-selling survivalist novelist and blogger James Wesley Rawles....
concept. This plan designates five western states (Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, eastern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and eastern Washington) as a safe haven for conservative Christians. The concept was endorsed by former Presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin
Charles Obadiah "Chuck" Baldwin is an American politician and founder-pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. He was the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. presidential election and had previously been its nominee for U.S. vice president in 2004...
, who had recently relocated his entire extended family to western Montana. It also soon inspired the launch of a weekly podcast by Christian Libertarian journalist John Jacob Schmidt, called Radio Free Redoubt.
Secret ranch location
An article published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2008 asserts that Rawles lives in California, but later in the article, Rawles noted that the location of his ranch in the US is kept secret. "We don't actually reveal our location, even at the state level, All that I'm allowed to say is that we're somewhere west of the Rockies. We intentionally keep a very low profile. We just don't want a lot of people camping out on our doorstep the day after everything hits the fan." The German FAZFaz
FAZ may be an abbreviation for:*Football Association of Zambia*Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a German newspaper*Financial Autonomous Zone, an economic proposal...
newspaper asserts that the ranch is in northern Idaho. Others have claimed that the "undisclosed location" of the ranch is in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming or even in Central America. A CNN Europe article written before his wife died noted that Rawles "...lives on a ranch in an undisclosed location with his wife (who he refers to in his blog affectionately as "the Memsahib") and their children. Their life is almost entirely self-sufficient: They keep livestock, hunt elk and the children are schooled at home. Stored away in the ranch somewhere is a three-year supply of food." In an article titled "The Most Dangerous Novel in America", Rawles told The Daily Beast: "I’m not at liberty to discuss where I live. It’s part of an agreement I made with my wife. I really can’t go into the details. We live in a very remote area. I embrace technology. We don’t live in a cellphone area, but I’m online constantly. We’re just prepared to live off-grid, if the power grid goes down. Because of the nature of my blog and my novel, I don’t just want anonymity, I need anonymity. I could wake up some morning in the aftermath of some crisis and look out in my barnyard and see five Winnebagos and some TV crews. I don’t want fans of my books to descend on my property, so I have to be perspicacious." In 2009, Rawles told an Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
reporter: "I'm surrounded by national forest. A river runs through the back end of the property, so there's no shortage of water and no shortage of fish or game to shoot. If Western civilization were to collapse tomorrow, I'd have to read about it on the Internet. I just wouldn't notice."
Quotes
- Owning a gun doesn’t make someone a “shooter” any more than owning a surfboard makes someone a surfer.
- There is no substitute for mass. Mass stops bullets. Mass stops gamma radiation. Mass stops (or at least slows down) bad guys from entering a home and depriving its residents of life and property. Sandbags are cheap, so buy plenty of them. When planning your retreat house, think: medieval castle.
- I'm often asked why I make such a 'big deal' about choosing conservative Christians, Messianic Jews, or Orthodox Jews for neighbors. The plain truth is that in a societal collapse there will be a veritable vacuum of law enforcement. In such times, with a few exceptions, it will only be the God fearing that will continue to be law abiding. Choose your neighborhood wisely.
- The three most important things to look for when searching for a church home are doctrine, doctrine, and doctrine. If your main criteria are 'programs' and 'outreach' to this or that niche group, then in my opinion you are starting your search the wrong way.
- As an Army officer, I learned that in order to be effective, an army must have three key abilities: To move, shoot, and communicate. Take away any one, and you are ineffective. But if you get all three right, you can absolutely devastate an opponent—even one that has vastly superior numbers.
- Modern military planners often talk in terms of “threat spirals” when a given threat escalates and inspires a defensive countermeasure. Ideally you should anticipate your opponent’s next escalation and take countermeasures, insulating yourself from the future threat.
- If you are serious about preparedness, then it is time to get out of your armchair and start training and preparing. It will take time. It will take some sweat. It will take money. But once you’ve prepared, you can sleep well, knowing that you’ve done your best to protect and provide for your family, regardless of what the future brings. Don’t get stuck in the rut of simply *studying* preparedness. Unless the shelves in your pantry and garage are filling with supplies, and unless you are growing muscles and calluses, you are not preparing.
- Governments tend to expand their power to the point that they do harm. In SurvivalBlog, I often warn of the insidious tyranny of the Nanny State... ...If the state where you live becomes oppressive, then don’t hesitate to relocate. Vote with your feet!
- As a Christian, I feel morally obligated to assist others who are less fortunate. Following the Old Testament laws of tzedakah (charity and tithing), I believe that my responsibility begins with my immediate family and expands in successive rings to supporting my immediate neighborhood and church, to my community, and beyond, as resources allow. My philosophy is to give until it hurts in times of disaster.
- The foundational morality of the civilized world is best summarized in the Ten Commandments. Moral relativism and secular humanism are slippery slopes. The terminal moraine at the base of these slopes is a rubble pile consisting of either despotism and pillage, or anarchy and the depths of depravity. I believe that it takes both faith and friends to survive perilous times.
- My father often told me, “It is better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.” I urge readers to use less than lethal means when safe and practicable, but at times there is not a satisfactory substitute for well-aimed lead going down range at high velocity.
- It is one of the great ironies of our modern 'civilized' era that in most of the places where you don't feel the need to carry a firearm for self defense you can legally do so if you choose. But in most of places where you do indeed justifiably feel the immediate need to carry a gun, they are banned.
- With a few exceptions, lower population [density] means fewer problems [for survivalist retreats]. When the Schumer Hits the Fan, there will be a mass exodus from the cities. Think of it as an army that is spreading out across a battlefield: The wider they are spread, the less effective they are. The inverse-square law hasn’t been repealed.
- The modern world [of survivalism] is full of pundits, poseurs, and Mall Ninjas. Preparedness is not just about accumulating a pile of stuff. You need practical skills, and those come only with study, training, and practice. Any armchair survivalist with a credit card can buy a set of stylish camouflage fatigues and an “M4gery” carbine encrusted with umpteen accessories. Style points should not be mistaken for genuine skills and practicality.
- Much like a muscle that atrophies with disuse, any right that goes unexercised for many years devolves into a privilege, and eventually can even be redefined as a crime.
- Tangibles trump conceptuals. Modern fiat currencies are generally accepted, but have essentially no backing. Because they are largely a by-product of interest-bearing debt, modern currencies are destined for inflation. In the long run, inflation dooms fiat currencies to collapse. The majority of your assets should be invested in productive farmland and other tangibles such as useful hand tools. After you have your key logistics squared away, anything extra should be invested in silver and gold.
- Some things are worth fighting for. I encourage my readers to avoid trouble, most importantly via relocation to safe areas where trouble is unlikely to visit. But there may come an unavoidable day when you have to make a stand to defend your own family or your neighbors. Furthermore, if you value your liberty, then be prepared to fight for it, both for yourself and for the sake of your progeny.