Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
Encyclopedia
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, it was ranked #6 in Amazon.com's overall book sales rankings. This was attributed by one journal to the book's appeal to "a small but vociferous group of people concerned with survivalism".
Set in the near future amidst hyperinflation and a catastrophic global economic collapse
, Patriots tells the story of a group of survivalists that flee riots and chaos in metropolitan Chicago
to a survivalist retreat
that they have prepared near Bovill, Idaho
.
publishing firm in Lafayette, Louisiana
. They abridged the book to 31 chapters and re-titled it Patriots; Surviving the Coming Collapse. This was the publisher's best-selling title from November 1998 to January 2005. In early 2005, Huntington House went out of business, and the copyright reverted to the author. In November 2006, responding to pent-up market demand, Rawles self-published a restored 33 chapter edition of the novel, through XLibris
, a print-on-demand publisher. Patriots was the best-selling title for XLibris from late 2006 to early 2009. In late 2008, the rights to the novel were purchased by Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California
. After updating the novel and adding both a glossary and an index, in April 2009 Ulysses Press released the 33 chapter edition under the new title Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse.
The publisher's synopsis from Huntington House described the novel as "distinctly pro-Christian, pro-preparedness, pro-gun ownership, and anti-racist."
Barnes & Noble describes the book: "Part novel, part survivalist-handbook, Patriots tells of a small group of friends facing every American's worst nightmare—the total collapse of society. The stock market plummets and hyperinflation
cripples commerce and then a seemingly isolated financial crisis passes the tipping point when an unprepared government fails to act. Practically overnight, the fragile institutions of democracy fall apart and every American is forced to survive on their own. Evading mobs of desperate, out-of-control citizens who have turned Chicago into a wasteland of looting and mayhem, this novel's protagonists make their way to a shared secure ranch in the wilds of northern Idaho. Here the survival-driven group fends off vicious attacks from the outside and eventually assists in restoring order to the country. The compelling, fast-paced action-adventure novel has readers jotting notes and referencing the book's impressive index for informative survivalist tips on everything from setting up a secure shelter to treating traumatic flesh wounds."
The story starts by describing the growing financial crisis from the eyes of an accountant named Todd Gray. As hyperinflation begins and a stock market crash debilitates the country, full-scale rioting ensues across the country. Supermarkets are cleaned out in days, gas runs low, and gridlock traffic blocks the freeways. Todd and his wife Mary Gray (a nurse) live at a survivalist retreat in northern Idaho. They are joined by the other retreat group members, with the exception of their friends the Laytons, within several days. With large stockpiles of food, weapons, and ammunition, they withstand several encounters with looters and in one case, cannibals. The group is joined by Doug Carlton, an ROTC cadet, and the Porter Family.
Over a year after the collapse, Todd’s group (now called the Northwest Militia) allies with another group in the region called the Templars to provide security for their area. In a joint action, the allies wipe out a marauding biker gang that has been pillaging local towns. After this incident, the area grows safer, and soon society knits itself back together. When an official from the Provisional United States Government lands in Moscow, Idaho, the locals are horrified to learn that the new government is little more than a group of self-appointed cronies with the remnants of the military by their side, and backed by a coalition from Europe. Members of the Gray's militia rescue the Laytons, who are trapped in Utah. They are brought back to the retreat, but one of the friendly militiamen is killed in the process.
As the months go on, the Provisional Government, with the support of a massive UN-led European Peacekeeping Force conquers most of the United States. However, the “Peacekeepers” and “Government Officials” are little more than bloodthirsty tyrants, who slaughter civilians and plunder the countryside with the mandate of the Provisional Government. When the Templars have their retreat mortared by the UN army, the Northwest Militia turns into a guerilla band. The resistance movement quickly grows, and soon the UN oppressors are hard pressed to hold their gains. After months of bloody combat, UN resistance collapses across the country, and a Constitutional United States is restored, albeit in a much smaller and more efficient form.
, specifically in the Palouse Hills region, in and around Moscow, Idaho
.
among the survivalist community. With the release of the 2009 edition, the book has gained a popular following among a broader audience. Rawles himself speculates the ongoing financial crisis
accounts for the book's popularity among a wider readership traditionally not interested in survivalist themes.
Writing for The Daily Beast
, book critic Sara Nelson—in an interview with Rawles titled "The Most Dangerous Novel in America?"—described the novel as a "bestselling manifesto..." "the only thing fans... seem to squabble over is whether the story... should be called a novel or a survival guide. She quotes Rawles himself as saying "I don’t pretend it’s a literary masterpiece".
Likewise, World Net Daily reviewed an earlier printing in 2006, finding worthwhile the non-fiction information about survivalist techniques but the fiction elements "[not] exactly subtle".
Libertarian columnist Claire Wolfe
, reviewing an earlier edition, also highlighted "the survival-and-military-tactics manual that resides within this novel. The fictional scenes are, as often as not, the vehicle for introducing information about food storage, improvised weapons, emergency surgery, security systems, barter goods, radio communications, home birth and other aspects of real-life survival situations."
Reviewer Jerry Erwin, who wrote about the book in the course of another review, described Patriots as "an instruction manual, dressed as fiction, for legal purposes. This book is considered the bible of modern survivalism, and is actually used as reference material.... The character descriptions in Patriots are somewhat lacking. The reader has to tolerate some fundamentalist Christianity. Regardless, the average survivalism / preparedness-minded individual will be absolutely glued to this book for its information... It is also ominously predictive: the collapse in his novel is created by a global credit crisis, and a subsequent collapse of the US Dollar."
In early April 2009, shortly after its release, it was ranked #6 in Amazon.com's overall book sales rankings, but fell to #33 a week later. By the end of the month it had fallen to #98. The book's 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.
in October 2011. A second sequel novel, titled Founders, is scheduled for release in November, 2012.
In April 2009, Rawles announced that he had signed a contract with the Atria and Pocket Books Divisions of Simon & Schuster
to write two sequels to Patriots, and he described the project: "Unlike traditional sequels, the storylines of these novels will be contemporaneous with the economic collapse and invasion described in the first novel. There will be some overlap of characters, but most of the action will take place in different locales. My goal is to use these two books to write about a lot of different tactics, techniques, and technologies for survival." Release of the two sequels is scheduled for 2010 and 2011.
James Wesley Rawles
James Wesley, Rawles is a New York Times best-selling survivalist-fiction author, blogger, and survival retreat consultant. Rawles is a Christian conservative. He is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a blog on survival and preparedness topics...
, first distributed 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...
in 1995 and first published in paperback in 1998
1998 in literature
The year 1998 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 5 - Tennessee Williams' 1938 play, Not About Nightingales, receives its stage première....
. It was most recently updated and re-published in 2009. In one week of April 2009, shortly after its release, it was ranked #6 in Amazon.com's overall book sales rankings. This was attributed by one journal to the book's appeal to "a small but vociferous group of people concerned with survivalism".
Set in the near future amidst hyperinflation and a catastrophic global economic collapse
Economic collapse
There is no precise definition of an economic collapse. While some might consider a a severe, prolonged depression with high bankruptcy rates and high unemployment an economic collapse, others would additionally look for a breakdown in normal commerce, such as hyperinfalation, or even a sharp...
, Patriots tells the story of a group of survivalists that flee riots and chaos in metropolitan Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to a survivalist 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...
that they have prepared near Bovill, Idaho
Bovill, Idaho
Bovill is a city in Latah County, Idaho, United States. The population was 305 at the 2000 census.-History:Bovill was named for a settler.The Bovill Opera House, at 2nd and Pine, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.-Geography:...
.
Origins
The novel is based on a 19-chapter draft that Rawles wrote in 1990, and first distributed as shareware, under the title The Gray Nineties. It was later expanded to 27 chapters and retitled Triple Ought, and then 33 chapters, under the title TEOTWAWKI: The End of the World as We Know It. In 1997, the rights to the novel were purchased by Huntington House Publishers, a small ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
publishing firm in Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
. They abridged the book to 31 chapters and re-titled it Patriots; Surviving the Coming Collapse. This was the publisher's best-selling title from November 1998 to January 2005. In early 2005, Huntington House went out of business, and the copyright reverted to the author. In November 2006, responding to pent-up market demand, Rawles self-published a restored 33 chapter edition of the novel, through 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. Patriots was the best-selling title for XLibris from late 2006 to early 2009. In late 2008, the rights to the novel were purchased by Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. After updating the novel and adding both a glossary and an index, in April 2009 Ulysses Press released the 33 chapter edition under the new title Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse.
Synopses
One reviewer called the novel a "...combination military thriller and how-to survivalist guide."The publisher's synopsis from Huntington House described the novel as "distinctly pro-Christian, pro-preparedness, pro-gun ownership, and anti-racist."
Barnes & Noble describes the book: "Part novel, part survivalist-handbook, Patriots tells of a small group of friends facing every American's worst nightmare—the total collapse of society. The stock market plummets and 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...
cripples commerce and then a seemingly isolated financial crisis passes the tipping point when an unprepared government fails to act. Practically overnight, the fragile institutions of democracy fall apart and every American is forced to survive on their own. Evading mobs of desperate, out-of-control citizens who have turned Chicago into a wasteland of looting and mayhem, this novel's protagonists make their way to a shared secure ranch in the wilds of northern Idaho. Here the survival-driven group fends off vicious attacks from the outside and eventually assists in restoring order to the country. The compelling, fast-paced action-adventure novel has readers jotting notes and referencing the book's impressive index for informative survivalist tips on everything from setting up a secure shelter to treating traumatic flesh wounds."
The story starts by describing the growing financial crisis from the eyes of an accountant named Todd Gray. As hyperinflation begins and a stock market crash debilitates the country, full-scale rioting ensues across the country. Supermarkets are cleaned out in days, gas runs low, and gridlock traffic blocks the freeways. Todd and his wife Mary Gray (a nurse) live at a survivalist retreat in northern Idaho. They are joined by the other retreat group members, with the exception of their friends the Laytons, within several days. With large stockpiles of food, weapons, and ammunition, they withstand several encounters with looters and in one case, cannibals. The group is joined by Doug Carlton, an ROTC cadet, and the Porter Family.
Over a year after the collapse, Todd’s group (now called the Northwest Militia) allies with another group in the region called the Templars to provide security for their area. In a joint action, the allies wipe out a marauding biker gang that has been pillaging local towns. After this incident, the area grows safer, and soon society knits itself back together. When an official from the Provisional United States Government lands in Moscow, Idaho, the locals are horrified to learn that the new government is little more than a group of self-appointed cronies with the remnants of the military by their side, and backed by a coalition from Europe. Members of the Gray's militia rescue the Laytons, who are trapped in Utah. They are brought back to the retreat, but one of the friendly militiamen is killed in the process.
As the months go on, the Provisional Government, with the support of a massive UN-led European Peacekeeping Force conquers most of the United States. However, the “Peacekeepers” and “Government Officials” are little more than bloodthirsty tyrants, who slaughter civilians and plunder the countryside with the mandate of the Provisional Government. When the Templars have their retreat mortared by the UN army, the Northwest Militia turns into a guerilla band. The resistance movement quickly grows, and soon the UN oppressors are hard pressed to hold their gains. After months of bloody combat, UN resistance collapses across the country, and a Constitutional United States is restored, albeit in a much smaller and more efficient form.
Setting
Much of the novel takes place in the Intermountain westIntermountain West
The Intermountain West is a region of North America lying between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada to the west. It is also called the Intermountain Region.- Topography :...
, specifically in the Palouse Hills region, in and around Moscow, Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
Moscow is a city in northern Idaho, situated along the Washington/Idaho border. It is the most populous city and county seat of Latah County and the home of the University of Idaho, the land grant institution and primary research university for the state...
.
Reception and Criticism
From its first inception, the book gained a cult followingCult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
among the survivalist community. With the release of the 2009 edition, the book has gained a popular following among a broader audience. Rawles himself speculates the ongoing financial crisis
Financial crisis
The term financial crisis is applied broadly to a variety of situations in which some financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and many recessions coincided with these...
accounts for the book's popularity among a wider readership traditionally not interested in survivalist themes.
Writing for The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
, book critic Sara Nelson—in an interview with Rawles titled "The Most Dangerous Novel in America?"—described the novel as a "bestselling manifesto..." "the only thing fans... seem to squabble over is whether the story... should be called a novel or a survival guide. She quotes Rawles himself as saying "I don’t pretend it’s a literary masterpiece".
Likewise, World Net Daily reviewed an earlier printing in 2006, finding worthwhile the non-fiction information about survivalist techniques but the fiction elements "
Libertarian columnist Claire Wolfe
Claire Wolfe
Claire Wolfe is a libertarian author and columnist. Some of Wolfe's favored topics are gulching or homesteading, firearms, homeschooling, open source technology, and opposition to national ID and the surveillance state or nanny state....
, reviewing an earlier edition, also highlighted "the survival-and-military-tactics manual that resides within this novel. The fictional scenes are, as often as not, the vehicle for introducing information about food storage, improvised weapons, emergency surgery, security systems, barter goods, radio communications, home birth and other aspects of real-life survival situations."
Reviewer Jerry Erwin, who wrote about the book in the course of another review, described Patriots as "an instruction manual, dressed as fiction, for legal purposes. This book is considered the bible of modern survivalism, and is actually used as reference material.... The character descriptions in Patriots are somewhat lacking. The reader has to tolerate some fundamentalist Christianity. Regardless, the average survivalism / preparedness-minded individual will be absolutely glued to this book for its information... It is also ominously predictive: the collapse in his novel is created by a global credit crisis, and a subsequent collapse of the US Dollar."
In early April 2009, shortly after its release, it was ranked #6 in Amazon.com's overall book sales rankings, but fell to #33 a week later. By the end of the month it had fallen to #98. The book's 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.
Sequels
Patriots was followed by the New York Times bestseller 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....
in October 2011. A second sequel novel, titled Founders, is scheduled for release in November, 2012.
In April 2009, Rawles announced that he had signed a contract with the Atria and Pocket Books Divisions of Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
to write two sequels to Patriots, and he described the project: "Unlike traditional sequels, the storylines of these novels will be contemporaneous with the economic collapse and invasion described in the first novel. There will be some overlap of characters, but most of the action will take place in different locales. My goal is to use these two books to write about a lot of different tactics, techniques, and technologies for survival." Release of the two sequels is scheduled for 2010 and 2011.
Printing and distribution history
- The Gray Nineties (19 chapter draft). Distributed as shareware from 1995 to 1997, with 17,000 downloads.
- Triple Ought (27 chapter draft). Distributed as shareware from 1997 to 1998, with 82,000 downloads logged from the main site and 11 mirror sites in North America and Europe.
- TEOTWAWKI: The End of the World as We Know It. 33 chapters with six appendices, self-published edition, The Clearwater Press, Kooskia, Idaho, Velo-bound, 1997-1998. Only 1,600 copies sold.
- Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse. 31 chapters, 342 pages, abridged edition from Huntington House/Vital Issues Press. ISBN 9781563841552. It was in print from November 1998 to January 2005. Nine printings, with 37,500 copies sold.
- Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse. 33 chapters, 384 pages from XLibrisXlibrisXlibris 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 :...
. ISBN 9781425734077. It was in print from November 2006 to February 2009, with 26,220 copies sold.
- Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse. 33 chapters, 400 pages, updated edition with glossary and index, from Ulysses Press, Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. ISBN 9781569755990 (Kindle ASIN: B00292B7WW). April 2009. First Printing (March 2009): 10,000 copies. Second printing (April, 2009): 10,000 copies. Third printing (April, 2009): 20,000 copies. It late April, 2009, it was reported that the book had three printings totaling 40,000 copies in its first month. Fourth printing, September 2009, 12,000 copies.
- Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse—Unabridged Audiobook was released on December 31, 2009. ISBN 978-1441830517. This audiobook, from Brilliance Audiobooks was narrated by Dick HillDick 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:*...
. It is available on CD, CD-ROMCD-ROMA CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format), and via download at Apple iTunes.