How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It

How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times is a survivalist non-fiction book written by James Wesley Rawles. At its release on September 30, 2009, it was ranked #4 in Amazon.com's overall book sales rankings.
Origins
The book is drawn primarily on posts from SurvivalBlog.com, a popular blog on preparedness topics, that is edited by Rawles. SurvivalBlog has about 137,000 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 the Year 2000 problem (Y2K), socio-economic collapse, high technology terrorist attacks, and food shortages.
Reception
There was a review of the book published in the March-April 2010 issue of The Futurist magazine, under the headline: "Alarmingly Practical Advice For Doomsday." The Futurist editors noted that in his book Rawles: "...spells out all the hazards that we might face in a post-disaster society: looting, armed violence, food shortages, etc. Then he lays out steps we can take now, such as taking survival-training courses, designing shelters, and stocking them with necessary supplies. He even offers a chapter on disaster-proof financial security: savvy investments to make now, earning income in the midst of a major recession, and bartering in the wake of a true disaster. If all of these musings sound alarmist, he explains, consider that the world today is increasingly dangerous and fraught with uncertainty — worldwide terrorist movements since the early 1990s and the 2008 meltdown of markets across the globe are proof." 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."
Printing and distribution history
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. As of February, 2010, more than 70,000 copies were in print.
An unabridged audiobook edition of How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It ISBN 978-1441830593 is also available, produced by Brilliance Audiobooks. It was narrated by Dick Hill.

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