"Patriots" by J.W. Rawles

I know I'm gonna regret this.....
But,..... what the heck!

Lately most preppers and survivalists I have spoken to, or had emails from, always refer to this ( J.W. Rawles) book...

I had one man go as far as to look up things in the index and read it to me, on a long distance call nonetheless.
Can ANYONE explain why that is?

I mean seriously now, is this guy a guru of incessant amounts of superior knowledge or what?
Not that I'm knocking him personally.....especially with a terminally ill wife and all......

But, there comes a time to deal wtih reality, and all I'm getting is rhetoric from a novel of a "fictional bunch of characters and scenarios".....!
I have observed that far too many people are so totally and completely absolved/involved/absorbed (pick any one!) into this novel, that they take the book as the holy grail or worse, a Bible of some type.

Some of the advice given to me, was the most ludicrous things I have ever heard in my life....
Read directly to me from Mr. Rawles imaginary scenario's in his novel.
Why is this?
Have people gotten so wrapped up into "what-if", that they no longer see any light at all?

Take for instance the part that refers to the digging into a mountain below the skyline so as not to be silhoutted....(ok, so far so good...) BUT, it seems they went as far as to make this a trench/ditch along the side of a mountain as deep as shoulder height, and it had separate rooms?
Maybe, since I did NOT read it, this was a misquote?

Now, I have a couple, actually 3 mountains, near my property....Now I'd love to see anyone come up there and dig into those puppies!
Soild rock you do not dig into with a shovel.
Maybe a rock drill and several nice dynamite charges!

And then there was a part where some woman up there was shooting at someone (intruders?) and had run out of FMJ ammo, then found a can of tracers?
She then proceeded to shoot at those targets with all tracer rounds....
Hmmmmmm....

Well, it is fiction after all!
I find it most interesting that the visitors to the site do most of the writing and collect shortcuts to articles they send in to be "published" there. There is also an individual there that does a lot of the site work as well for Rawles.
Then there's the site itself....(not the ad's mind you!).
Not that HE is selling anything directly to anyone, but rather 'auctioning' them off......
Like as he refers to as "JASBORR".
Now I'd like to see his storage, after all, how long can 1 person "donate" several magazines, over long periods of time, before they either run out, or they have a warehouse full of them?

5 will get ya 10, this guy has a storefront somewhere!
Or, he is a complete lunatic and has stored magazines for numerous weapons and calibers since the 1950's!
Something does NOT ring true there!

Sure he has a couple books he is selling, and some "course" to keep you and your's alive and well.
See the price on that item alone?
Let's be honest for a moment, ( or maybe just put up with my incessant ramblings!???), J.W. Rawles is out to make money, and no one can fault him for that....not even me for that matter.
BUT, either I have lost all of my senses, or this guy is not unlike so many others out there, taking advantage of the: "fear factor" .
Not that his site is predatory mind you, but I just get this "queasy" feeling, like the day you go to buy your first car, and the "slick" car salesman comes up and is all teeth!???
Maybe it's just me.....
or, just maybe it's not!

I have decided I won't be buying the books nor the "course" from there or him. Seems I have already had most of it read to me by now anyway!

(ramblings turned off now!)

 

Yeah. Point taken. I have read the book and it is a well written novel. But the book like the site he runs is, to me, only possible if you have somewhat unlimited funds and have been working on it for a long time and also have a large group of people that you trust. Like everything it sounds great on paper and would be the best but in a real world the average person would not be abe to do all that is said and written. But at least it will put some good starting points and thoughts for the common person.

 

I bought and read the book. It is a good NOVEL. I read the online "Lights out" right before i bought and read this, and honestly i liked lights out better. That being said, they are completely different works, and both have interesting things that one can use to apply to their possible survival setups. Patriots was a well written and entertaining novel. I wished he'd of gone a bit more into the two brothers story though... and those of you who have read it may know what i mean by that. Im trying to not give too much away so that's all i'll say about it. The only complaint i may really have is it was a bit deep in the bible beating but thats just me, and theres not necessarily anything wrong with that.

I think everyone who reads it for what it is, will enjoy it.

 

So.....this is a book review of a book you.... didn't read?
Hmmm, I see.
I just read his "How to Survive TEOTWAWKI" and while it did not cover home canning and breeding of livestock in detail it did provide some very thought provoking issues that I had not considered. After all he lives what he preaches, yes he has been at this sometime, he is no noobie. I was considering reading his work of fiction "Patriots" as well.

 

I now have a copy of Rawles' book, but no time to read the thing...
It was given to me by a "friend" so to speak, so I can be enlightened.
Trouble is, I am living the life as I write this, and I'm wondering how anyone has time to read, much less write a book, when there is so many things yet to be done...
Not enough time in the day or enough money to get what I need to have!
Maybe I'll get a night off!???
Bill

 

Good, I hope you get a chance to read it. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say on it. As your perspective is as not another zealot but rather as a cynic. I have little free time myself and have no time to waste on books that do not deserve my attention.

 

Well, it's getting interesting...to say the very least!
Or So, I was told today....My "caretaker" has chosen to partake of the reading chores for me.....He has the time to spare!
He was trying to relay that there was some strange things, (re: an LP/OP) which happens in the beginning and then again relates to the same later on....but in a different scenario...which was about the mountain and the woman shooting from that position.
Now, here's the "weird" part:
It seems that there are conflicting readers interpretations of the same book!
I was told that the person shooting from the mountain was using a .30 caliber rifle, (don't recall which) but the 1st reader insisted that it was either an M-1 Garand, or an Enfield ( ? ) That very person now has a .303 Enfield as their personal survival rifle due and owing to this novel!
The 2nd report was that the weapon was either an M-15, or a Car-15....in .223 caliber (?)
So, I have NO idea of what is really written, or taking place, until I actually take the time and read it for myself!
I wonder how many variants there are, and if the results are the same from reader to reader, depending on their independent interpretation's of the novel?
As I said, it's Interesting so far, and I have yet to even see the book!

 

I have Rawles Book, "Lights Out" online, "EMP" and I am even reading John Ringo's "The Last Centurion " right now.

Ringo's book is actrually a little bit scary.

I am a prepper. Like most preppers, I have no idea what is coming, I just have this really bad feeling. Can't put my finger on it, I just know, based on life experience, that there may be something really bad coming at me.

I started a very long time ago. At first, and for a number of years, I thought just getting to a more remote area was enough. Now I am not so sure and i am conciously thinking about every purchase and making lists of what else I need to do.

Reading fictional accounts of "what if" are pretty helpful because they always make me think, "what if" and especially about those things that haven't occurred to me before.

I liked Rawles book. It was a great plot, had ideas that I could use and entertained me enough to distract me from thinking about what is really going on around me.

1. The economy is collapsing
2. It is now believe that as many as one in six Americans is unemployed
3. Swine flu has killed 4,000+ Americans and flu season has not started
4. There are huge problems with vaccine distribution (read Ringo's book about that)
5. The Constitution is at risk
6. Our government is on the verge of requiring American citizens to buy a product (health insurance) in order to remain Americans
7. Immigration is out of control
8. One Billion Muslims have decided that infidels are the enemy and must be exterminated for the glory of Allah.

Rawles book and all the others make a contribution by making the reader think. Finding fault with portions or ideas proves the point. The author made you think about.... what if?

 

That is unfortunately the "fly in the ointment" or as was coined in a movie by Bruce Willis: " the monkey in the wrench"!
At my age fear is no longer an option, but it exists, not for me, but for those I care about....
I've had a feeling of impending "doom" as it were, for quite awhile...more so lately!
I have read a great deal online when I had the time to do so, but I have to admit, most were not so lovely, no happy endings....Reality!
Such is life.....no one gets out alive! ( Still waiting for Houdini's return!)
My greatest hope and fear is: that I can live long enough to get those I can convince, to prepare for whatever may come, as best as can be done....But, in reality I am a realist and know I can't be there 24/7 and there is no way I can impart all that they should know in time ....osmosis just won't work.
It comes down to dealing with one's own mortality....I know I won't be around forever, and I have a limited time to do what I feel needs to be accomplished...
What is the worst of all, the worry that I cannot teach all I know to all that need to know it, in time.
It's come down to that.