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Revision as of 20:02, 14 November 2012

James Wesley Rawles
Born1960
Livermore, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationBachelor of Arts, San Jose State University
Occupation(s)Novelist, nonfiction author and blogger
MovementAmerican Redoubt (originator)
Websitehttp://www.survivalblog.com

James Wesley, Rawles (born 1960) is an American author, best known for his survivalist genre Patriots novel series, which have become New York Times best-sellers. Rawles is a former U.S. Army officer and is also a blogger, and survival retreat consultant.[1][2][3] A conservative Christian,[4] Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a blog on survival and preparedness topics.[3] Rawles is the author of the survivalist novels Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse[5], Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse, and Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse, as well as the international bestseller nonfiction book [6] How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times.

Early life and military career

Rawles was born in Livermore, California in 1960 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University. He was a United States Army Military Intelligence officer, serving from 1984 to 1993.[7] He resigned his commission as a U.S. Army Captain, immediately after Bill Clinton became President of the United States.[7] 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[8] and concurrently was Managing Editor of The International Countermeasures Handbook.[9] He worked as a technical writer through most of the 1990s with a variety of electronics and software companies[7] including Oracle Corporation.[10] In 2005 he began full-time blogging.[3] On his book covers and in his blog, he presents his name with a comma, as James Wesley, Rawles.[11]

He is now a freelance writer, blogger and retreat consultant.[12][13] He has been called a "survival guru"[4] and the "conscience of survivalism."[14] Rawles is best known as the author of the survivalist novel Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse.[15]

Blog presence and consulting

Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a popular blog on survival and preparedness topics.[16] The blog has been described as "the guiding light of the prepper movement."[17] According to a Los Angeles Times article from February, 2012, SurvivalBlog receives 300,000 unique visitors per week.[18] The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threats toward society.[19] In his various writings, Rawles has warned about socio-economic collapse,[20][21] terrorist attacks,[22] and food shortages. As a consultant, Rawles advises his clients primarily via telephone on emergency preparedness[3], at the rate of $100 per hour."[23]

Books

James Rawles has written four popular books that are sold by mainstream booksellers--three novels, and one nonfiction survival manual.

File:PatriotsFrontCover36dpi.jpg
Cover of Patriots.

Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse

Main article: Patriots Novels Series

His first book was a work of speculative fiction 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[24] 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[25] and index.[26]

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.[5] By the end of the month it had fallen to number 98.[27] 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.[5]

Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse

Survivors: A Novel of 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 4 October 2011. It rose to #2 in Amazon's overall book sales ranks, the same day. On 23 October 2011, it was listed at #3 in the New York Times best-selliers list in the fiction hardback category.[2] Less than a month after publication, the novel had gone through four printings and had 52,500 copies in print.[28]

Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse

Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse is a contemporaneous sequel novel that parallels the events that occurred in Patriots and Survivors. It was released on September 25, 2012. The book peaked at #4 in Amazon's overall book sales ranks, on its release day. The book premiered on the New York Times Bestsellers list at #11, but dropped to #27 a week later.[29]

How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times

Cover of How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It

Rawles authored the international bestseller[6] 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 blog on preparedness topics. The book was called "The preppers' Bible", by a Reuters journalist.[17] 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.[30][31]

The book received a mixed review from the New York Journal of Books that summarized: "For a neutral assessment of the huge efforts put in by the author, the book has its own strengths and weaknesses; however, the former outweigh the latter by a huge margin. One of its crystal clear strengths is the author’s obsession with precision and a clinical eye for relevant details."[32] It received a favorable book review on the weblog of Orville R. Weyrich Jr.[33] 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."[30] 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.[31]

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."[34] When interviewed by syndicated radio talk show host Laura Ingraham about the book on 5 October 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."[35]

How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It has 14 chapters and three appendices, 336 pages, ISBN 978-0-452-29583-4. 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. [36] As of April, 2012, there were 12 foreign publishing contracts in place to produce editions in 11 languages, and the book was still in Amazon.com's Top 250 titles, overall. [37]

FAQs

Starting in the early 1990s, he also authored or co-authored 17 Internet frequently asked questions (FAQ) reference pages, primarily on firearms topics, such as one on antique guns that is often cited.[38]

Philosophical, political and economic views

Rawles is an outspoken proponent of family preparedness, especially regarding food storage[39] and advocates relocating to lightly populated rural "retreat" 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.[40] In an interview in The New York Times, Rawles referred to himself as a "guns and groceries" survivalist.[41]

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,"[42]

Rawles is outspokenly opposed to racism.[43][44]

The Survivalist movement

A central premise of the growing survivalist movement, of which Rawles is a leading spokesman,[45] 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 fringe" 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".[46] 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."[3]

American Redoubt movement

In March, 2011, Rawles formulated the American Redoubt strategic relocation movement. This plan designates five western states (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington) as a safe haven for conservative Christians and Jews.[47] The concept was endorsed by former Presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin, who had recently relocated his entire extended family to western Montana.[48] It also soon inspired the launch of a weekly podcast by Christian Libertarian journalist John Jacob Schmidt, called Radio Free Redoubt.[49]

Secret ranch location

An article published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2008 asserted that Rawles lived in California, but later in that article, Rawles noted that the location of his ranch in the United States 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."[50] The German FAZ newspaper asserts that the ranch is in northern Idaho.[51] Others have claimed that the "undisclosed location" of the ranch is in Nevada, Utah, Wyoming or even in Central America.[1] 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."[52] 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."[53] 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."[54] His U.S. mail address is a post office box in Newcastle, Wyoming, but his main web site server is in Sweden. [55]

Bibliography

  • Rawles on Retreats and Relocation, Print on demand from CafePress, No ISBN (January 2007)
  • SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog, Volume 1, Print on demand from CafePress, No ISBN (February 2007)
  • Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse, Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California, ISBN 978-1-56975-599-0 (April 2009), ISBN 978-1-56384-155-2 (November 1998), ISBN 978-1-4257-3407-7 (December 2006),
  • Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse, Atria Books, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-1-4391-7280-3, (October, 2011)
  • Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse, Atria Books, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-1-4391-7282-7, (September, 2012)
  • How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It, Plume, New York, ISBN 978-0-452-29583-4, (September 2009)

References

  1. ^ a b Sara Nelson (15 April 2009). "The Most Dangerous Novel in America?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b Schuessler, Jennifer. "Print & E-Books". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b c d e Gillian Flaccus (26 May 2009). "Fears spark new set of survivalists". Spokesman.com. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  4. ^ a b Kari Huus (21 October 2008). "In hard times, some flirt with survivalism". MSNBC. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  5. ^ a b c "Survivalist Novel Patriots Rates High in Amazon, Not Libraries". Library Journal. 14 April 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  6. ^ a b Posted by Totalinvestor (21 December 2010). "TOTALINVESTOR: How to Survive the Collapse of America". Totalinvestor.blogspot.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  7. ^ a b c A webpage hosted on Rawles's personal website, for a Military Intelligence Officer's Basic Course, Class 85-6 "Virtual Reunion"
  8. ^ Defense Electronics magazine masthead (p. 7) - James W. Rawles, Associate Editor, EW Communications, Palo Alto, CA, August, 1987 (Vol. 19, No. 8) to November, 1988 (Vol. 20, No. 12);Defense Electronics magazine masthead (p. 7) - James W. Rawles, Associate Editor, Cardiff Publishing, Englewood, CO. December, 1988 (Vol. 20, No. 13) to September 1990 (Vol. 22, No. 9); Defense Electronics magazine masthead (p. 7) - James W. Rawles, Regional Editor (Western U.S.) Cardiff Publishing, Englewood, CO. October 1990 (Vol. 22, No. 10) to April 1991 (Vol. 23, No. 4); James W. Rawles, Associate Editor, EW Communications, Palo Alto, CA, January/February 1988 (Vol. 1 No. 1) to May/June 1988 (Vol. 1, No. 3)
  9. ^ The International Countermeasures Handbook (14th Edition, 1989). masthead (p. 388) James W. Rawles, Managing Editor
  10. ^ Oracle Corp. Pro*COBOL Precompiler Programmer's Guide - Masthead Page
  11. ^ Sara Nelson (15 April 2009). "The Most Dangerous Novel in America?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  12. ^ Richard Cockle (5 September 2009). "The new survivalists: Oregon 'preppers' stockpile guns and food in fear of calamity". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  13. ^ "AFP: Thought things were bad? US survivalists await worse". Google.com. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  14. ^ http://www.buffalonews.com/spotlight/article830941.ece
  15. ^ "Amerikanischer Bestseller: "Patriots": Wie das Ende unserer Welt zu überleben ist - Rezensionen". FAZ. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  16. ^ SurvivalBlog.com on Technorati
  17. ^ a b Forsyth, Jim (21 January 2012). "Subculture of Americans prepares for civilization's collapse". Reuters. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  18. ^ Murphy, Kim. "The American Redoubt, where survivalists plan to survive". latimes.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  19. ^ Cohen, Adam (5 March 2009). "Out of Work? Read a Recession Blog. Or, Better Yet, Write One". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  20. ^ Survivalists get ready for meltdown - CNN.com
  21. ^ David, Von Drehle (17 May 2010). "Gold Fated". Time Magazine.
  22. ^ "High Technology Terrorism." Defense Electronics magazine, January 1990, p.74.
  23. ^ http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20090525/NEWS/905259979
  24. ^ On-line Underground. The Spokesman-Review (Spokane). 3 December 1995, page H7
  25. ^ Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse, Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California, 2009, pp. 388–393
  26. ^ Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse, Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California, 2009, pp. 394–399
  27. ^ Amazon.com bestsellers list, archive for 27 April 2009
  28. ^ "Note from JWR". SurvivalBlog.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  29. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/books/review/inside-the-list.html?
  30. ^ a b The Futurist March–April 2010 Books in Brief, pp. 60-61
  31. ^ a b "Are You Ready for the End of the World? theTrumpet.com by the Philadelphia Church of God". Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  32. ^ http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/review/how-survive-end-world-we-know-it-tactics-techniques-and-technologies-uncertain-times
  33. ^ Orville R. Weyrich, Jr. weblog book review The End of the World as We Know It
  34. ^ The G. Gordon Liddy Show archived audio stream
  35. ^ The Laura Ingraham Show Archives
  36. ^ "Odds 'n Sods". SurvivalBlog.com. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  37. ^ http://survivalblog.com/2012/04/notes-from-jwr-463.html
  38. ^ SurvivalBlog.com FAQs page
  39. ^ Josh Gerstein (21 April 2008). "Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World". Nysun.com. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  40. ^ How to Survive The End of the World as We Know It, Plume (Division of Penguin Books), New York, 2009, p. 11-17.
  41. ^ Cohen, Adam (5 March 2009). "Editorial Observer - Out of Work? Read a Recession Blog. Or, Better Yet, Write One. - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  42. ^ "Right to Protest ... With a Gun?". FOXBusiness.com. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  43. ^ "What Survivalists Have Right - Columns - theTrumpet.com by the Philadelphia Church of God". Thetrumpet.com. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  44. ^ "Lest Any Man Should Boast: A Christian Survivalist Perspective on Race, Religion, and Reason". SurvivalBlog.com. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  45. ^ Williams, Alex (6 April 2008). "Duck and Cover: It's the New Survivalism". The New York Times.
  46. ^ "Survivalists get ready for meltdown - CNN.com". 2 May 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2010. Of course, none of this kind of talk is that new. The nature of the threat may have changed but groups of various descriptions have been predicting a breakdown of society since biblical times -- and very occasionally they've been right.
  47. ^ "SurvivalBlog.com". SurvivalBlog.com. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  48. ^ "Chuck Baldwin - The American Redoubt". Newswithviews.com. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  49. ^ J.J.S. (5 February 2012). "Radio Free Redoubt". Radiofreeredoubt.blogspot.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  50. ^ business editor Peter Ryan (28 April 2008). "Global food crisis sparks US survivalist resurgence - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 10 February 2012. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  51. ^ "Amerikanischer Bestseller: "Patriots": Wie das Ende unserer Welt zu überleben ist - Autoren". FAZ. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  52. ^ "Survivalists get ready for meltdown". 2 May 2008.
  53. ^ Sara Nelson (15 April 2009). "The Most Dangerous Novel in America?". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  54. ^ "Thought things were bad? US survivalists await worse - AFP News". Zimbio. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  55. ^ http://www.survivalblog.com/contact.html

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