Kathy Harrison presents a compelling look at why we are more at risk from systemic failures in the power, food, transportation and communication networks than ever before and offers ways for families to prepare to meet those challenges. This isn't a "survivalists" manual. It won't tell you how to live in a fortified bunker so you can be ready for the apocalypse. But it will tell you how to assess your family's exposure to risk, prioritize your planning and prepare for disasters of different degrees and duration. There's a lot of good information here, more than can be easily absorbed in one reading.

The e-pub version leaves much to be desired, however. When the book is in plain text, it manages to be very legible, but the chapters with recipes are poorly formatted, with measurements failing to be properly converted. You're left wondering if "v cups" is a quarter cup, half cup, three quarter cup, or something else; not the best way to read a recipe. In addition, what are presented as sidebars or notes in the print book are dropped haphazardly into the text in the e-pub version, suddenly breaking into the middle of a sentence with an unrelated paragraph, leaving the reader wondering what the hell just happened. It's a pity the publisher couldn't have taken a bit of extra time to properly prepare the text for the electronic version.