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Citizen Survivor #2
Citizen Survivor's Handbook
Includes a foreword by best-selling author Cody Lundin.
The prepper's guide with a difference
During the 1940’s Britain suffered a national catastrophe that would become known as ‘The Great Tribulation’ by its survivors. The remnant of His Majesty’s Government formed a department known as The Ministry of Survivors, the mandate of this office being to help, guide and inform the public through the anarchy around them. During the early years they produced and issued a handbook known as ‘The Citizen Survivor’s Guidebook’.
However, as the situation became more desperate, the guidance within this book quickly became redundant. The Ministry deemed that the only remaining course of action was to produce a second edition; informing people to evacuate the chaos of the towns and cities and flee to the countryside, focusing on wilderness survival and how to be self-sufficient on the move.
This is a surviving copy of that handbook.
The prepper's guide with a difference
During the 1940’s Britain suffered a national catastrophe that would become known as ‘The Great Tribulation’ by its survivors. The remnant of His Majesty’s Government formed a department known as The Ministry of Survivors, the mandate of this office being to help, guide and inform the public through the anarchy around them. During the early years they produced and issued a handbook known as ‘The Citizen Survivor’s Guidebook’.
However, as the situation became more desperate, the guidance within this book quickly became redundant. The Ministry deemed that the only remaining course of action was to produce a second edition; informing people to evacuate the chaos of the towns and cities and flee to the countryside, focusing on wilderness survival and how to be self-sufficient on the move.
This is a surviving copy of that handbook.
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 27, 2015
21 people are currently reading
793 people want to read
About the author
Richard Denham
36 books103 followersRichard is the co-author of the popular 'Britannia' series with M. J. Trow. These books follow a group of soldiers and their descendants through the madness of a chain of events which will eventually lead to the fall of Roman Britain and the descent into the Dark Ages. His other works include 'Arthur: Shadow of a God', exploring the obscure Celtic origins of King Arthur.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 24, 2017
After the original Great Tribulation in the 1940s, the remnant of His Majesty’s Government formed a department known as The Ministry of Survivors who were charged with helping and guiding the public through the chaos they found themselves in. Their original ‘The Citizen Survivor’s Guidebook’ has been updated now, as we find ourselves amidst struggles and must flee towns and learn how to fend for ourselves.
Just like the survival manuals produced to see the British through World War One & Two, the Citizen’s Survivor Handbook is a tongue in cheek guide for life in troubled times. And we are in them. The fact of the matter is that ‘the Calvary aren’t coming and no-one is going to rescue you.’ So rather than panic, what do we do?
Much makes you smile with familiarity, including the first set of commandments:
Don’t trade in sterling, it’s only good for fire fodder.
Don’t believe other people’s accounts of Britain’s current situation. They have deluded themselves with false ideas based on misinformation and propaganda.
Do avoid talking about the old days or deluding yourself things will go back to normal.
Brexit anyone?
And in fact some of the practical tips on how to bug out and battle on are still very relevant. Getting through rough times involves knowing how to keep warm when camping out at night (useful for Glastonbury), what you need to pack for emergencies (that will help me declutter my handbag) and who to avoid (great for ducking water cooler conversations).
The latter could raise some eyebrows and feels a bit out of date in a theoretically more liberal society, as it includes women (‘female company, though appealing, will likely result in having to deal with hysteria, venereal disease and unwanted pregnancy’), townies (‘bully denizens’) and the Church of the Remnant (‘dunce cap-clad wrong-uns’.) But it’s all written with enough imagination and irony for the reader to keep things amusing rather than offensive.
The sagest piece of advice almost feels meditative. ‘Your end goal is your own Shangra-La’ they write. Yes, and sometimes smiles are needed to get there.
A good book for a present or light afternoon read.
Reviewed by Francesca on www.whisperingstories.com
Just like the survival manuals produced to see the British through World War One & Two, the Citizen’s Survivor Handbook is a tongue in cheek guide for life in troubled times. And we are in them. The fact of the matter is that ‘the Calvary aren’t coming and no-one is going to rescue you.’ So rather than panic, what do we do?
Much makes you smile with familiarity, including the first set of commandments:
Don’t trade in sterling, it’s only good for fire fodder.
Don’t believe other people’s accounts of Britain’s current situation. They have deluded themselves with false ideas based on misinformation and propaganda.
Do avoid talking about the old days or deluding yourself things will go back to normal.
Brexit anyone?
And in fact some of the practical tips on how to bug out and battle on are still very relevant. Getting through rough times involves knowing how to keep warm when camping out at night (useful for Glastonbury), what you need to pack for emergencies (that will help me declutter my handbag) and who to avoid (great for ducking water cooler conversations).
The latter could raise some eyebrows and feels a bit out of date in a theoretically more liberal society, as it includes women (‘female company, though appealing, will likely result in having to deal with hysteria, venereal disease and unwanted pregnancy’), townies (‘bully denizens’) and the Church of the Remnant (‘dunce cap-clad wrong-uns’.) But it’s all written with enough imagination and irony for the reader to keep things amusing rather than offensive.
The sagest piece of advice almost feels meditative. ‘Your end goal is your own Shangra-La’ they write. Yes, and sometimes smiles are needed to get there.
A good book for a present or light afternoon read.
Reviewed by Francesca on www.whisperingstories.com
December 16, 2018
Interesting, well written, and relevant. Learning while being entertained. Read it.
October 23, 2022
I thought it was going to be funny. It wasn't. The "surival advice" part is worthless.
April 6, 2016
The description sounded interesting and since I found it for free on Kindle Unlimited I decided to read it. After the first few pages my gut told me this is a waste of time, but I wanted to be fair in my assessment so I persevered.
The best I can say about this book is that it is relatively short. It combines a mock documentary style with a political satire packaged in an alternate history and told in an upbeat satirical tone. Sounds interesting, right? The problem is that it does not fit together. The satire is not funny enough to offset the unsettling political aftertaste of the one-dimensional political criticism allied to the abbreviated preppers guide.
The idea of telling the story from the limited perspective of a population deprived of information and looking for answers is another opportunity this book sadly fails to exercise properly. The book, dressed as an official document titillates the reader with a hidden truth, yet not only fails to deliver, but also lacks any kind of psychological tension one would expect from someone exposed to the hostile world without a way to make sense of it like in Kafka's novels and short stories.
At first I thought I had overlooked something or the concept becomes better realized by reading the rest of the series. And since I found another two titles for free I went on with masochistic perseverance. However, the additional titles confuse the issue even further. What has happened? An apocalyptic event, a zombie plague, a scenario like in Fatherland or a putsch? Maybe all together? Is it confined to the UK or a worldwide event? And why, if something of such a serious nature happened, do the people in the books have nothing better to do than to publish such inane comments?
What makes me sad is that the creators of this world have obiously put very much time and energy in it, taking care of minute details in their descriptions and lovingly describing an entire host of interesting characters with which they people their fictional world. I only wished they had put as much time and thought into creating a coherent narrative connecting everything together.
The best I can say about this book is that it is relatively short. It combines a mock documentary style with a political satire packaged in an alternate history and told in an upbeat satirical tone. Sounds interesting, right? The problem is that it does not fit together. The satire is not funny enough to offset the unsettling political aftertaste of the one-dimensional political criticism allied to the abbreviated preppers guide.
The idea of telling the story from the limited perspective of a population deprived of information and looking for answers is another opportunity this book sadly fails to exercise properly. The book, dressed as an official document titillates the reader with a hidden truth, yet not only fails to deliver, but also lacks any kind of psychological tension one would expect from someone exposed to the hostile world without a way to make sense of it like in Kafka's novels and short stories.
At first I thought I had overlooked something or the concept becomes better realized by reading the rest of the series. And since I found another two titles for free I went on with masochistic perseverance. However, the additional titles confuse the issue even further. What has happened? An apocalyptic event, a zombie plague, a scenario like in Fatherland or a putsch? Maybe all together? Is it confined to the UK or a worldwide event? And why, if something of such a serious nature happened, do the people in the books have nothing better to do than to publish such inane comments?
What makes me sad is that the creators of this world have obiously put very much time and energy in it, taking care of minute details in their descriptions and lovingly describing an entire host of interesting characters with which they people their fictional world. I only wished they had put as much time and thought into creating a coherent narrative connecting everything together.
December 2, 2019
Another clever book
I really like this author. His style if writing and humour make everything I've read an enjoyable experience.
This is a book that leaves me questioning "is it all true?" The scenarios seem far fetched but I k ow these types if things did occur during the war years so if its all made up then kudos for the creativity else its just mind boggling what war time Britain's can come up with.
Great book, we'll with the read. Would have liked it to be a bit longer if I'm honest.
I really like this author. His style if writing and humour make everything I've read an enjoyable experience.
This is a book that leaves me questioning "is it all true?" The scenarios seem far fetched but I k ow these types if things did occur during the war years so if its all made up then kudos for the creativity else its just mind boggling what war time Britain's can come up with.
Great book, we'll with the read. Would have liked it to be a bit longer if I'm honest.
April 10, 2019
I am unsure of this book. There is lots of good information, but I can't tell if it is supposed to be a farce, or if something like this was actually put out during WWII. There is enough strange things in it to make me say "No," and then it will say things that make perfect sense. As I said, lots of solid information, but.... just an odd book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews