Executive Summary

Got the book Wednesday afternoon, had it finished by Thursday night.  I don’t normally put down 400+ pages in a day and a half however, this book was absolutely amazing.

Detailed Summary

First half of the book (Up until the Survive section) was a good read, but not overly interesting.  It mainly dealt with people’s mindsets during or leading up to disasters, his quest to acquire a second non-US passport, and how he wasn’t very ‘manly.’  In this quest, Neil hits several dead-ends, and several self-actualizations that overall guide his absolute transformation, but could cause some readers to make a huge mistake – and not continue reading.

* Sidenote*
Being a fan of ‘The Game,’ this section was an awkward read, as it started somewhere around the Y2k era, but ended close to election ‘08.  He took us along throughout those years – but never really mentioned Project Hollywood, or where his PUA venture fit into this timeline.  Probably not a big deal for most, but was for me.

A juicy, thought provoking section of the first half of the book is where Neil points out several disaster scenarios where people behaved irrationally – expecting ‘things will get better.’  In many cases, this thought got a lot of them killed.  Looking back on history, these people should have ‘bugged out’ and saved themselves – however most did the exact opposite.  These scenarios closely align with the 10-80-10 rule.  (10-80-10 rule says in any given situation/disaster, 10% of people will be absolutely worthless, 80% will be in shock and looking for direction/leadership, and the remaining 10% will be your leaders, and people who will get you through.)

Then we get to the second half of the book – and the root cause of why I am now out of sticky-notes and page-markers.  Second half of the book was amazing. I dog-eared damn near every page with something to research, and or undertake.  Neil went in to great detail, but not too much detail.  One of those rare scenarios where the ‘guru’ you were reading, really inspired and or kicked you in the pants to undertake your own path into the experience, instead of giving you a 10 step plan.  Thank you Neil, since finishing this book Thursday, I’ve signed up for several classes and made plans to learn similar things you underwent.  I can’t say enough about that section, and the fire it lit inside.

Neil was very careful not to get too ‘Alarmist’ or ‘Conspiracy-ish.’  This subject walks a thin line, but he managed to always take the high-road and convey to the reader a need for a sense of ‘Preparedness’ and ‘Awareness.’  Shockingly, many of the experiences/teachings that seemed to make the biggest impact on his growth required less than a week of total time commitment – it would take you longer to watch a season of American Idol.

Simply put, buy this book now.  I think I only paid about $14 to have it delivered from Amazon, and it’s one of the only books I’ve read in the last year that has inspired me to take some sort of action, and clean me out of post-its.  It’s a new, refreshing topic for me, and has shaken up my priority list.

Buggin-Out,
–D