Survive--The Economic Collapse

Book excerpt: "A valuable cram course in how to survive the rest of your life." - James Howard Kunstler. Author of The Long Emergency, Too Much Magic, The Geography of Nowhere, and The World Made By Hand For billions of people, the ongoing economic crisis has marked the end of the world as we know it. The "American Dream" (and ones like it) of a guaranteed job, a home, and a pension, has given way to the nightmare of unemployment, unpayable debt, depression, and uncertainty. In Survive The Economic Collapse, Piero San Giorgio looks behind the headlines and sound bites and demonstrates that today's economic crisis is no temporary "downturn," nor is it simply the result of bad policies. The crisis is the beginning of the end of a global paradigm when expectations of endless economic growth and progress crash up against the reality of scarcity and limited resources. The implications of the collapse cannot be ignored: a steep decline in living standards due to the evaporation of easy credit; a new political landscape that might inspire nationalism, geopolitical reshuffling, and wars over resources; and, potentially, a reduction in global population. No mere doom-sayer, San Giorgio explains not just how to understand the crisis but overcome it to foster a resilient community, stay healthy, and become self-sufficient and productive in the "interesting times" that lie ahead. Packed with tactical information and resources, Survive is nothing less than a field manual for the apocalypse. This edition has been thoroughly reedited and includes an extensive postscript detailing global developments in the past decade.