A Failure Of Civility: Not Your Ordinary ‘Head For The Hills’ Survival Book

By Bob Owens

USA –-(Ammoland.com)- Special operations troops are often lauded for their ability to move behind enemy lines undetected, gather detailed reconnaissance, conduct daring raids and rescues, and then disappear just as quickly as they’ve arrived.

At least, that’s the sort of thing that makes a good Hollywood film.

One of the greatest and most important capabilities of such highly-trained troops, however, is their ability to train local forces into a formidable defensive units, and that is the premise of Mike Garand and Jack Lawson’s “A Failure of Civility,” one of the more unique survival books on the market.

There are dozens of survivalist-oriented books that suggest that if there are natural disasters, riots, or some other sort of societal dismay, that the best option is to “bug out” for a remote fortified location. If you happen to have the budget for a second home and specialized equipment, that is an option you can certainly choose to pursue. But many people don’t have the sort of economic resources to to construct, much less stock and transit to these “bug out” locations.

Even if they did, many would rather stay and defend homes they’ve spent a lifetime filling with memories, near their friends, family, and neighbors.

Both of the authors are elite forces combat veterans, and come at the book from the approach of special operations troops that have parachuted into your neighborhood in order to help you and your neighbors form a cooperative defense if cracks form in the thin veneer of civilization. Instead of separating from society, the book encourages readers to form bonds within your community with like-minded people for mutual defense against uncertain situations. On a practical level it strikes many as being, well, “more practical.”

When hurricanes threaten, most people are not going to “bug-out” to a well-hidden retreat hours away. If not in the most dire of circumstances, most people going to secure their dwelling as best they can, ride out the storm, and deal with the aftermath. Natural disasters like earthquakes and tornadoes give little to no advance warning at all, and may damage or destroy avenues of escape, making bugging out impractical to impossible.

In the event of riots (which in modern America, can easily be spun up from trial results or even sports team victories) or short-term regional societal collapse, emergency services will be overwhelmed and you may be on your own for days. In the event of a longer-term collapse these government services may go away entirely until order is restored.

“A Failure of Civility” is designed to help you form a neighborhood protection plan (NPP) flexible enough so that if any of these unfortunate events come to pass, you will be part of a group of like-minded individuals that have the training, supplies, and mindset to survive in the communities in which you live, with chapters set up specifically for those living on low-rise residential neighborhoods (suburban and rural) and high-rise structures (urban areas), taking into account the unique logical and defensive concerns of these very different kind of structures.

Former Navy SEAL and Enemies Foreign and Domestic author Matt Bracken said of the book:

“I believe that every American prepper needs a copy of “A Failure of Civility” as a reference manual for survival during the most trying times ahead. Along with the Bible, I consider it the most important book that I am personally aware of for getting through the dark days that we may be about to experience.”

No one has a crystal ball to know if or when a disaster will strike, but those who plan for it as a community are going to have a better chance of coming out the other side intact and in higher spirits than those attempting to face disaster alone.

Softcover copies of A Failure of Civility can be purchased directly from the authors via the book’s web site, or can be purchased as a softcover or as a Kindle eBook on Amazon.com.

About Bob Owens
Bob Owens is native of North Carolina who began blogging at the politics-focused Confederate Yankee in November 2004 before transitioning to Bob-Owens.com in 2011. He also writes at Pajamas Media and Shooting Illustrated, and occasionally does Twitter.