I finally finished Cody Lundin’s book, “When All Hell Breaks Loose.” I recommend the book but it was a grind to get through. It was like trying to read a textbook for pleasure.
Cody’s first book, “98.6 Degrees, the Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive,” is simply one of the best survival manuals out there. Cody has actually used everything he teaches so, while I may disagree with him on a few very minor points, what he teaches works. Cody’s idea of survival gear is eminently practical and very inexpensive. I recommend “98.6 Degrees” without reservation.
While “98.6 Degrees” is about short term wilderness survival, “When All Hell Breaks Loose” is about longer term urban survival as after a natural disaster. Cody teaches both survival and primitive living and I’m impressed with the way he differentiates between those and military SERE (Survival Escape Resistance Evasion).
I only have a couple of complaints about the book.
First, and Cody makes no bones about this, it is like a text or reference book in that Cody tried to include every applicable thing he could think of. This makes it a little tough to just read through.
Second, while psychology is of prime importance, the opening sections on psychology just dragged on too long for me. The solution is just to skim this part and move on to the rest. Cody also has some new age philosophy that may turn off some people.
I also had trouble with his chapter on self defense. I didn’t care for the source. Basic combatives are fine but they were not invented by followers of the Church of Fairbairn. The eye gouge is not unknown to other martial arts and the groin kick was not invented by Fairbairn. Additionally, while basic combatives are better than nothing, they are only a beginning and no guarantee you’ll win a fight. Still, the techniques are sound as long as you take the marketing with a grain of salt.
“When All Hell Breaks Loose” is definitely a worthwhile purchase.
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