For decades, the right has monopolized the culture of preparedness, selling a fantasy of rugged individualism, hoarded rations, and fear. But before the rise of 24-hour grocery stores and just-in-time supply chains, prepping wasn't a political statement: it was just life.
Drawing on his background in emergency services and security, Eric Shonkwiler reclaims prepping from the paranoia of the doomsday industry and reframes it as a vital tool for collective resilience. Red Prepper is a survival guide for the modern activist, bridging the gap between personal safety and community action, teaching you how to build a "deep pantry," filter water during infrastructure failures, and organize your neighbors for mutual aid.
With the rise of fascism and the approach of economic and environmental collapse, Shonkwiler provides the grounded, practical skills you need to stop worrying and start building something better in the rubble.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Part I: The Basics
Chapter 1: Preparedness Is the Foundation
Chapter 2: Water Is Life
Chapter 3: Build A Longer Table
Chapter 4: Bugging In Beats Bugging Out
Part II: The Threats
Chapter 5: Climate Change and Fascism
Chapter 6: The Reality of Climate Collapse
Chapter 7: Fascism’s Manifestations
Chapter 8: “The Party of Reason” Returns to Power?
Part III: How We Fight Back
Chapter 9: Mutual Aid and Dual Power
Chapter 10: Protests and Unrest
Chapter 11: Community Defense
Chapter 12: Guns
Part IV: The Future
Chapter 13: What If?
Chapter 14: Preparedness After the Fight
Chapter 15: A Real Utopia
About the Author :
Eric Shonkwiler is an award-winning author, security professional and creator of the long-running preparedness newsletter When/If. He is the author of the novels Above All Men and 8th Street Power & Light, and the story collection Moon Up, Past Full, which earned the Coil Book Award and a Midwest Connections’ Pick. After serving as a 911 dispatcher and earning his MFA from UC Riverside, he spent years as a Director of Security and Emergency Preparedness officer in Columbus, Ohio, guiding public health and hospital facilities through the COVID-19 pandemic and large-scale mass-casualty exercises. His work and commentary on emergency preparedness has been featured in The Guardian and CNN.
Review :
'A brilliant intervention, opening a space that’s historically validated and ethical as well as eminently practical. Red Prepper argues that making ready to survive the imminent storms while working steadily to save the world must engage the principles of cooperation, solidarity, and community building—and he shows us, step-by-step, how to begin'
