2025 Nonfiction Challenge #6

A Field Guide to the Apocalypse by Athena Aktipis

Published: April 2024

Summary from Goodreads:

Confession:

A Field Guide to the Apocalypse was a very interesting and informative read. I wish it had been a bit more on the funny side, but I actually learned somethings and that is what counts when you are reading a good nonfiction book. If you are thinking that this book is just for preppers or maybe making fun of them, you’re right it is. But it is also for people who are maybe feeling a little anxious about life right now and don’t know how to prepare for what might happen in the future.

If you are like me and read a lot of science fiction you probably think that the apocalypse is all about the world ending as we know it. Usually brought about by aliens, comets, war, AI, etc. But this is not what this book is all about. It is more about the small disasters that are still nonetheless world changing. The first chapter has some historical facts about times when there were apocalyptic type disasters, such as Pompeii, the Potato Famine, the Influenza pandemic, and how people reacted to them. There is also a bit about how some of these disasters then produced some of the most dynamic times in our history such as the renaissance and the industrial revolution. This chapter really broaden my mind about the definition of apocalypse.

The rest of the chapters focused on how to deal emotionally and how to make and keep those important support systems that become so important in a crisis. The author cites some cultures that have a reciprocal type of help your neighbor in times of need embedded into their society. She also cites some studies done in disasters zones where they interviewed people and how neighbors and others came together to help people with no expectation of being paid or getting anything in return. I found these stories to be comforting, as the news these days tend to focus more on how people are being taken advantage of when a disaster strikes. Humanity on the whole is good and kind and willing to help those in need.

There is of course information about how to prep for the big one and even some talk about what some of those might be. Such as aliens, AI taking over, or zombies, you know the usual things you think about when talking about the apocalypse. But mostly it was preparing for natural disasters, that could happen where you live. Most of this was something I was already aware of and to some extent practice. We live in an area where windstorms are pretty common and power outages usually happen. So we have prepared for those types of situations. We also take emergency supplies when we cross the mountains in winter. But I had never really thought about preparing for bigger types of disasters, ones that are less likely to happen but could. Such as a really big earthquake, which could very likely happen here. Or one of our local volcanoes deciding to erupt again. Things like that happening are sort of on my radar, but not at a level to make me want to prep for them. I am now sort of rethinking that and how I could be better prepared if that does happen.

Overall I found this book to be quite informative. The last chapter got a tad silly with talk about having apocalypse themed parties and what gifts to give to the beginner prepper. But otherwise I learned quite a bit and feel that all is not lost, and that there are some things I can do to prepare for the unexpected. If you are at all interested in this topic, or if you have been feeling anxious about the future and don’t know what to do, this is a book you might want to read.