The Emergency Playbook: A Bunker-Free Guide to Disaster Preparation

A comprehensive, commonsense guide to preparing for and surviving emergency situations, from wildfires, flash floods, and extreme heat to power outages, social unrest, and the next pandemic--no bunkers or weapons required.

Unlike traditional prepper books that focus on doom and the darker side of survival, what most of us really need is a straightforward guide to getting through a disaster safely and with our mental health intact. Because chances are you or someone you know has been affected by one of the many extreme weather events and their aftermath in the last few years—not to mention the pandemic.

In The Emergency Playbook, author Amy Edelman and survival expert Chris Begley help you—and your family, friends, neighbors, and pets—get through a range of bad situations safely, and then rebuild afterwards, no matter where you live or what your circumstances. 

With step-by-step checklists and plentiful tips, this fact-filled handbook prepares you for disrupted access to food and clean water, lengthy power outages, downed communication, housing loss, and much more. It also emphasizes the importance of positive thinking and community-building—because when disaster strikes, we'll have to lean on each other and work together.

Featuring instructions on packing a go-bag, storing food and water in small spaces, and useful skills to learn ahead of time (first aid, self-defense), The Emergency Playbook is the practical guide you need to read before things go sideways.

Amy Edelman is a PR and marketing professional, the founder of book review service IndieReader, and the author of The Little Black Dress and Manless in Montclair. She has appeared on Today and her books have been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, and others. Chris Begley, PhD, is an archeologist, professor, wilderness survival instructor, and the author of The Next Apolcalypse. He was a Fulbright Scholar and a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, and was named a National Geographic Explorer and one of the "World’s 50 Most Adventurous Men" by Men’s Journal. He has also been featured in The New Yorker, National Geographic, and American Archaeology, and in documentaries on the BBC, Discovery Channel, and elsewhere.