Bunker

What It Takes to Survive the Apocalypse

By: Bradley Garrett

Narrated by: Adam Sims

Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

“A kind of apocalyptic Super Size Me” (The Guardian) that is both “page turning and thoughtful” (Financial Times) about “prepper” communities around the world that are building fortresses against an array of threats.

Currently, 3.7 million Americans call themselves preppers. Millions more prep without knowing it. Bradley Garrett, who began writing this book years before the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, argues that prepping is a rational response to global, social, and political systems that are failing to produce credible narratives of continued stability. Left with a sense of foreboding fueled by disease outbreaks, increasing government dysfunctionality, eroding critical infrastructure, nuclear brinksmanship, and an accelerating climate crisis, people all over the world are responding predictably - by hunkering down.

Garrett traveled across four continents to meet those who are constructing panic rooms, building underground backyard survival chambers, stockpiling supplies, preparing go bags, hiding inflatable rafts, rigging mobile “bugout” vehicles, and burrowing deep into the earth. He has returned with “a big-thinking, deep-diving, page-turning study of fear, privilege, and apocalypse” (Robert Macfarlane, author of Underland) from the frontlines of the way we live now: an illuminating reflection on our age of disquiet and dread that brings our times into new and sharper focus.

With scenes that are “fascinating, amusing, crazy, chilling, and surreally topical” (Douglas Preston, author of Lost City of the Monkey God), Garrett shows that the bunker is all around us: in malls, airports, gated communities, the vehicles we drive. Most of all, he reveals, it’s in our minds.

©2020 Bradley Garrett. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Penguin Audio. All rights reserved.

Summary had such potential but not worth the time.

augh, within moments it is made abundantly clear what political leanings the author has, and if you didn't get it the first opportunity that presented itself, the author makes sure to strike home his political views over and over, like kicking a dead dog. the mundane tactics have become tiresome, such as claiming the President hid underground in the Presidential bunker during some rioting which was happening on the streets of D.C, when in reality an educated person would KNOW that any President in power, who is at the Whitehouse while a threatening event takes place outside the lawn of the Whitehouse is taken per S.O.P standard operating procedure to this bunker living area and work area specifically created for such situations. either the author is not as educated as he thinks he is or purposely skews his words and choose his phrasing to communicate his opinions basically as fact. writing about how a specific news station uses fear mongering to manipulate its viewers and then picking on one of the few news stations who one could argue, at least before the current catastrophe in America, had far more truth and facts coming out the mouths of their reporters then any of the propaganda being spewed forth by those at CNN ann all the other single minded news networks. I find myself more and more looking for and reading older and older books which not only contain rich English phrasing and interesting vocabulary but content minus the personal feelings of the author. its refreshing much like a cold previously wet drink of water is refreshing after working a long hard day with ones hands (& body) outdoors, with the sun neating down.
I am hungry for the books that were written in the days prior to it becoming common place to infest and infect every topic with the types of things well mannered people knew not to mention in polite company. money, religion and politics.
if you agree with this authors politival views and already have what you believe to be the one and only view on this topic, before even reading the book, then this book is for you. if you are interested in what was discovered and heard when interviewing people across the country about an interesting and vast topic such as bunker building and bunker stocking and bunker culture I suppose, then this book may not be the book for you... :/

Left leaning theme

Author does a good job but the under lying jabs at the Right, Fox News, and Trump gets a little tiresome.

Such a fascinating book

I enjoyed this book! You get an inside look into a world many know few about and I found the story easy to listen to and very informative.

Enjoyable and Well Written/Performed

Brad does a great job in presenting what would otherwise be a dry topic. If you’re interested in the prepping community, a history of bunkers, and the current state of both, this is a well worth your time. No, he doesn’t tell you how to build a bunker, but he does provide perspective.

Could Have Been a Winner.....

but was destroyed by a the rambling of a radical political nutjob. the author is from Commiefornia - so shocking

Some good history/information but....

Probably worth listening to for some interesting research and history into the fascinating world of bunkers but its a little tough to bear the author's ironic and hypocritical fear of climate catastrophe.

so many snowflakes in the reviews

excellent view on the reality of prepping….
lots of talking with very little actual work in every aspect and facet of prepping across the planet.
finally an educated man taking an educated years long stroll through all the dark corners of the preparedness community allowing each character to speak for themselves.

Fantastic listen! Recommended from 99pi podcast

I got the book after hearing the great episode on binder design from 99 percent invisible podcast.

If you liked the episode this book is for you. It goes into details on the current state of projects and the people behind the projects & movements.

Wow that was good

Kudos to the author for such a well written, interesting and educational experience into a subculture I knew very little about. A wonderful blend of entertaining and insightful with a lot to think about and discuss. The narrator felt a little fast for me only at the beginning and thought he did a great job as well. Highly recommend.

Informative but limited in scope, uninspired narration

This book was interesting but should’ve been named: “Dread merchants” as that’s essentially what the book is about. Not a lot of coverage of any non-commercial,l at home operations, which would seem like the most widespread type of bunker.
Narrator/direction doesn’t make distinctions between the different tone, background, and attitude, thus everyone sounds like a pissed of young adult white man