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'''James Wesley Rawles''' (born 1960) is a non-fiction author,  

'''James Wesley Rawles''' (born 1960) is a non-fiction author,  

survivalist-fiction author, [[economist]], blogger, and [[Retreat|survival retreat]] consultant. He has been  called an expert<ref>[http://derekclontz.wordpress.com/2007/09/10/second-great-depression-just-weeks-away-warns-expert/ Second Great Depression just weeks away, warns expert] by Derek Clontz</ref> on survival and preparedness topics.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/13/MNIL1008L2.DTL</ref> Rawles is a Christian who regards himself as a conservative, Constitutionalism|constitutionalist [[Libertarianism|libertarian]].<ref name="blogbio">[http://www.survivalblog.com/biographies.html SurvivalBlog Staff Biographies]</ref>

survivalist-fiction author, [[economist]], blogger, and [[Retreat|survival retreat]] consultant. He has been  called an expert<ref>[http://derekclontz.wordpress.com/2007/09/10/second-great-depression-just-weeks-away-warns-expert/ Second Great Depression just weeks away, warns expert] by Derek Clontz</ref> on survival and preparedness topics.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/13/MNIL1008L2.DTL</ref> Rawles is a Christian who is a conservative, Constitutionalism|constitutionalist [[Libertarianism|libertarian]].<ref name="blogbio">[http://www.survivalblog.com/biographies.html SurvivalBlog Staff Biographies]</ref>

==Biography==

==Biography==

Rawles is an outspoken proponent of family preparedness, especially regarding food storage and his advocacy of relocating to lightly populated rural "retreat" areas.

Rawles is an outspoken proponent of family preparedness, especially regarding food storage and his advocacy of relocating to lightly populated rural "retreat" areas.

Rawles was one of the many individuals warning about possible disasters related to the [[Year 2000 problem]] (Y2K).<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1& p_text_direct-0=0EB0477D786595EE&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM THURSDAY OFFERS A MINI-Y2K SITUATION, EXPERTS SAY] The Sacramento Bee, September 8, 1999</ref><ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LB&p_theme=lb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAE929EEB312718&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM GETTING IN TOUCH WITH Y2K AND THE PROPHETS OF DOOM] Press-Telegram, January 7, 1999</ref><ref>"Do you live in fear of the millennium?", South China Morning Post, April 6, 1999</ref>

Rawles was one of the many individuals warning about possible disasters related to the Year 2000 problem (Y2K).<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1& p_text_direct-0=0EB0477D786595EE&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM THURSDAY OFFERS A MINI-Y2K SITUATION, EXPERTS SAY] The Sacramento Bee, September 8, 1999</ref><ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LB&p_theme=lb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAE929EEB312718&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM GETTING IN TOUCH WITH Y2K AND THE PROPHETS OF DOOM] Press-Telegram, January 7, 1999</ref><ref>"Do you live in fear of the millennium?", South China Morning Post, April 6, 1999</ref>

Rawles credits Mel Tappan as the primary influence in the development of his survivalist philosophy as well as the impetus for launching SurvivalBlog.com.<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/kudos.html SurvivalBlog.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.  Rawles has been called "The intellectual heir of Mel Tappan", and has been described as "...the survivalist voice of reason, following in the footsteps of Mel Tappan." <ref>http://www.survivalblog.com/2008/03/four_letters_re_use_of_force_i.html</ref>

Rawles credits Mel Tappan as the primary influence in the development of his survivalist philosophy as well as the impetus for launching SurvivalBlog.com.<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/kudos.html SurvivalBlog.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.  Rawles has been called "The intellectual heir of Mel Tappan", and has been described as "...the survivalist voice of reason, following in the footsteps of Mel Tappan." <ref>http://www.survivalblog.com/2008/03/four_letters_re_use_of_force_i.html</ref>

==Blog presence==

==Blog presence==

Rawles is the editor of  SurvivalBlog.com, a very widely-read and cited <ref>[http://charts.technorati.com/blogs/www.survivalblog.com?reactionsdaily</ref> [[blog]] on survival and preparedness topics. According to its statistics page, it has more than 71,000 unique visitors per week.<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/ SurvivalBlog home page]</ref> <ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/cgi-bin/awstats.pl]</ref> The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threaths toward society. He has warned against socio-economic collapse, Avian Flu, the Y2K problem and terrorism attacks. In his blog writings, Rawles recommends that investors put at least 25% of their portfolios into [[gold]], [[silver]], and  [[barter]] goods.<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/2007/12/coping_with_inflationsome_stra.html]</ref>  He also advises his blog readers to store four year's supply of food<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/2008/01/a_honeybee_ccd_disaster_soonbe.html SurvivalBlog.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> in preparation for future hard times, and "double up" with other families<ref>[http://www.shtfblog.com/wealth-war-and-wisdom-by-barton-biggs-a-book-review/]</ref> to establish [[Retreat|survival retreats]].  Rawles believes (as of his 2005-2008 writings) that the United States is headed for a hyperinflationary economic depression.<ref>[http://www.peakoilstore.com/forum/index.php/topic,13888.0.html]</ref> Rawles favors the abolition of the fractional-reserve banking system, and a return to the [[gold standard]].<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/2008/02/are_simultaneous_inflation_and.html]</ref>  Rawles is also a proponent of [[Home schooling]].<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/home_schooling/]</ref>

Rawles is the editor of  SurvivalBlog.com, a very widely-read and cited <ref>[http://charts.technorati.com/blogs/www.survivalblog.com?reactionsdaily</ref> [[blog]] on survival and preparedness topics. According to its statistics page, it has more than 71,000 unique visitors per week.<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/ SurvivalBlog home page]</ref> <ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/cgi-bin/awstats.pl]</ref> The main focus of his blog is family preparedness for disasters. In his blog writings, Rawles recommends that investors put at least 25% of their portfolios into [[gold]], [[silver]], and  [[barter]] goods.<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/2007/12/coping_with_inflationsome_stra.html]</ref>  He also advises his blog readers to store four year's supply of food<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/2008/01/a_honeybee_ccd_disaster_soonbe.html SurvivalBlog.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> in preparation for future hard times, and "double up" with other families<ref>[http://www.shtfblog.com/wealth-war-and-wisdom-by-barton-biggs-a-book-review/]</ref> to establish [[Retreat|survival retreats]].  Rawles believes (as of his 2005-2008 writings) that the United States is headed for a hyperinflationary economic depression.<ref>[http://www.peakoilstore.com/forum/index.php/topic,13888.0.html]</ref> Rawles favors the abolition of the fractional-reserve banking system, and a return to the [[gold standard]].<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/2008/02/are_simultaneous_inflation_and.html]</ref>  Rawles is also a proponent of [[Home schooling]].<ref>[http://www.survivalblog.com/home_schooling/]</ref>

==Published works==

==Published works==

His first book, ''Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse'', a novel, was first released in 1998. It was first released as Internet shareware in the early 1990s, and later published in interim form as ''TEOTWAWKI: The End of The World as We Know It'',  in the late 1990s.<ref>[http://www.weyrich.com/book_reviews/teotwawki.html]</ref> The story is set in the near future and describes a period of hyperinflation and a socio-economic collapse. While it is a fictional story, it is essentially a method to teach survival techniques in an interesting manner.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14119 WND Commentary Five novels of freedom] by Claire Wolfe, WorldNetDaily, September 30, 1999</ref> It was re-released in December, 2006 in expanded form. The novel reflects a conservative interpretation of [[Christianity]] combined with a stereotypical approach to "the Good" and "the Bad" (Good Christians versus Biker-looter gangs).  One early reviewer of the novel commented: "While it is true that the protagonists appear to be part of the religious right, it is clearly incorrect to stereotype them as intolerant racists or anti-government zealots."<ref>[http://www.weyrich.com/book_reviews/teotwawki.html]</ref>. The publisher's synopsis describes the novel as "distinctly pro-Christian, pro-preparedness, pro-gun ownership, and anti-racist." <ref>[http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-1425734073-0]</ref>  

His first book, ''Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse'', a novel, was first released in 1998. It was first released as Internet shareware in the early 1990s, and later published in interim form as ''TEOTWAWKI: The End of The World as We Know It'',  in the late 1990s.<ref>[http://www.weyrich.com/book_reviews/teotwawki.html]</ref> The story is set in the near future and describes a period of hyperinflation and a socio-economic collapse. While it is a fictional story, it is essentially a survival manual dressed as fiction.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14119 WND Commentary Five novels of freedom] by Claire Wolfe, WorldNetDaily, September 30, 1999</ref> It was re-released in December, 2006 in expanded form.  One early reviewer of the novel commented: "While it is true that the protagonists appear to be part of the religious right, it is clearly incorrect to stereotype them as intolerant racists or anti-government zealots."<ref>[http://www.weyrich.com/book_reviews/teotwawki.html]</ref>. The publisher's synopsis describes the novel as "distinctly pro-Christian, pro-preparedness, pro-gun ownership, and anti-racist." <ref>[http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-1425734073-0]</ref>  

His second book, ''Rawles on Retreats and Relocation'', was non-fiction.  It describes how to geographically select a [[Retreat|survival retreat]] and stock it with key logistics.

His second book, ''Rawles on Retreats and Relocation'', was non-fiction.  It describes how to geographically select a [[Retreat|survival retreat]] and stock it with key logistics.