Book excerpt: This custom companion to the blockbuster National Geographic Channel series Doomsday Preppers is filled with how-to illustrations, Profiles of people in the show, and survival tips from preppers themselves. Handy and comprehensive, the manual offers valuable life-saving information to help prepare for the most devastating calamities. Episodes of this highly original show, which debuted in February 2012, explore the lives of otherwise ordinary Americans who are preparing for the end of the world as we know it. Preppers go to extraordinary lengths to plan for any of life's uncertainties, from constructing a home out of shipping containers and stockpiling 50,000 lbs. of food to practicing evacuation drills and hand-to-hand combat. This book is an essential component.