In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

My name is John D. Solomon, and I am currently writing a book titled “In Case of Emergency, Read Book: Simple Steps to Prepare You and Your Family For Terrorism, Natural Disasters and Other 21st Century Crises.”

The book will take the point of view of an average citizen trying to ready and educate himself and his family about preparedness for terrorism, natural disasters and other major emergencies. Hopefully, this personal approach will be resonant to other citizens and serve as a guide and encouragement for them as they begin the preparedness process. The book is expected to be published sometime in 2009.

I have been researching the book in a number of ways. First, I have looked through many government public information web sites, like the Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.Gov, read all the books I could find on the subject, and have now interviewed more than  experts in government, the non-profit sector, business, the faith-based community and academia on emergency preparedness and related fields. But I am also going through the preparedness process from the first person point of view of an average citizen which I am, including as a volunteer for my local Community Emergency Response Team here in New York City.

As I was working on the book, I decided that a creating a blog might be very helpful. It would be a great way to augment my research, disseminate some of my initial findings and allow me to be able to react to news and events regarding emergency preparedness. Like the book, the blog, which I am calling In Case of Emergency, Read Blog, will help collect, highlight and organize information about preparedness from the civilian’s point of view. It will highlight model individuals, communities, organizations, schools and businesses. It will also offer guidance on ways that citizens can get involved themselves.

The blog will be a major part of the research for the book, and the book research will augment the content of the blog. And, in the event of a real emergency, I intend that this blog will be a resource for citizens. I’d like to hear from people around the nation and the world. I encourage your comments, ideas, suggestions and criticisms. We are now in the pro-am Wikipedia era of preparedness where the public has both a major responsibility and role in their own preparedness. The fact is that post-9/11 emergency preparedness is such a new and multi-disciplinary area that there really aren’t any experts in all of it. We’re all learning together. I hope this blog will contribute to that important education process.