Bunker

June 15, 2020
A brief historical excavation of bunkers and in-depth exploration of their present-day use, when they "are built not so much in response to one single imminent catastrophe, but out of a more general sense of disquiet." For millennia, humans have been digging underground for shelter and to avoid disasters, but cultural geographer Garrett is primarily interested in the bunkers built by militias, survivalists, and preppers. This is the "hardened architecture" of dread, an expression of our 21st-century anxieties and insecurities, "the dominant affect of our era." From his geographic/ethnographic perspective, Garrett is a capable writer with a crisp, detailed, visual quality to his work, and he brings a gratifying participant approach to this investigation. The author intended to meet the preppers to get a sense of what made them tick (paranoia, practicality, or a mixture of both?), and while he was able to take the measure of some, many were too secretive to reveal too much. Garrett discovered that preppers are motivated by a number of forces, from the scientific to the spiritual. Appalled by a government that has abandoned its responsibility to protect its citizens and a socio-economic system that has fostered alienation and an increased need for self-defense, they dread the prospect of a desperate, voracious human population fighting over dwindling resources. Most interesting are the author's accounts of his visits to a variety of bunker complexes, including DIY homestead operations, abandoned ICBM silos, and Australian fire bunkers, "oxygen-filled cocoons that look remarkably similar to the nuclear shelters that Americans built in a panic during the first doom boom in the early years of the Cold War." Garrett finds that many complexes are little more than a combination of wishful thinking and unexecuted plans, and he also avers that communities are crucial, transitions inevitable, and some prepping highly practical. Regarding the last, the author's "Acronym and Argot Glossary" is helpful for readers unfamiliar with the lingo. Intriguing and often entertaining reading on a phenomenon that seems timeless.

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June 29, 2020
Cultural geographer Garrett (coauthor, Global Undergrounds) delivers an engrossing tour of the fortified living spaces where “preppers” plan to isolate and protect themselves from the collapse of civilization. Using prepping “as a lens through which to perceive and understand contemporary conditions of social life,” Garrett profiles developer and “dread merchant” Robert Vicino, who charges $25,000 for a bunker in his 10,000-family complex in South Dakota; sketches the history of the survivalist religious group Church Universal and Triumphant; and visits the Tasmanian “wilderness redoubt” an American lawyer built in the 1970s after reading the nuclear fallout novel On the Beach. The Church of Latter-day Saints recommends “practical prepping” to its members, some of whom store years’ worth of food in their basements, and the Mormon founders of Plan B Supply, which builds “custom assault vehicles and bug-out rigs,” have led their customers on missions to rescue flood victims. Garrett notes the project delays and scam allegations that have plagued bunker communities, and suggests that some developers seem to be capitalizing on “violent media narratives” of the Trump era. Yet he makes a convincing case that preppers offer hope for humankind’s ability to “engineer our survival.” This richly detailed account will have readers wondering about their own disaster plans. Agent: Emma Parry.

July 17, 2020

Bunkers represent our deepest anxieties about life in the 21st century: pandemics, political instability, crime, and climate change. Far from being relics of the Cold War, bunkers are part of our everyday existence. They act as safe rooms in homes, gated communities, and former military facilities. Garrett (geography, Univ. College Dublin; London Rising), an academic, photographer, and urban explorer, sets out across four continents to examine the efforts of various doomsday preppers. Along the way, he meets "dread merchants," doomsday capitalists trying to make a profit combining end-time fears with entrepreneurship. There are also homestead preppers who preach a mix of self-sufficiency and community building. In Australia, vehicles, often built from military surplus, serve as mobile bunkers for those preparing to flee. In Utah, Garrett encounters Mormons who prepare for the next emergency as much as future disasters. The COVID-19 pandemic serves as an ever-present reminder that for many preppers their years of stockpiling and preparation have been vindicated and, for some, "dread merchants" become good business. A glossary of terms helps to make sense of prepper lingo. VERDICT Readers interested in current topics, cultural studies, and survivalism will enjoy this insightful look at prepper culture. --Chad E. Statler, Westlake Porter P.L., Westlake, OH

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