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    When Technology Fails, Revised and Expanded

    The Definitive Manual for Preparedness in an Uncertain World

    Author Matthew Stein
    Edited by Tim MacWelch
    Paperback
    $34.95 US
    Rizzoli | Chelsea Green
    8.51"W x 10.9"H x 1.07"D   | 41 oz | 12 per carton
    On sale Jun 02, 2026 | 448 Pages | 9781645023470
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    The classic, comprehensive primer on sustainable living skills—from food and water to shelter and energy to first aid and crisis-management skills—fully revised and updated for 2026 and beyond

    Matthew Stein’s When Technology Fails prepares you to embark on the path toward sustainability. But unlike any other book, Stein not only shows you how to live green in seemingly stable times, but to live in the face of potential disasters, lasting days or years, coming in the form of social upheaval, economic meltdown, or environmental catastrophe.   

    When Technology Fails covers the gamut:  
    • The basics of installing a renewable energy system for your home or business  
    • How to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure  
    • How to keep warm if you’ve been left temporarily homeless  
    • Practical information for dealing with water-quality issues  
    • Alternative health and first-aid techniques  

    Each chapter describes skills for self-reliance in good times and bad. Chapters include:  
    • A survey of the risks to the status quo  
    • Supplies and preparation for short- and long-term emergencies  
    • Emergency measures for survival  
    • Prepping water, food, shelter, and clothing  
    • First aid, low-tech medicine, and healing  
    • Securing energy, heat, and power  
    • Metalworking  
    • Utensils and storage  
    • Low-tech chemistry engineering, machines, and materials  
    “Technology will fail us; it’s not if, but when. And if we are honest, most of us are uneasy depending on systems we don’t control or fully understand. When Technology Fails is a serious yet practical answer to that feeling. Matthew Stein has given us a survival library in a single volume, covering everything from the basics of food and water security to renewable energy to ‘medicine’ you can grow yourself, and beyond. What I love most is that this is not fear-based preparedness, but practical, eyes-open readiness that I believe every family should have.”
    —Josh Thomas, School of Traditional Skills
    Matthew Stein was an environmentalist, bestselling author, MIT-trained engineer, and green builder. As an inspiring speaker and visionary thinker, he was dedicated to helping people wake up and unite to shift our collective course from collapse to global renaissance. As an expert at self-reliance, emergency prep, and survival, his writings and work helped people prepare to weather continuing climate change and ecological decline. His books include When Technology Fails and When Disaster Strikes. Matthew passed away in 2018. View titles by Matthew Stein

    About

    The classic, comprehensive primer on sustainable living skills—from food and water to shelter and energy to first aid and crisis-management skills—fully revised and updated for 2026 and beyond

    Matthew Stein’s When Technology Fails prepares you to embark on the path toward sustainability. But unlike any other book, Stein not only shows you how to live green in seemingly stable times, but to live in the face of potential disasters, lasting days or years, coming in the form of social upheaval, economic meltdown, or environmental catastrophe.   

    When Technology Fails covers the gamut:  
    • The basics of installing a renewable energy system for your home or business  
    • How to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure  
    • How to keep warm if you’ve been left temporarily homeless  
    • Practical information for dealing with water-quality issues  
    • Alternative health and first-aid techniques  

    Each chapter describes skills for self-reliance in good times and bad. Chapters include:  
    • A survey of the risks to the status quo  
    • Supplies and preparation for short- and long-term emergencies  
    • Emergency measures for survival  
    • Prepping water, food, shelter, and clothing  
    • First aid, low-tech medicine, and healing  
    • Securing energy, heat, and power  
    • Metalworking  
    • Utensils and storage  
    • Low-tech chemistry engineering, machines, and materials  

    Praise

    “Technology will fail us; it’s not if, but when. And if we are honest, most of us are uneasy depending on systems we don’t control or fully understand. When Technology Fails is a serious yet practical answer to that feeling. Matthew Stein has given us a survival library in a single volume, covering everything from the basics of food and water security to renewable energy to ‘medicine’ you can grow yourself, and beyond. What I love most is that this is not fear-based preparedness, but practical, eyes-open readiness that I believe every family should have.”
    —Josh Thomas, School of Traditional Skills

    Author

    Matthew Stein was an environmentalist, bestselling author, MIT-trained engineer, and green builder. As an inspiring speaker and visionary thinker, he was dedicated to helping people wake up and unite to shift our collective course from collapse to global renaissance. As an expert at self-reliance, emergency prep, and survival, his writings and work helped people prepare to weather continuing climate change and ecological decline. His books include When Technology Fails and When Disaster Strikes. Matthew passed away in 2018. View titles by Matthew Stein

    Other Books by this Author

    • When Technology Fails
      When Technology Fails
      A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency, 2nd Edition
      Matthew Stein
      9781933392455
      $35.00 US
      Paperback
      Chelsea Green
      Mar 27, 2008
    • When Technology Fails
      When Technology Fails
      A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency, 2nd Edition
      Matthew Stein
      9781933392455
      $35.00 US
      Paperback
      Chelsea Green
      Mar 27, 2008

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