Source: FT.com

We made it. Christmas, new year and the End-of-the-World-Armageddon-Apocalypse.

But 2009 is all about survival. And what better way to prepare than to become a survivalist? Survivalist websites and books were last year’s sleeper hit, no longer the preserve of lone wackos. Barton Biggs, former chief global strategist for Morgan Stanley, rebranded survivalism “sensible”. In his book Wealth, War, and Wisdom , he said all right-minded people should “assume the possibility of a breakdown of the civilised infrastructure” and advised the well-off to invest 5 per cent of their income in creating a refuge “well-stocked with seed, fertiliser, canned food and medicine”. A number of self-help books are on the market such as Cody Lundin’s When All Hell Breaks Loose, which instructs readers how to get rid of bodies and feast on rats in the event of disaster.

Jim Rawles tells me traffic to his website, survivalblog.com, increased threefold in the past year: “The demographics of [readers] have noticeably broadened, to include far more left-of-centre and green people … from a wide range of backgrounds and income levels. In 20 years we may all qualify as survivalists [as] the world seems headed for a deep depression.”

If you are worried that EOTWAA may come in 2009, visit the site for tips. There are testimonials from readers transformed by Mr Rawles’s shopping secrets. Reads one: “Imagine waiting for the vaccine to arrive, and the last can of anchovies is empty.” Even in the EOTWAA, someone will be preparing antipasti.

Over Christmas, the Cat Man came to London, to Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, which offers weird exhibits. Cat Man, whose real name is Dennis Avner, has spent much of his life transforming himself into a tiger by tattooing his body, filing his teeth into feline points and having whisker implants. A computer programmer by day, he spent a month in the north Michigan woods to see if he could survive.

Positivity is key. Preparing for EOTWAA may sound depressing. But Mr Rawles says: “Active preparedness is all about keeping a positive attitude.”

The girl group Destiny’s Child knew the power of positive thinking: “I’m a survivor … I’m gonna make it.” There are worse anthems for 2009.

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