Prepared: A Manual for Surviving Worst-Case Scenarios

Glover was born on March 5, 1974, in Pocatello, Idaho. He enlisted in the United States Army from high school and has stated that he sought challenges that would push his physical and mental limits. Glover’s military experience has been essential to his subsequent career in survivalism, including the publication of Prepared.

In the early 1990s, Glover trained within the army to join the Special Forces, becoming a “Green Beret.” The Special Forces Qualification Course tests candidates in unconventional warfare, foreign languages, and a wide range of specialized skills. Glover’s time in the Special Forces included overseas deployments, where he played a role in both counterterrorism and special operations missions.

In 2006, Glover retired from the Army to pursue a career in tactical skills and preparedness. He founded Fieldcraft Survival, a company that provides individuals, law enforcement, and military personnel with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate and overcome challenging situations. Fieldcraft Survival offers a range of courses from survival skills and self-defense to emergency medical techniques. Prepared is a continuation of Glover’s business enterprise and a means to widen its audience. The book mentions Glover’s profile and encourages the reader to engage with survivalism, making them potential consumers for Fieldcraft Survival.

Prior to the publication of Prepared, Glover expanded his reach through various media platforms. He is known in the community for his strongly held opinions about personal security and survival. His podcast, “Fieldcraft Survival,” serves as a platform for discussing tactics, leadership, and personal development and has developed the public persona he presents in the book. Through these channels, Glover has reached out to an online community of individuals dedicated to self-improvement and preparedness, providing a platform for his book’s reception.

Glover’s activity and role have become increasingly politicized in recent years. In 2020, he set up American Contingency. The website states that this was in response to growing “political division,” citing “racially-charged protests and a highly contentious election cycle” (“How We Got Here.” American Contingency). From 2020, the organization was the subject of investigation and surveillance by the FBI for domestic violent extremism. Glover vehemently denies any allegiance to extremism and instead blames the surveillance on “government criticism,” citing the investigation as a violation of his First Amendment rights. Glover’s case was adopted by right-wing media as a sign of “woke” or excessively liberal persecution against innocent civilians. Politicians like Jim Jordan and the media figures Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan both took up Glover as a symbol of perceived injustice. Instead, he claims they were there to provide information to the larger community about the events taking place.

As of 2023, the American Contingency website adopts explicitly patriotic language that hedges between peaceful and provocative, leaving room for the preferences of the audience and encouraging “regular everyday Americans” to “take a stand” and uphold traditional “values” (“How We Got Here”). Although Glover has made no public statements that indicate participation in or endorsement of domestic violent extremism, critics have pointed out that American Contingency endorses the right-wing think tank Unconstrained Analytics as “mandatory reading” for its members. Unconstrained Analytics promotes deeply racist philosophies, accuses American liberal groups of deliberately destabilizing society, and openly calls for violent action against them by other citizens.

This information is not presented to discredit Glover’s survival advice. However, it is necessary to understand the full context of his perspective and the perspective of his chosen community and his book’s intended purpose in reaching a wider audience. Although Glover’s personal political beliefs are a matter of speculation, the success of Glover’s persona and his business enterprise certainly relies on intersecting with a community allied to right-wing views, some of which may be extreme.

Glover’s authorial voice in Prepared is personable and colloquial. This use of the first-person voice, addressing the reader directly, creates an accessible and conversational tone that builds rapport. Glover’s presentation of himself as a regular American is key to the book’s mission to appeal to a general audience and respond to a post-2020 world in which survivalism has gained momentum. Glover cites his military experience and knowledge throughout the book to support the authority of his voice but does so using simple and accessible language.