Kurt Saxon (born Donald Eugene Sisco; March 6, 1932 – August 16, 2021) was an American writer, radio host, survivalist and the author of ''The Poor Man's James Bond'', a series of books on

improvised weapons An improvised weapon is an object that was not designed to be used as a weapon but can be put to that use. They are generally used for self-defence or if the person is otherwise unarmed. In some cases, improvised weapons are commonly used by attac ...

and munitions.

History

During the 1960s, Saxon drifted into and out of several political organizations and new religious movements, including the American Nazi Party, the John Birch Society, the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

, and the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

. In August 1970, he appeared before a Senate Investigations subcommittee holding hearings on bombings and terrorism. According to newspaper accounts, he suggested police and "concerned citizens" use bombs to wipe out "leftists," and recommended that student demonstrators be machine-gunned in the streets. By the early 1970s he came to reject the political and religious groups of the 1960s, and began writing on

homesteading Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. Pur ...

and preparedness issues. He claims to have coined the term "survivalism"What is a Survivalist?
Kurt Saxon, 1980 to refer to making preparations for a future collapse of society and/or a major disaster. Saxon claimed that

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

had once invited him to appear on his show to demonstrate recipes from his book ''Granddad’s Wonderful Book of Chemistry'', but later cancelled Saxon's appearance after a rehearsal went badly. In the early 1990s, Saxon had a

shortwave radio Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

program over WRNO, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Books and periodicals

Saxon is the author, under his birth name "Don Sisco," of ''The Militant's Formulary''. After his legal name change to Kurt Saxon, he authored the

biker Biker or bikie may refer to: * A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports * A motorcyclist, any motorcycle rider or passenger, or participant in motorcycle sports ** A motorcycle club member, defined more narrowly than all motor ...

book ''Wheels of Rage'', a partially fictitious, but mostly factual account of the San Fernando, California based Iron Cross M.C., an Outlaw motorcycle club; the ''Poor Man's James Bond'' series of books on improvised weaponry; and ''Granddad's Wonderful Book of Chemistry'' as well as ''Granddad's Wonderful Book of Electricity'', which are compilations of several out of print hobbyist booklets on home brew chemistry and electronics projects. In 1976 he began publishing ''The Survivor'' to celebrate forgotten pioneer skills. These newsletters combined Saxon's articles with reprints of articles on 19th century technology of interest to the survivalist movement. He later compiled the material into a series of books by the same name. As his own publisher, Saxon advertised his work in such publications as the Berkeley Barb. During the early 1990s when the American militia movement was at its peak in the United States, Saxon published a short-lived magazine called ''U.S. Militia''. Saxon also wrote at least one article for

Mel Tappan Mel Tappan (1933 – 1980, born Melrose H. Tappan III) was the editor of the newsletter ''Personal Survival ("P.S.") Letter'' and the books ''Survival Guns'' and ''Tappan on Survival''. Tappan was an influential leader of the Survivalist movement ...

's ''P.S. Letter''.

Reception

From his earliest works, Saxon's writing has been cited and recommended in more mainstream publications. ''How to Cut Your Food Bill by Half or More'' was acknowledged in both survivalist and money management fields. His 1976 book ''Medicines Like Granddad Used to Make'' was included in a

U.S. Department of Health The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...

bibliography of medical history.''Bibliography of the History of Medicine'', No. 15
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service. Bethesda, Maryland: National Library of Medicine, 1979.

Selected works

Books

* ''The Militant's Formulary''. Atlan Formularies, 1971. ::Published under Saxon's birth name, Don Sisco. * ''The Poor Man's James Bond: The Complete "Militant's Formulary" and Much, Much More''. Atlan Formularies, 1972. * ''How to Cut Your Food Bill by Half or More (City Survival During the Famine to Come)''. Atlan Formularies, 1973. nd ed.* ''The Instant Who's Who in the Bible''. Atlan Formularies, 1974. * ''Keeping Score on Modern Prophets''. Alpena, AR: Atlan Formularies, 1974. * ''The Poor Man's James Bond''. Atlan Formularies, 1973. th ed.
''Wheels of Rage: The Story of the Iron Cross Motorcycle Club''
Atlan Formularies, 1974. * ''Fireworks & Explosives Like Granddad Used to Make''. Atlan Formularies, 1975. * ''Granddad’s Wonderful Book of Chemistry.'' Eureka, CA: Atlan Formularies, 1975. * ''Bar Drinks and Booze Like Granddad Used to Make''. Atlan Formularies, 1976. * ''Liquors and Soda Fountain Drinks Like Granddad Used To Make ''. Atlan Formularies, 1976. * ''Medicines Like Granddad Used to Make''. Atlan Formularies, 1976. ::Reprint of the Medical department section of ''Dr. Chase's Recipes; or, Information for Everybody'', by A. W. Chase, and of selections from ''Dick’s Encyclopaedia of Practical Receipts and Processes, by W. B. Dick. Published in 1872 by Dick & Fitzgerald in New York, now with a new foreword by Kurt Saxon. * ''Old Time Home Food Processing For Fun and Profit''. Eureka, CA: Atlan Formularies, 1977. * ''Survival Foods, Plus''. Eureka, CA: Atlan Formularies, 1977. * ''Classic Ghosts and Vampires''. 1978. ::"Dedicated to Stanton Zaharoff La Vey." * ''Root-Rot: Kurt Saxon's Answer to Alex Haley''. Alpena, AR: Atlan Formularies, 1978. ::Critique of

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and a ...

's book and TV series ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

'' * ''Street Fighting: America's Martial Art''. El Dorado, AK: Desert Publications, 1979. . ::Published under the pseudonym "George Carpenter". * ''Granddad’s Wonderful Book of Electricity''. Atlan Formularies, 1980.
''The New Improved Poor Man's James Bond''.
Atlan Formularies, 1988. evised ed.* ''The Poor Man's James Bond'', Vol. 1. El Dorado, AR: Desert Publications, 1991. evised ed.* ''Granddad's Wonderful Book of Magic''. Alpena, AR: Atlan Formularies, 2003. . * ''Granddad's Wonderful Book of Toys''. Atlan Formularies. ndated.

Book contributions

* "Investing in Survival." In: Black, Bob. ''Rants & Incendiary Tracts: Voices of Desperate Illumination, 1558-Present''.

Amok Press Adam Parfrey (April 12, 1957 – May 10, 2018) was an American journalist, editor, and the publisher of Feral House books, whose work in all three capacities frequently centered on unusual, extreme, or "forbidden" areas of knowledge. A 2010 ''Se ...

Loompanics Unlimited Loompanics Unlimited was an American book seller and publisher specializing in nonfiction on generally unconventional or controversial topics. The topics in their title list included drugs, weapons, survivalism, anarchism, sex, conspiracy theories ...

, 1988. pp. 186-191.

Periodicals

* ''Shoestring Entrepreneur''. "Kurt Saxons Journal of Home Business." Formerly ''The Survivor''. ** vol. 1, no. 1 (1993) ** vol. 1, no. 2 (1994) * ''The Survivor''. . ** vol. 1, no. 1-12 (1976) ** vol. 2, no. 1-12 (1977) ** vol. 3, no. 1-12 (1978) ** vol. 4, no. 1-12 (1979) ** vol. 5, no. 1-12 (1981) ** vol. 6, no. 1-12 (1988) ** vol. 7, no. 1-12 (1988) ** vol. 8, no. 1-12 (1992) ** vol. 9, no. 1-12 ** vol. 10, no. 1-12 * ''The Poor Man's Armorer''. "The only magazine of improvised weaponry." . ** vol. 1, no. 1-4 (1978) ** vol. 2, no. 1-4 (1979-1981) ** vol. 3, no. 1-4 (1983-1985) * ''U.S. Militia''. "The only magazine for community defense." . ** vol. 1, no. 1 (1993) ** vol. 1, no. 2 (1993) ** vol. 1, no. 3 (1993) ** vol. 1, no. 4 (1994) * ''The Weaponeer''. . ** Full collection (1984)

Articles

"Survival is Looking After #1."
1976.
"Friends or Allies: Choice for Survival."
1977.
"Survival and the Paranoid."
1977.
"The Coming Warlords."
1978.
"The Killer Caravans."
1979.
"Roadblocks."
1979.
"Survival Thinking."
1979.
"Investment in Survival."
1980.
"What is a Survivalist?"
1980.
"Boone County: Shangri-La of the Ozarks."
1981.
"Fear in the City."
1981.
"How Not to Survive."
1981.
"Script Outline for 'Bugout.'"
1981.
"Survival School."
''The Survivor'', Vol. 5, 1981.
"Warnings from the Past."
1981. * "You Can't Trust a 'Patriot'." 1995.
"A Technology for Survival."
Mel Tappan's ''Personal Survival Letter''. 1996. evised ed.

References

External links

Kurtsaxon.com
Official website (archived)
Survivalplus.com
Commercial website (archived) * Kurt Saxon's Video Tape Special, Vol. 1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saxon, Kurt 1932 births 2021 deaths Survivalists American Nazi Party members American neo-Nazis American atheists People from Boone County, Arkansas John Birch Society members American male writers American critics of Islam