It contains information gleaned from research performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the Cold War, as well as from Kearny's extensive jungle living and international travels.

A comparison is made of the civil defense preparations of Switzerland, Russia, and the United States, where it is concluded that: "Switzerland has the best civil defense system"; "The rulers of the Soviet Union... continue to prepare the Russians to fight, survive, and win all types of wars"; and that "the United States has advocated... a strategy that purposely leaves its citizens unprotected hostages to its enemies.

"[1] The first chapter aims to give background information to dispel various demoralizing myths and reaffirm the potential survivability and reality of nuclear weapons.

"[2] This chapter provides information on the immediate effects of thermonuclear explosions, and peoples' likely reactions to them, in an attempt to lessen the terror and confusion that would be prevalent after an unexpected nuclear attack.

"Some people would think the end of the world was upon them if they happened to be in an area downwind from surface bursts of nuclear weapons that sucked millions of tons of pulverized earth into the air.

An effective way to create this is implementing turns into a shelter, as this makes it more difficult for gamma particles to scatter and hit a person around the corner.

It is noted that during the Bombing of Dresden, "Most casualties were caused by the inhalation of hot gases and carbon monoxide"[10] Fire is the third largest worry in a nuclear attack, behind initial blast and fallout radiation.

[13][14] "Under wartime conditions, even a faint light that shows only the shapes of nearby people and things can make the difference between an endurable situation, and a black ordeal.

[18] The basic principles of thermal insulation are explained; ideas for expedient cold- and wet-weather clothing are provided.

[22] In an article sharply critical of the whole genre, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Vol 39, 1983) characterizes the volume as being one of the two more "substantial" books on surviving nuclear war out of the four reviewed.

The BAS article backhandedly compliments NWSS on its inclusion of features such as "elaborate diagrams for building shelter; testing for radiation with homemade meters; providing for ventilation; filtration of water and sanitation," but goes on to say that the basic flaw with NWSS and the other books reviewed is that they deal only with short-term survival, and sidestep putting heavy thought into the long-term ramifications of nuclear conflict for the continued survival of both their assiduous readers and the balance of the human race.

[24] Nuclear War Survival Skills was released into the public domain by the author, and is available in digital format for free from several sources online.