Mel Tappan
Encyclopedia
Born Melrose H. Tappan III, Mel Tappan (1933–1980) 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 who advocated relocation to survival retreats
in lightly populated regions.
, Tappan first worked as a banker in Texas. Tappan developed an ever-growing expertise in firearms while living in Los Angeles. He contacted Don Stephens
after reading the "Personal Preparedness" columns by Stephens in Inflation Survival Letter. Tappan was invited to present a lecture as part of Stephens' "Seminars On Survival" (SOS) dinner series, giving him greater public presence and recognition. In the same time period, he collaborated with Roy Masters on writing and editing the book How to Conquer Negative Emotions (1975). He was also the editor of the 1977 book A Guide to Handmade Knives and The Official Directory of the Knifemakers Guild.
He then wrote a monthly column on survival topics titled "Survival Notes" for Guns & Ammo magazine. Shortly before his death, he also wrote a few monthly columns as the Survival Editor for Soldier of Fortune
magazine. Through these publications and his 1977 book Survival Guns – which as of 2010 is still in print after more than 32 years – he became an influential spokesman of the "armed-defense" wing of the Survivalist movement. The back cover of Survival Guns quotes Laura Cunningham of The New York Times
as describing Tappan as "The Survivalist voice of reason."
, Rick L. Fines (aka "Ross Lee"), Nancy Mack Tappan, J.B. Wood, Dr. Carl Kirsch, Charles Avery, Karl Hess
, Eugene A. Barron, Janet Groene, Dean Ing
, Alexander Jason, James McKeever, Kurt Saxon
, Bob Taylor, Reginald Bretnor
, C.G. Cobb, and several other writers, some under pen name
s (such as "Dr. J.M. Browning"). The majority of this newsletter revolved around selecting, constructing and logistically equipping survival retreats. Following Tappan's death in 1980, Karl Hess
took over publishing the newsletter, eventually renaming it Survival Tomorrow. The more recent survivalist author James Wesley Rawles
credits Personal Survival Letter and Tappan's books as the primary influences in the development of his survivalist philosophy as well as the impetus for launching SurvivalBlog.com.
in lightly populated regions, and did so himself, moving to Rogue River, Oregon
for the last years of his life. He is best known for his 1977 book Survival Guns. The subsequent book Tappan on Survival – based on his magazine and Personal Survival newsletter articles – was published shortly after his death (November 2, 1980) from congestive heart failure at age 47. The book was reissued by Paladin Press
in 2006 with a new foreword by Bruce D. Clayton
.
Mel Tappan was quoted in 1981 by then AP correspondent Peter Arnett
that: "The concept most fundamental to long term disaster preparedness, in retreating, is having a safe place to go to avoid the concentrated violence destined to erupt in the cities. When you have a growing apprehensive awareness that the time grows short for you to relocate away from areas of greatest danger, then choose [where you will live] carefully." Tappan also said that he was disappointed by the demographics of southwestern Oregon after the influx of survivalists in the late 1970s. "Too many doctors and lawyers" relocated to Oregon, he said, but "not enough plumbers, electricians, or carpenters."
He was married to Nancy Mack Tappan, an heir to the Mack Truck fortune, who was his constant companion, administrative assistant
, editor and most loyal supporter.
.
Tappan was outlived by his father, Melrose H. Tappan Jr., who died December 12, 1988. His grandfather, Melrose H. Tappan Sr., died January 4, 1960. All three were buried at West Hill Cemetery, in Sherman, Grayson County, Texas
.
To honor her late husband, Nancy Mack Tappan endowed Austin College
(in the Northeast Texas town of Sherman) with the Melrose H. Tappan Jr. and Melrose H. Tappan III Presidential Scholarship.
After Mel Tappan's death, his widow stayed on in the Rogue River Valley. As recently as 2010, she was still active in survivalism. In the late 1990s in partnership with her friend Vernon Hixson, she started a large wine vineyard called Evans Creek and Venture Vineyards, on a 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) parcel. In 2009, she was a board member of the Grants Pass Irrigation District. In June 2010, she became editor of a self-sufficiency and preparedness magazine called The New Pioneer, from Harris Publications
.
) was released in 2009, and as of December 2009 ranks in Amazon's top 90,000 books (out of more than 4 million titles.) Survival Guns also recently went back into print. Both books are published by Paladin Press
.
Retreat (survivalism)
A retreat is a place of refuge for those in the survivalist subculture or movement. Retreats are also sometimes called Bug-Out Locations...
in lightly populated regions.
Emergence as survivalist expert
After attending Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Tappan first worked as a banker in Texas. Tappan developed an ever-growing expertise in firearms while living in Los Angeles. He contacted Don Stephens
Don Stephens
Don Stephens is a futurist, eco-home sustainable designer and author. He has published books in the field of what he terms "optimized self-sufficiency" for a range of uncertain-future scenarios, that is also labeled survivalism by others....
after reading the "Personal Preparedness" columns by Stephens in Inflation Survival Letter. Tappan was invited to present a lecture as part of Stephens' "Seminars On Survival" (SOS) dinner series, giving him greater public presence and recognition. In the same time period, he collaborated with Roy Masters on writing and editing the book How to Conquer Negative Emotions (1975). He was also the editor of the 1977 book A Guide to Handmade Knives and The Official Directory of the Knifemakers Guild.
He then wrote a monthly column on survival topics titled "Survival Notes" for Guns & Ammo magazine. Shortly before his death, he also wrote a few monthly columns as the Survival Editor for Soldier of Fortune
Soldier of Fortune (magazine)
Soldier of Fortune , The Journal of Professional Adventurers, is a periodical monthly magazine devoted to world-wide reporting of wars, including conventional warfare, low-intensity warfare, counter insurgency, and counter-terrorism...
magazine. Through these publications and his 1977 book Survival Guns – which as of 2010 is still in print after more than 32 years – he became an influential spokesman of the "armed-defense" wing of the Survivalist movement. The back cover of Survival Guns quotes Laura Cunningham of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as describing Tappan as "The Survivalist voice of reason."
Newsletter editor
Tappan co-edited what is perhaps the most important newsletter on survivalism and survivalist retreats in the 1970s, the Personal Survival ("P.S.") Letter. It was published from 1977-1982. The newsletter included columns from Tappan himself as well from Jeff Cooper, Al J. Venter, Bill Pier, Bruce D. ClaytonBruce D. Clayton
Bruce D. Clayton is a noted forest fire and biological control ecologist as well as being the author of several books of interest within the survivalist movement....
, Rick L. Fines (aka "Ross Lee"), Nancy Mack Tappan, J.B. Wood, Dr. Carl Kirsch, Charles Avery, Karl Hess
Karl Hess
Karl Hess was an American national-level speechwriter and author. He was also a political philosopher, editor, welder, motorcycle racer, tax resister, atheist, and libertarian activist...
, Eugene A. Barron, Janet Groene, Dean Ing
Dean Ing
Dean Ing is an American author, who usually writes in the science fiction and techno-thriller genres.Dean Charles Ing was formerly a member of the United States Air Force, an aerospace engineer, and a university professor who holds a doctorate in communications theory. He has been a professional...
, Alexander Jason, James McKeever, Kurt Saxon
Kurt Saxon
Kurt Saxon, born Donald Eugene Sisco on March 6, 1932, is a survivalist and the author of The Poor Man's James Bond, a series of books on improvised weapons and munitions.-History:...
, Bob Taylor, Reginald Bretnor
Reginald Bretnor
Reginald Bretnor was a science fiction author who flourished between the 1950s and 1980s. Most of his fiction was in short story form, and usually featured a whimsical story line or ironic plot twist...
, C.G. Cobb, and several other writers, some under pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
s (such as "Dr. J.M. Browning"). The majority of this newsletter revolved around selecting, constructing and logistically equipping survival retreats. Following Tappan's death in 1980, Karl Hess
Karl Hess
Karl Hess was an American national-level speechwriter and author. He was also a political philosopher, editor, welder, motorcycle racer, tax resister, atheist, and libertarian activist...
took over publishing the newsletter, eventually renaming it Survival Tomorrow. The more recent survivalist author James Wesley Rawles
James Wesley Rawles
James Wesley, Rawles is a New York Times best-selling survivalist-fiction author, blogger, and survival retreat consultant. Rawles is a Christian conservative. He is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a blog on survival and preparedness topics...
credits Personal Survival Letter and Tappan's books as the primary influences in the development of his survivalist philosophy as well as the impetus for launching SurvivalBlog.com.
Relocation proponent
In his writings, Tappan encouraged survivalists to relocate to and prepare survival retreatsRetreat (survivalism)
A retreat is a place of refuge for those in the survivalist subculture or movement. Retreats are also sometimes called Bug-Out Locations...
in lightly populated regions, and did so himself, moving to Rogue River, Oregon
Rogue River (Oregon)
The Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act...
for the last years of his life. He is best known for his 1977 book Survival Guns. The subsequent book Tappan on Survival – based on his magazine and Personal Survival newsletter articles – was published shortly after his death (November 2, 1980) from congestive heart failure at age 47. The book was reissued by Paladin Press
Paladin Press
Paladin Press is a book publishing firm founded in 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown.The company publishes non-fiction books and videos covering a wide range of specialty topics, including personal and financial freedom, survivalism and preparedness, firearms and shooting, various martial...
in 2006 with a new foreword by Bruce D. Clayton
Bruce D. Clayton
Bruce D. Clayton is a noted forest fire and biological control ecologist as well as being the author of several books of interest within the survivalist movement....
.
Mel Tappan was quoted in 1981 by then AP correspondent Peter Arnett
Peter Arnett
Peter Gregg Arnett, ONZM is a New Zealand-American journalist.Arnett worked for National Geographic magazine, and later for various television networks, most notably CNN. He is well known for his coverage of war, including the Vietnam War and the Gulf War...
that: "The concept most fundamental to long term disaster preparedness, in retreating, is having a safe place to go to avoid the concentrated violence destined to erupt in the cities. When you have a growing apprehensive awareness that the time grows short for you to relocate away from areas of greatest danger, then choose [where you will live] carefully." Tappan also said that he was disappointed by the demographics of southwestern Oregon after the influx of survivalists in the late 1970s. "Too many doctors and lawyers" relocated to Oregon, he said, but "not enough plumbers, electricians, or carpenters."
He was married to Nancy Mack Tappan, an heir to the Mack Truck fortune, who was his constant companion, administrative assistant
Administrative Assistant
Administrative Assistant is a broad job category that designates an individual who provides various kinds of administrative support to people and groups in business enterprises.-Kinds of Administrative Assistants:...
, editor and most loyal supporter.
Death and legacy
Tappan spent the last years of his own life using a wheelchair, after initially incurring a severe foot laceration from a broken drinking glass in his swimming pool and then developing debilitating leg failure, due in part to the obesity developed during his convalescence from the laceration. This eventually led to congestive heart failureCongestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
.
Tappan was outlived by his father, Melrose H. Tappan Jr., who died December 12, 1988. His grandfather, Melrose H. Tappan Sr., died January 4, 1960. All three were buried at West Hill Cemetery, in Sherman, Grayson County, Texas
Grayson County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 110,595 people, 42,849 households, and 30,208 families residing in the county. The population density was 118 people per square mile . There were 48,315 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...
.
To honor her late husband, Nancy Mack Tappan endowed Austin College
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated by covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church and located in Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles North of Dallas....
(in the Northeast Texas town of Sherman) with the Melrose H. Tappan Jr. and Melrose H. Tappan III Presidential Scholarship.
After Mel Tappan's death, his widow stayed on in the Rogue River Valley. As recently as 2010, she was still active in survivalism. In the late 1990s in partnership with her friend Vernon Hixson, she started a large wine vineyard called Evans Creek and Venture Vineyards, on a 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) parcel. In 2009, she was a board member of the Grants Pass Irrigation District. In June 2010, she became editor of a self-sufficiency and preparedness magazine called The New Pioneer, from Harris Publications
Harris Publications
Harris Publications Inc. is an American consumer-magazine publisher in New York City, New York, that publishes over 75 titles, including Juicy, XXL, King, Dog News, 0-60, Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement, Small Business Opportunities, Men's Workout, Exercise & Health, Celebrity Hairstyles, and...
.
Continuing influence
Tappan's writings are still popular and influential in survivalist circles, nearly three decades after his death. A new edition of his book Tappan on Survival (with a foreword by Bruce D. ClaytonBruce D. Clayton
Bruce D. Clayton is a noted forest fire and biological control ecologist as well as being the author of several books of interest within the survivalist movement....
) was released in 2009, and as of December 2009 ranks in Amazon's top 90,000 books (out of more than 4 million titles.) Survival Guns also recently went back into print. Both books are published by Paladin Press
Paladin Press
Paladin Press is a book publishing firm founded in 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown.The company publishes non-fiction books and videos covering a wide range of specialty topics, including personal and financial freedom, survivalism and preparedness, firearms and shooting, various martial...
.
See also
- Reginald BretnorReginald BretnorReginald Bretnor was a science fiction author who flourished between the 1950s and 1980s. Most of his fiction was in short story form, and usually featured a whimsical story line or ironic plot twist...
- Bruce D. ClaytonBruce D. ClaytonBruce D. Clayton is a noted forest fire and biological control ecologist as well as being the author of several books of interest within the survivalist movement....
- Jeff Cooper
- Karl HessKarl HessKarl Hess was an American national-level speechwriter and author. He was also a political philosopher, editor, welder, motorcycle racer, tax resister, atheist, and libertarian activist...
- Dean IngDean IngDean Ing is an American author, who usually writes in the science fiction and techno-thriller genres.Dean Charles Ing was formerly a member of the United States Air Force, an aerospace engineer, and a university professor who holds a doctorate in communications theory. He has been a professional...
- Roy Masters
- James Wesley RawlesJames Wesley RawlesJames Wesley, Rawles is a New York Times best-selling survivalist-fiction author, blogger, and survival retreat consultant. Rawles is a Christian conservative. He is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a blog on survival and preparedness topics...
- Retreat (survivalism)Retreat (survivalism)A retreat is a place of refuge for those in the survivalist subculture or movement. Retreats are also sometimes called Bug-Out Locations...
- Don StephensDon StephensDon Stephens is a futurist, eco-home sustainable designer and author. He has published books in the field of what he terms "optimized self-sufficiency" for a range of uncertain-future scenarios, that is also labeled survivalism by others....