Mel tappan biography
Mel Tappan
Survivalist movement leader (1933–1980)
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 who advocated relocation to survival retreats in lightly populated regions.
Emergence as survivalist expert
After attending Stanford University, Tappan first worked in finance. 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."
Newsletter editor
Tappan published 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 J Nancy Tappan was the co-editor of the newsletter Personal Survival ("P.S.") Letter in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is now the editor of The New Pioneer magazine. Born Nancy Mack, she is the widow of Mel Tappan. Nancy 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 Mel and Nancy Tappan, as well from Jeff Cooper, Al J. Venter, Bill Pier, Bruce D. Clayton, Rick L. Fines (writing as "Ross Lee"), 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, Carl E. Krupp, and several other writers, some under pen names (such as "Dr. J.M. Browning"). The majority of this newsletter revolved around selecting, constructing, and logistically equipping survival retreats. Following Mel Tappan's death in 1980, Nancy Tappan took over publishing the newsletter, renaming it Survival Tomorrow in 1983. In 1987, Carl E. Krupp became the new editor and publisher. In 1981, (following her husband's death on November 2, 1980), Nancy Tappan edited a number of Mel Tappan's magazine columns from Soldier of Fortune magazine and Guns & Ammo magazine, to combine them to create the book Tappan on Survival. A new edition of Tappan on Survival (with a foreword by Bruce D. Clayton) was released in 2009, and as of December 2009 ranks in Amazon's top 90,000 books (out of more than 4 million titles.) The book is published by Paladin Press. In the editor's introduction to the 1981 edition, Nancy Tappan wrote: "I have chosen to let the columns stand as he wrote them and have only updated information and grouped the material by theme despite the fact that the subjects treated are covered unevenly. E Melrose(Mel)TappanIII Born [location unknown] Son of Melrose H. Tappan Jr. and LaVeda Mae (Potter) Tappan [sibling(s) unknown] [spouse(s) unknown] [children unknown] Died at about age 47 [location unknown] Problems/Questions Profile last modified This page has been accessed 23 times. Mel Tappan III is Notable. Mel was born in 1933. He was an influential leader of the survivalist movement. He graduated from Stanford and worked in finance in Los Angeles before turning his career towards survivalism. He was born with a tumor on his spine and spent his life in braces, on crutches, and in a wheelchair. He passed away in 1980. Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com DNASurvival Guns
The most outdated part of the book probably is the section that talks about self-defense handguns. Tappan argues that their is really only one REAL combat handgun--the Colt 1911 and its various clones. He then goes on to discuss the various extra work that this pistol requires before it is really ready for combat duty. Thankfully, the firearms industry has made great strides in this area and there are now at least several good options for a very reliable, high-capacity, powerful combat handgun. These options are combat ready out of the box and many are cheaper than most 1911s would be.
I have a couple minor criticisms: first, Tappan's views on calibers, and second, Tappan's views of preparedness and the tone they convey. In Tappan's view, the .45ACP is the only suitable caliber for defense (he doesn't think revolvers are suitable weapons). In my opinion, the first rule of gunfighting (bring a gun to a gunfight) overrides any debates on caliber. It would be great if I could carry a pair of .44 Magnum revolvers with 8-inch barrels, but the problem is that I would never carry them. They are too big, too heavy, and too awkward. Obviously there is a compromise to be made between the most effective weapon and convenience. Tappan also seems to regard many mains Nancy Tappan
Newsletter editor
Book editor
Melrose Tappan III (1933 - 1980)
Biography
Sources
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