Favorite Realistic SHTF Books?

I thought it would be interesting to discuss some of our favorite realistic SHTF books. By realistic, this would preclude things like zombie apocalypses, alien invasion, and the like. I'll get us started:

• Alas Babylon, by Pat Frank. This one is a real classic. It is about survival in the wake an atomic exchange in the late 1950s. In the book, civilization collapses and the characters have to struggle to survive.
• Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. This one came out in 1977 and it is about a comet impact that triggers massive destruction. The science in the book is quite solid and the character development is surprisingly good considering the genre.
• Warday, by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka. This is another World War III post-nuke book, but this one is set in the early 1980s and covers the travels of two writers in the US. It is a bit dreary and the action drags at some points, but it is still a good read.
• First Angel, by Ed Mann. This is a largely forgotten gem from the late 1980s that depicts an atomic exchange between the US and the Soviets. Some of the characters prepared before and some didn't. There are a lot of powerful survival and preparedness themes in the book.
• Earth Abides, by George R. Stewart. This one is about a mysterious illness that wipes out most of mankind and the lives of those that survived. It is an unusual and haunting book.
  
• One Second After, by William R. Forstchen. Thinking about preparing for EMP? This is the book to read.

Anyway, those are just a few off the top of my head. How about you?

 

Very nice list. I really loved First Angel and Lucifer's Hammer.

If I may add mine:

- Lights out by David Crawford (self-explanatory, just read the title),
- 77 days in September (a terrorist attack involving a nuclear bomb that shuts down the power grid and so on),
- The Rift by Walter Jon Williams (it's about a big earthquake).

 

Indeed. Yes, you can learn things from fiction. The vast majority of fiction works are filled to the brim with Facts. Truth. Knowledge.
You just, as you're reading, have to strip away the plot, storyline,characters, and the narrators "voice" and you'll be left with, mostly facts.
Many authors include in a preface or at the end an index or note on the topics in the book.
Michael Crighton, James Rollins, Tom Clancy, are examples of some authors who clarify for the reader what things, such as: the technology, historical record, scientific facts, etc... are real in the story and not.

 

I purchased a copy of When Technology Fails: a manual for self-reliance. BY: Matthew Stein
I have tried a few of the different things mentioned therein, to see if they work.
They do.
One of them is the Dr. Clarks parasite cleanse.
It does in fact, rid your body of parasites.
A 3ft.+ tapeworm came out into the toilet.
I built the hydro-electric power generator. A tiny version of course. It did charge a dead redtop truck battery.
I also used a method mentioned in the manual for making candles.
Also, a friend of my Fathers is very ill with some form of cancer. I sent my Dad the recipe for Sir Jason Winters tea. Which cured him of cancer.
My pater said that after a month of drinking it regularly his friend showed some relief from a few of the Cancer side effects. Less nausea, improvedc appetite, and the hairloss from the Medical treaments.chemo.. came to all but a complete stop.
An aside,
I will be purchasing a number of the texts mentioned above.

 

I recenly got thru 2 books.
By James Wesley, Rawles
Patriots & Survivors
Although they are 2 separate books, they are based on the same fictional socio-economic collapse event. There are parts of the books that overlap with each other. Expanding the scope of the story.
They are full of facts & survival tips & strategies that the characters use to overcome many hardships.
Both are available in paper & audio versions. I enjoyed them.

 

Especially in this specific genera of books you can learn a LOT. Basically all of this type of book is doing is someone is saying "WHAT IF??" The book will make you think and offer the authors possible thoughts but you will be left with a lot of thoughts that will be yours as the book goes on. Alas Babylon was life changing for me. It got me to thinking and seeing things in a new way. Survival and Prepping are all about FOREthought and that is all a fiction book about a realistic possible end of the world as we know it is.