What books do you recommend?

Discussion in 'Books' started by PracticalToby, May 21, 2016.

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  1. PracticalToby

    PracticalToby Member
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    I'd be interested to know which books you would call your 'survival bibles'.

    Clearly many people will instantly think of Holy Bibles or other faith books, but I'm thinking more of practical 'how-to' volumes, and recipe books. What woud you recommend?
     
  2. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
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    anything by John Seymour.
    "Beyond Collapse" surviving and rebuilding civilisation from scratch.....T.Joseph Miller jr.
    "When Technology fails" a manual for self-reliance, sustainability and surviving the long emergency.....Matthew Stein.
    for anyone in Britain I suggest you get a copy of : War Plan UK by Duncan Campbell, its old now, written in the 1980s, but it will give you an idea of government ideas and planning, many of these plans are still on the statute book to this day.
     
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  3. Dilof

    Dilof New Member
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    I feel like a lot of what I'm about to say will get a lot of hate due to this guy being a more celebrity type of survivalist but Bear Grylls survivalist books are honestly pretty well written and he has a lot of them (8 I think). They go through detail on how to get the most efficient transport; where to set up traps on choke points as well as using innovation to make the most of dire situations. He's got a few books on "How-tos" about knot tying and shelter building and whatnot.
     
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  4. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
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    i'm a Ray Mears guy myself, BG is more of a showman.
    i'd take anything BG says with a grain of salt or two, if his books are anything like his TV shows it'll get you into more trouble than you may want.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2016
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  5. Dilof

    Dilof New Member
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    You could say that. But you really should read his books.. they're much better than his TV show as they're put to a different audience. You need to ask yourself whether the majority of people who would sit and watch his TV shows would be willing to read his books. His books are highly aimed at potential survivalists with the tips that they give; it's not just casual reading material.
     
  6. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
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    i'll stick to Ray Mears thanks.
     
  7. PracticalToby

    PracticalToby Member
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    In my case it was "Food for Free" by Richard Mabey and "Self Sufficiency" by John Seymour. I also found "A Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable" by Juliet DeBaraclai-Levy and "Of Men and Plants" by Maurice Messegue very helpful. Hope I've spelt those last two names correctly. All my books are packed up in boxes at the moment as I'm moving!
     
  8. Arboreal

    Arboreal Active Member
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    "SAS Survival Handbook" y John Wiseman is a good one, and it has a lot of advice on situations that other authors rarely explore, like surviving a shipwreck. "Survival Handbook" by Raymond Mears is another I like, although it's not really a handbook, more like something advanced for people who already have some knowledge of survival techniques and want to improve it.

    Check the Seymour guy mentioned by @PracticalToby, he has written a lot and some of his books are very useful. And the remainder is very good to read :D
     
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  9. remnant

    remnant Expert Member
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    I would recommend books on self defence because interpersonal violence has dramatically increased. Being able to defend yourself makes you have the right psychological mode to handle more complicated emergencies like war situations. I would recommend books by a black belt karate expert called Karim Karimbhai on basic to advanced self defence techniques.
     
  10. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
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  11. BeautifullyBree

    BeautifullyBree Active Member
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    I look forward to buying a few of these books. You can never be too prepared. Thank you all for sharing. I hope my local library carries a few of them.
     
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  12. Keith H.

    Keith H. Moderator Staff Member
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    My book is dirt cheap as an ebook.
    Keith.
     
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  13. judyd1

    judyd1 New Member
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    I know it doesn't directly apply to this type of situation, but I enjoyed Isaac Asimov's The Foundation Series. The scope of the book is so wide. The series itself covers mankind for over a thousand years.

    Asimov combines psychology and history into one entity: psychohistory, and the main character uses it to predict fairly accurately, human events similar to ours.
    Like Asimov, I hope that there's more to the human future than build and collapse, build and collapse.

    We have brains, people. Let's use them to make the future better. Yes, be prepared for the worst. But work for better.
     
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  14. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
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    "Prepare for the worst, Hope for the best "!!:D
     
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  15. bootlady

    bootlady New Member
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    Wow those all seem like some awesome titles. I will definitely have to check those out. I must say that the one that seems the most fascinating is Beyond Collapse. Rebuilding civilisation from scratch sounds awesome!
     
  16. Danny Luke

    Danny Luke New Member
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    I would highly recommend books that tackle practical issues like building fire, finding edible, plants, finding water, and building shelter. With that said, the following books are some of my favorites: How to Survive Anything Anywhere, How to be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens, and How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It. I don't think these are available in standard book stores. With that said, I advise that you search them online like in Amazon or eBay.
     
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  17. QuakeringInTokyo

    QuakeringInTokyo New Member
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    Does anyone have any recommendations specially for disaster in city type survival? I'm thinking like post earthquake or bombing attack, like how to last for few days on large built up city after such an event. From first aid to finding food.
     
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  18. Maria_C

    Maria_C New Member
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    I am not so much of recipe bookie. I think the most important thing in trying to survive is having the materials not their manuals. I would only consider a book to give me company not for some cooking guide, might as well eat whatever it is raw without cooking.
     
  19. Jim Cobb

    Jim Cobb New Member
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    The Survival Group Handbook by Charley Hogwood
    Practical Self-Reliance by John D. McCann
    Build the Perfect Survival Kit by John D. McCann
    Stay Alive by John D. McCann
    The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley
    The Survival Medicine Handbook by Joe and Amy Alton
    Bug Out by Scott Williams
     
  20. WildSpirit

    WildSpirit Active Member
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    One of my favorite books is "The Hunger Games" saga, so... If you still haven't read it yet, I highly recommend because the whole story is pretty amazing! ;)
     
  21. Clara1993

    Clara1993 Active Member
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    Oh nooo Please allow me to disappoint you a little because I don't feel like recommending you Bibles or hpw to do Volumes or Recipes ... , Let me represent you my favorite Authors I like novels And I get completelly lost when I have a novel to finish ;-) and I have 2 of fovorite authors John Grisham and Danielle steel,
    So I would recommand you My most favorite novels which are The Client, Povue Lawyer and the street lawyer by John Grisham
    Honor thyself and Five days in Paris by Danille Steel, Lol if you don't like novels Consider that as a joke :)
    My other favorite how to book it depends on what you want to hhh But Let me choose a How to cook book for you which is " How to cook everything" By Mark Bittman.
     
  22. jeager

    jeager Master Survivalist
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  23. iamawriter

    iamawriter Well-Known Member
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    Survival bible? I can highly recommend 'The Power of Positive Thinking' By Norman Vincent Peale If there is a spring in my step I owe it to this book.
     
  24. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
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    Actually a book written in the late 1950s by a gentleman names Pat Frank called "Alas Babylon" about a small town in Florida after a nuclear war just wiped us out probably had a greater effect on the way I looked at survival than any non fiction book that I have ever read. It was very real and in its time was massivly influential in the survivalist community of the 60s and 70s. I still recommend it and read or listen to it (it is available on Amazons Audible) every couple of years.

    There were/are actually a lot of very good science fiction books out there with lots of good information and offering you a chance to vicariously experience the end of the world as we know it. They will never replace my many reference books but are nonetheless still well worth reading. I found Lucifer's Hammer written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle to be quite worthwhile to read as a survivalist. It offered an perspective of what it MIGHT be like if we got hit by another big asteroid or comet.

    I recommend any of the Tom Brown Tracker books especially the one on wilderness survival. I like and have the Fixfire Books that cover primitive of grid living from the past. Wherever you live you should have several books on the available eatable plants in your area. I have Peterson field guides on nearly everything. I have repair manuals for all of my cars and references for gunsmithing and repair. A little pocket book by a guy named Glover called Pocket Reference is great for a lot of things.

    If the world goes down while I'm alive I will open a library. I read prodigiously and actually have around 30,000 books. When the power goes out books are suddenly be worth more than gold. The power of positive thinking and several other of Norman Vincent Peale's books have long had an honored place on my shelves as well. Another Book that helps is called Psycho cybernetics and it deals with similar things. Dealing with BAD things is going to be more deadly for many than the disaster itself. In this generally very pleasant country that I live in today 45,000 people commit suicide every year and that number is climbing. Can you IMAGINE what it will be like when things get tough and stress piles up on people???!!!
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2017
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  25. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
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    any book should be one that will help you survive, otherwise use it as fire lighting material, if it dosent do either then its a liability not an asset.
     
  26. tichinee

    tichinee New Member
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  27. tichinee

    tichinee New Member
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    The US Army has some fine survival guides for living off the land, do-it-yourself medicine and constructing dwellings. Here are a few books:
    The Complete U.S. Army Survival Guide to Foraging Skills, Tactics, and Techniques
    $9.99

    The Complete U.S. Army Survival Guide to Medical Skills, Tactics, and Techniques

    US Army Survival Manual
    by U.S. Army
    1566190223
    $3.99

    An internet search for Army survival guides brings up a lot of written material. A lot of it is specific to a weapon or piece of equipment.

    Another book is called Lost Ways. The Lost Ways guide contains a lot of secrets and techniques employed by our ancestors to survive the challenges of life. Before electricity. One person compiled as much information as he could about the survival techniques employed by our ancestors and compiled all of it in a guide he called The Lost Ways. You can get it here. http://tinyurl.com/ycfns27g
    I get a commission if you buy it through this link but you can buy it by doing a search. It is worth the money. There is a 60-day money back guarantee
     
  28. Ystranc

    Ystranc Master Survivalist
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    Read everything, then go outside, not necessarily into the wild but somewhere where you can try each technique you've read about. You will end up dismissing most of what you've read as total rubbish but whatever works will stick in your mind because you've done it with your own hands. Do it and practice it.
    Most of the guys that are held up as survival gurus have had their books ghost written. Ed (Bear) Grylls didn't sit down and write those books, just as he doesn't sit in a workshop at the Gerber factory making all those penknives. He has become a brand and a TV personality (he is however a really nice guy)
    Ray Mears and John Wiseman are both businessmen who have built up multi million pound businesses by separating people who are interested in bushcraft or survival from as much money as possible.
    All the information that you will ever need is out there, most of it can be found for free but you should look beyond the narrow confines of 'survival bibles' and learn everything that you can hold in your head.
     
  29. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
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    Books offer you information. I love my books but you have to understand that until you take that information out and put it in practice it isn't knowledge. You can read something and it sounds simple but when you try to do it you may have little success. Even the relatively simple act of starting and building a fire can be a challenge if you haven't done it. I have heard people complain that they have trouble starting fires with ferrocerium rods and to me it is about the same as using a strike anywhere kitchen match. It is just a matter of practice and knowing what sorts of tinder work well for this.

    Read about it and have information...do it and have knowledge!!
     
  30. lalakai

    lalakai Well-Known Member
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  31. kilo4okc

    kilo4okc Expert Member
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  32. lonewolf

    lonewolf Societal Collapse Survivalist. Staff Member
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    a first aid book(unless you have a Doctor in your group that's about as much as you will be able to cope with).
    A herbal book. consistent with your local area and what grows there.
    a book on growing and planting.
    a book on butchering and a book on cooking. maybe a few recipes.
     
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  33. Morgan101

    Morgan101 Legendary Survivalist
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    Two books that I would highly recommend:

    Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs by Wendy Brown
    How to Survive the End of the World as we Know It by James Wesley Rawles

    Both are very complete, and cover every aspect of prepping.

    Lonewolf: I love Ray Mears. Thoroughly enjoyed every TV show he did, and learned a lot. My favorite was the episode he did in the Sonora desert, which is near and dear to my heart, living like an Apache. Bear Grylls is O.K. but it seems like to do half of the stuff he does you have to be a World-Class athlete. I am looking for the Old Fat Guy Survival Guide.
     
  34. savvybuilder

    savvybuilder Active Member
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    First and foremost I always recommend everyone have a bible.

    I would also recommend reference books specific to your geographic area in the following areas:
    Growing food and finding edible plants
    Hunting and trapping
    Food preservation
    Livestock husbandry and care

    Good fiction reads:
    James Wesley Rawles’ books are a good read with plenty of reference material imbedded
    William Forstchen is a good SHTF scenario for the unprepared
    A. American’s home series has some prepping nuggets
    Joe Nobody’s series is entertaining
    Gordon Ballantyne’s post EMP series is a good read
     
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  35. Sonofliberty

    Sonofliberty Master Survivalist
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    LOL, that is interesting. I have been thinking about writing one. What it seems to boil down to is: do the same stuff but more slowly and pay more attention to safety than the young athlete types do. You don't have to move huge logs to build a safe and warm shelter. Build in layers using 2" to 3" saplings and clay or mud bricks. You will need to build a kiln to make the bricks, but that isn't too hard.
     
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  36. Morgan101

    Morgan101 Legendary Survivalist
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    For a short time Creek Stuart had a TV show called Fat Guys in the Woods. He took four. Everyday Joe kind of guys out in the woods and taught them survival skills. They had to build their own shelter and start a fire. I think they trapped food.

    It was entertaining but short lived. I guess old fat guys don't make good television like Naked and Afraid.
     
  37. Sonofliberty

    Sonofliberty Master Survivalist
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    LOL, if they showed me naked you would have reason to be afraid.
     
  38. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
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    Going old school if you can find them, Mel Tappan's "Survival Guns" and "Tappan On Survival" were excellent in their day and are still good reading for someone interested in survival.
     
  39. Morgan101

    Morgan101 Legendary Survivalist
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    Truer words were never spoken. LOL :eek:
     
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  40. Tsavo

    Tsavo Well-Known Member
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    Asimov fan myself, excellent suggestion, time to re-read. Thanks, I love finding diamonds in the rough...
     
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  41. Tsavo

    Tsavo Well-Known Member
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    I am of the opinion that yesterdays science fiction is tomorrows science fact. Why since you wrote this post, the only survival book you now need, is the edible one from landrover. (Grin) https://www.businessinsider.com/if-...desert-just-eat-the-owners-manual-2012-5?IR=T
     
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  42. TexDanm

    TexDanm Shadow Dancer
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    I figured out a long time ago that a lot of what was written as science fiction was actually legitimate science theory that was better accepted if offered at first in a fiction based format. Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon was more than just an off the top of his head fiction novel. Written a hundred years before we actually did it, his story had an amazing number of similarities to the actual trip. He actually did the rough calculations and the time, speed, size of the capsule and what it was made of and the crew size were all on target. His book, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, was so accurate that when we finally actually built a Nuclear powered submarine it was naturally called the Nautilus.

    Arthur C. Clarke actually took out a patient on the idea of a satellite in Geosynchronous orbit way before it was a real possibility.
    The list of fiction authors pre-inventing what are now common things is endless. Fiction can be a very real answer to a, What if???, question.
     
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  43. CountryGuy

    CountryGuy Master Survivalist
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  44. Sonofliberty

    Sonofliberty Master Survivalist
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    There is always the old Foxfire series of books. I wish I still had those. Lots of good stuff in them.
     
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  45. Sonofliberty

    Sonofliberty Master Survivalist
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    Speaking of fat guys in the woods......


    This kid is 240 pounds and out of shape. In this video, he is starting a 7 day $100 walmart challenge. It is not "out in the woods" this is obviously his(or a friend's) land. Notice the number of views
     
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  46. woodsman

    woodsman Expert Member
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