what books to stock in case everthing goes to crap

what books would you want in your hide away to help you survive
i am sure their are survival guides out there but what about stuff for long term survival

chilton's repair manual for each of my vehicles.

a good organic chemistry textbook

stack of 1980's Radioshack Project/Engineers' Notebooks

The guide to Self-Sufficiciency - classic DIY'ers manual on how to run a small self reliant farm anywhere, in any climate. Has chapters on how to dress game, how to milk a cow, how to make cheese, how to build a wall of bricks, how to thresh wheat, etc.

If you're an American, chances are the only books your ancestors owned were the Authorized Holy Bible, and The Federalist Papers. Maybe it's more about motivation than it is about expertise . . .


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I've got the 1980's radioshack engineers notebook... very useful for building radios, transmitters, battery chargers, battery meters, etc. Very informative, it would definately come in handy should you have to make repairs on your electronic equipment.

I recieved it as a gift from my neighbor, don't scof at it... the very chips they speak of are still used in every piece of electronics we have today!
Not much has changed since the 80's. Except for the processors of course.

Let me throw in a word here about Gray's Anatomy

Anatomy is not exactly an exciting science. The human body hasn't changed since the American Civil War, when anatomy got kicked upstairs into a rigorous intellectual persuit, as did the scientific portrayal of the body's bones, veins, organs and nerves.

Since then, computers haven't really improved on Gray's. The drawings are designed to show you how the whatzit is connected to the thingus, and actual photos are actually more difficult to decipher than those classic engravings.

There is a copy in about every room in a doctor's offices. If the doctor doesn't look in it before treating you, it's because she has memorized it. Before x-rays, it was all they had.

When you consider the fact that most of the illnesses you encounter in a survival situation will be gross insults to your anatomy . . . broken legs, piece of wire jammed into your hand, bleed from cut while you were dressing out game, (gunshot wounds?) . . . you can see how this book is critical.

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"Planting your own garden in a nuclear winter for dummies"

The only books I would add to those already listed are old engineering books and metalworking books of all kinds.

The Boy Mechanic from Popular Mechanic's Vol. 1,2,3

Grey's anatomy is an excellent starting point, and while you will not have the tools to perform complex medical procedures a solid first aid book will be indespensable. Heck even the Boy Scout First aid merit badge book is better than nothing.

I would also take a PDR or Pysicians Desk Reference. this is basicaly a book that described medications, doses, trade names, uses and what they look like. That way if you run into medications you know what they are used for and how much to give.

If you have a secure stationary shelter, an encycolpedia and assorted texbooks. Why, your going to have to educate the children at some point if you have them.

PDR is a good choice, The Merck Manual is another. While it is definitely a sales tool, it lists various illnesses, and common medicines and dosages used in treatment.

The boy scout manual is an excellent choice, with passages on everything relating to camping, including first aid.

You can find Paramedic manuals at any used bookstore . . .

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Ever book and poem ever written by Neil Gaiman.

Bring all the "survival" books you want.. but what is life with out literature?

The Foxfire series of books is an excellent reference for livin old school style, I have 2 of the 10 books, this is from

The Foxfire Book

hog dressing, log cabin building, mountain crafts and foods, planting by the signs, snake lore, hunting tales, faith healing, moonshining,and other affairs of plain living

I found something on the web that claims that the original 6 books are available online you can read this article here:

Gaiman?? You meant to say Heinlein right?

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I think it smarter to collect short papers than entire books, at least for a survival situation. I enjoy my library (sometimes I just sit and stare at my books, just read the titles and run my fingers along the covers) but I have no plans on taking it with me if I have to bug out. When you find good articles print them and stuff them in a large zip lock or two. Keep them next to your BOB, take em with you if you don’t know for sure that you are coming back (or in you BOB if you have the space.)

Remember too that knowledge can be very valuable. Can you imagine what a diabetic would trade for an article on insulin manufacture? OK, so that sounded horrible but I cant think of a better example.

Some blank paper and pens to make copies when needed would probably be a good idea.

Oh, and always keep a bible in the bottom of your bag. You never know where you may find God when things get tough.

Not the original books, but some legal microfiches of the original books. I've only downloaded the first one so far. Let me warn you that some of the information is quite useful, and some of it is complete garbage based on nothing but supersition. I am particularly talking about the medical section, which is basically 100% wrong "folk remedies". Their cure for tonsilitus is painting your tonsils with a mixture of turpentine and iodine several times a day for several months until they dissolve. Their cure for earaches is putting a few drops of warm urine in your ear (I kid you not). The cure for being bit by a black widow is drinking liqeur heavily from 3 pm to 7 pm. So basically, completely ignore the medical section of these books (especially the first one), unless you want a good laugh.

The Foxfire Books

The site the books are hosted on, librum.us also has many other old books and manuals that would be useful in a survival situation.

If you Google book titles with words like "free PDF download", you will find that most books are available online legally (especially old books past their copyright and spiritual texts). However, I couldn't find any copies of The Guide to Self-Sufficiency (or any John Seymour) books mentioned above, so I may actually order that one.

[edit on 26-4-2007 by Yarcofin]

Well I think the cure for the black widow bite sounds good to me. I will have to relay that on to my wife. Sorry honey I was in the basment again and one of them wider spiders bit me, got to drink heavily now for at least four hours. The encyclopedia of country living has quite a bit of useful info in it. There is a lot of free useful information on various websites, a pen and paper and a little time, is still one of the best resources I have found.

Actually, Yarcofin, urine from a healthy person is antiseptic. The urea in it is heavy on ammonia. Not that I'd be "into it" over a doctor, but if you had a crushing earache in a survival situation, it might be something to remember . . . .

Now lean over, I've gotta go.



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"Religion has never stopped a war, although it has started a great number" - Harry Harison

I figure it would be a good idea to shoot Bible toters before they start any more trouble, but I guess if they keep it to themselves it would be OK.

Can I bring my iBook and a solar charger? I have tons of books on CDs. Project Gutenburg is a great way to increase your collection!

The best place to keep your books is in your head. "Stuff" can be taken from you but knowledge and skills can not. That said, the boyscout manual is a good general source of info for those who can't remember basics under pressure situations.
Foxfire series had some useful information but a good 80% was folksie type stories about life in the appalachian mountains and how they got by. Had to sift a lot of chaff to get to the wheat. Good, entertaining stories, to be sure, but not the type of stuff I'd carry with me in my BOB.
Mosby's Handbook of Natural Herbs and Supplements has proven very useful, even in these (relatively) peaceful times.
David's Tool Kit: A Citizens' Guide to Taking Out Big Brother's Heavy Weapons by Ragnar Benson may prove useful to the more assertive among us.
Also, I've found Taber's Dictionary to have some helpful hints but it's a thick book and you'd have to weed through it to find the things that would be useful to your situation. Good reference.
PDR is just too much info you won't need or use. I'm a nurse and even the doctors use nursing drug books to look stuff up rather than the PDR because nursing drug books are more condensed, easier to read (simpler language), less technical info you don't care about, etc.
Everyone should know how to make soap and candles and not need a book to explain it. Everyone should know a few pressure points to relieve pain or disable an opponent in hand-to-hand combat. There are occasions in which you simply don't have the time or won't want to take the time to look something up and will want to have that knowledge already in your head.
Good thread, btw.

Well, if the urine-in-the-ear thing wasn't weird enough, their cures for warts:

"Put the hand with a wart in a paper bag and close it up. The first person who opens it will get your warts."

Alternatively,

"Rub your warts on something people would want to pick up, like a penny, and throw it into the street. When someone picks it up, your warts will be gone."

Alternatively,

"Cut as many notches into a piece of wood as you have warts. They will disappear"

etc.

Hey, maybe we need to do a thread entitled "sympathetic magic for survival."

I can picture indian rain dances, hunting "spirit-guides," vision quests after snakebite, and stuff from the malleus maleficarium about how to sour your neighbor's milk and make the cows drop their calves out of season. Maybe we could bind up the NWO by tying knots in a virgin's hair. Hmmm. lotta possibilities.

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Great thread! I'll be looking some of these books up tonight. I was a Boy Scout many, many, moons ago and the one thing that has stuck with me is "be prepared."

I also agreee that more important documents should be printed and kept waterproof in a bugout backpack or bag.