What 5 Books Would You Save

If the world as we know it comes to an end and most of civilisation is destroyed, but you have found a safe place to hide away, what 5 books would you save that could help the few folk who are left and their future off-spring so they don't have to return to the stone age? (Not big fat about-anything books for the bonfire, thanks, and no bibles please.)

I suppose as tribes and clans form in the aftermath, the books you have and the knowledge of reading (which might become rare if not passed on) could be a powerful thing to have. What kinds of books would benefit a post-apocalyptic tribe who have a reader or two left?

The only books I can think of from what I own already is a reader's digest Food from Your Garden. It's all about growing fruit & veg & preserving etc. but I'm sure there are many good books on finding food in the wild? Perhaps a Ray Mears for some bushcraft? I think I's also take an encyclopedia brittanica. But what else could we impress the natives with? Atlas of the world? Might not work if continents a blown out of shape.

[edit on 21-8-2007 by wigit]

I would save that simple little masterpiece, The Old Man and the Sea.

I would save self help books- too many to mention.

[edit on 22-8-2007 by esdad71]

[edit on 22-8-2007 by esdad71]

Good thread, and a subject I've frequently thought about.

My personal list of the five books I'd keep to bring my tribe to the forefront of "Most Chosen Nation" after the downfall of modern civilization,

IMHO, the 5 Greatest Books Ever Written:

Sun Tzu's "The Art of War"

Niccolò Machiavelli's "The Prince"

Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" (the book, not the movie)

Miyamoto Musashi's "The Book of Five Rings"

The Boy Scout Handbook


PS: Your second post in the thread was removed for its blatant insult to the members of ATS. Just because people do not reply to your message in what you decide is a timely manner, does not make them "illiterate chimps"... that and it was a one-liner. However, as the subject of the thread itself is a good one, the thread remains.

1. The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Yes, they're all in one book I got for 50 cents at a thrift store )

2. Catcher in the Rye

3. Lolita

4. The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama

5. East of Eden


(On a side note, I think a Bible would be most useful in such a situation.. )

1 Fly Fishing by J R Hartley

2 101 Things to Do with a Cake Mix By Stephanie Ashcraft

3 Asterix and the big fight

4 Penthouse xmas 2002

5 Teach Yourself Javascript in 24 Hours By Michael G. Moncur

image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d0/AlasBabylon%281stEd%29.jpg


I am pretty sure you guys know why I am saying this book... You know.. future, the end, bending lazers.. you get the idea.

Everyone says bible.. that's a given.

I would get some old encyclopedias.

And I guess comics for kids.

reply to post by ThichHeaded

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Fantastic book! "Alas, Babylon" has been our family's code word for upwards of 2 decades thanks to this novel. The "don't argue, don't discuss it, just grab your gear, get moving fast, and prepare for civilization to end" sorta code.

Granted, a lot of it suffers from outdated and since-disproven information, but the core idea of preparedness makes this the novella the "Allegory of the Survivor."

Great pick. Thanks for reminding me about this little gem.

Because Cosmology helps form the basis for belief systems, I would include:

The Big Bang Never Happened, by Eric J Lerner

Because an understanding of consciousness is paramount to understanding self:

Zen and the Brain, by James H Austin

Because it is a classic:

Godel, Escher, Bach, by Douglass Hofstadter

Because I would be hungry:

Any 2 books that deal with gathering food from the wild, hunting, etc (Can the whole Foxfire series count?)

Only 5? (Honestly, I'd be saying the same thing if it were only 10, or only my body weight in books... I can't imagine leaving my friends behind!)


1) USA Search and Rescue Survival Training Manual (filled with oodles of nifty information)

2) Setting Food By (methods of preserving food)

3) The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. (someone mentioned that they paid 50 cents for theirs... I think all I got back in change was 50 cents...)

4) Tao de Ching

5) Philosophy: An Introduction to the Art of Wondering, OR any edition of Virtues and Vices

[edit on 22-8-2007 by Diseria]

great thread!

i would take catcher in the rye, slaughterhouse 5, the gunslinger, white fang and hmm toss up between it and the stand

Here's a good one:

I would save the most effective 5 tax books ever published. Than when society falls and I live I will laugh it up at the people by installing the system again easily as those who have. HA. Since no one GIVES A DAMN about it and it is still here!!

I like this thread, Im gonna read that Babylon rising book.

#1 The best of Walden and Civil disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

#2 Our Republic- a brief history of the American people by SE Forman

#3 Emerson Essays and Lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson

#4 Medicine for the Backcountry by Buck Tilton

#5 Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival by Tom Brown jr

reply to post by Diseria

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I'm glad you're my B.O.B. (Bug Out Buddy ), it saves me from having to bring the Search and Rescue Handbook.



1. As comprehensive a star map as will fit in an 8x11 binding, no thicker than 2 inches - and its gotta have instructions. I don't know how to navigate by the stars without instructions - shame too. It's a good thing to know - good knowledge to preserve in written form.

2. Tsunetomo's Hakagure

3. A manual on diesel engine construction and repair.

4. An anatomy textbook with notes on the basics of common afflictions as well as the medical procedures and homeopathic treatments to treat them. Even stuffed to double its normal size, a soft-cover copy of Gray's or similar ia a reasonable size/weight, and talk about handy...

5. I can't decide...

(Alas, Babylon sounds very interesting - I'd never heard of it before. Thanks. )

[edit on 23-8-2007 by WyrdeOne]

[edit on 23-8-2007 by WyrdeOne]

Bhagavad Gita

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

Deadeye Dick - Kurt Vonnegut

Foundat ion Series - Isaac Asimov

Th e Last Picture Show - Larry McMurtry

I'm sorry for the misunderstanding and I never meant it to read that I was calling ATS members illiterate chimps. That's really not what I was saying at all. I thought readers would understand I was saying that any surviving humans would regress into illiterate chimps (go back to the stone-age) if all knowledge was lost, and that certain books and the ability to read could end up being the most powerful tool around. Didn't it read like that? I wasn't calling ATS folk chimps.

You've taken my points away and gave me a big red warning sign, I was planning a purchase too. I'm a nice person. Perhaps you've read it wrong and over-reacted??

Good choice, lol.

Yes, whole series can count as one book methinks.

Great choice, would come in very handy. The owner of that could become a very powerful person. I can just picture folk going around saying " and this is called A WHEEL!" to an amazed crowd.lol.

I think survival of the species will be doubtful if the sum of all knowledge remaining is a few comic books and novels, but that's just my opinion.

I'd go for the latest permaculture book by Bill Mollinson, some kind of comprehensive guide to plants (medicinal properties, etc.), a medical manual to deal with the most common kind of sickness and injuries, an engineering journal to learn how to build basic machines, pumps, firearms, etc, and probably a book about practical chemistry and physics if such a thing exists.

Apart from the first book, I really don't have any idea about actual titles - would be good if someone had some suggestions.

If it really happened I don't think most of the choices picked so far would be the ones saved, we're just having fun with the idea. The top five books is what the thread's about but if it really happened that the worst came to the worst we'd be looking at trying to save whole libraries. Maybe this type scenario has happened before, in our distant past? Maybe the keepers of the books are the Illuminati or similar? Wouldn't surprise me.

The kind you've suggested are exactly what we'd be looking for. Need to come up with the best ones though. Anyone know the some good titles?

Not really. What it read like was "it's been an entire day since I posted the OP, no one has responded, so I guess the world would degenerate into a bunch of illiterate chimps".

However, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. That, and it really is a good thread. We'll discuss the rest in U2U.