What 5 Books Would You Save

1. Riftwar Saga. Raymond E Feist. Pure Fantasy and Escapism.
2. Any decent biography of Winston Churchill. Inspirational.
3. Any book detailing how to brew beer and vodka. An absolute must.
4. Civilization. A New History Of The Western World. Roger Osbourne. Too remind us where we went wrong.
5. All Viz Books including Roger's Profanisaurus. To keep a sense of humour.

(has bible hidden in sleeping bag)

1. The guide to self-sufficiency
Information about livestock, farming, making your own soap, etc. Out of print since the 70's but a real collectors item. ebay had it.

2. Gray's Anatomy
The drawings are actually better than photographs for learning anatomy, and are critical for a small community without a working x ray machine!

3. 1, 2, 3 . . . Infinity
George Gamow's classic work for the layman about the basics of Einsteinian physics. Would give the next civilization a leg up on space travel . . . or atomic weapons. Lovely.

4. The Decameron
Boccaccio's collection of tales told at a dinner party while the wealthy elite are hiding from the Black Death that sweeps through their city---the end of the civilization before ours.

5. Lives of Illustrious Men
Plutarch's chronicle of classic history and civilization. More background for future humans as they rebuild.

Alright, I know it's cheating, but I got to thinking about it, and there's a 6th book I'd have to bring with me. If I absolutely HAD to drop a book out to make room, I guess I'd trade it for Starship Troopers on my list, but I wouldn't be happy about it.

The 6th book is George S. Clason's "The Richest Man in Babylon", which is the penultimate financial book of all time, and the bible for anyone with financial acumen.

Granted it might not come in handy immediately, till some sort of system of currency were re-established, but it would ensure my people were prosperous indeed.

thelibra, methinks you plan to be a rich capitalist in the new world. I'll warn my future kin to look out for you and see if I can find some books that beat yours, lol.

dr strangecraft I'll look up that first book you mention on ebay, sounds good.

A good reloading manual.

A gunsmithing manual.

A book on beer making.

Ann Ryan's book, Anthem.

A large book filled with blank pages so we can write our success and failures in.


Roper

The worst case scenario survival handbook (Includes such gems as how to dodge a bullet, wrestle a crocodile or deliver a baby)

A book of fairytales, because there will always be children who need stories, and in a post apocalyptic world, some adults may need such comforts too.

Hmm, not sure about the rest, will have to think

Not so much a Capitalist as observance of Maslowe's Hierarchy of Needs, my friend. Food, Water, Shelter, the ability to void one's bowels, and sex are all the prime attributes of basest human existence. Beyond that is security and after that is the persuit of higher ideals.

The first five can more or less be assured through the combined efforts and skills of all involved, and if they can't, mother nature will cruelly cull us down until there are enough resources to sustain us, and the Boy Scout Handbook, while not the end-all be-all, is a good layman's guide and well illustrated for the illiterate (which one must now apparently assume is about 30% of America, according to the most recent studies)

But homo sapiens is not a creature fond of mere sustenance, and will gravitate towards more. The only way this can happen is to protect the resources you have (militarily, culturally, and economically), invest them in gain (be it with currency, seed, etc), and administer them wisely so as to waste as little as possible (rationing, recycling, trading). The remaining books I list are the core fundamentals of these methods.

I would probably institute some form of currency once there was a solid resettlement, because a standard measurable unit of value is essential to an efficient economy. Otherwise, with a pure barter system, you end up with a lot of people getting the short end of the stick.

1. Farmers Almanac
2. Grays Anatomy
3. Penthouse
4. Calvin & Hobbs
5. The newest Military survival guide

Ah the old, only 5 of something...

I'll play along...

1. Bible

2. Plato's The Republic

3. Shakespeare

4. Faulkner's Absalom or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.. Can't make my mind up.

5. Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe


There are really so many more classics that should never be lost. I would hate to be the one that had to choose...

Semper

Poetic Edda -faith reference
Readers Digest Back to the Basics - skills survival reference
US Army Survival Manual - skills survival reference
Greys Anatomy -medical reference
Volsunga Saga -entertainment

thats my picks as of today they could change.

Anyone here remember the "FOXFIRE" series of book?

They were a comprehensive "How to" on everything basic. Including how to build a cabin, make shingles, make the forge and then the farm implements, grow crops etc....

I read some of them many years ago...

Semper

reply to post by wigit

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1. A Canticle for Liebowitz - Walter M. Miller, Jr.

2. Seneca [collected works] in Latin and English

3. Translation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Sacred Bible (includes Hebrew Scriptures and Writings, Enoch, Jubilees, Gospels, New Testament etc)

4. The Egyptian Book of the Dead

5. Bhagavata purana or a much larger collection inclusive of the Mahabharata et. al.

Darkness at Noon - Arthur Koestler

The Stranger - Albert Camus

Das Boot - Lothar Gunther Buchheim

Post Office - Charles Bukowski

Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk



And since the Mod cheated...I will also.

Guerrilla Warfare by Ernesto "Che" Guevara


Where would the world be today if the peasants of the medieval times had Che's Guerilla Warfare book.


__________

Id like to add that Im not a fan of Che at all. *points to the avatar*

[edit on 27/8/07 by Pfeil]

The Lord of the Rings baby and is The Art of War any good? I hear it is and I know 2pac liked it, I am thinking about reading it.

1) Culpeppers Herbal Encyclopaedia. Every medicine you'd ever need is
in here (provided they survive too)
2) The SAS Survival Handbook. John (lofty) Wiseman.
3) The New Standard Encyclopaedia and Word Atlas, (1920 edition) I do
have that btw!
4) The Arthurian Legends. (Good/evil/magic/romance/chivalrey it had it
all!)
5) The Dangerous Book for Boys, Conn and Hal Iggulden. (check this one
out!) everything from tying knots, navigation, making fire, astronomy
right through to talking to girls!! - kind of Boy Scouts on Steroids sort
of a book!))

and because the others cheated I would include Mein Kampf just to remind us of how bad we can get. (I am talking about the author here!)

Here's my 5 to add to the mix:

Granddad's Book of Chemistry

The Radio Amatuer's Handbook, 1922 edition. Frederick Collins

The Machinist Handbook


How Things Work Vol 1& 2


The Complete Works of Robert E. Howard(Conan,Kull,Soloman Kane, Bran Mak Morn et al)

The last one is for purely selfsish pleasure.

1) The Bible. Like it or not, some of the better ideas in the last 5000 years are found here.


2) When Technology Fails (2007 edition) by Matthew Stein. Great book, covers basic machine and metallurgy, all designed to be done in a primitive situation.


3) The Encyclopedia of Country Living (9th Edition) by Carla Emry. Great book that covers not only gardening and ranching, but also building shelters, well, preservation, and several hundred other topics. 9th Edition is best as it includes websites and mail order listings for more information.

4) Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook by James Talmage Stevens. Excellent resource for dealing with less than end of civilization disasters. Teaches people how to do more with less, not just in food and clothing, but in many areas.

5) No Such Thing As Doomsday, by Philip L. Hoag. This is probably the most expensive book in my library that is not 100+ years old or a college textbook, but it is worth every penny. This is the best book I've read for dealing with the psychological impact of survival and disaster. As well as practical information, it also includes information on nuclear threat, biological warfare, chemical warfare, and also about leading people through catastrophe in one piece.


It was hard not to also include the SAS Survival Handbook, especially since I have a copy both in my library and in my 72 hour bag. However, this book is only designed to keep you alive in the short term, without consideration to long term survival or rebuilding community. For those of us who like to keep reference around for those first few days after the big one, it is a must have tool. Those who have added fiction to the list, I agree Starship Troopers, 1984, and A Brave New World are worth titles to keep, as long as we keep in reference the mindset that got us to those places.

Some great books mentioned here but why has no-one mentioned a Beginner's Guide to Knitting? It might get cold and you wont make if your togs fall to bits the first winter in the new world..

Bible, Book on English Grammar, Poetry of Emily Dickinson, Apocrypha, and book on first aid

1. The Art of War, Sun Tzu.

2. When Technology Fails, Matthew Stein.

3. Boyscout Handbook.

4. Bible (it's great for controlling the masses).

5. I Wish That I Had Duck Feet.