The best survival handbook when the SHTF

What book would you recommend for survival when the major shtf? The other day I picked up a book about how to survive but it was a 260 page pocket size book writen by a trekking and camping expert.

There are some valuable tips and lessons in this book but is not the book I would recommend for serious preperations and survival.

What is acording to you the most valuable book on the subject? What book is a must have if you are not trained or prepared for a serious collaps of society?

SAS Survival Guide, hands down.

Originally posted by DarthMuerte
SAS Survival Guide, hands down.

/close thread tbh. Nothing beats it. Mini edition in BOB.

The Boy Scout Handbook is a worthwhile book to start with and then you can add to it from there.

Genesis 6:14-18

Army Feild Guide is really good, it shows how to make traps for all kinds of things, Fish traps, snairs, dead fall traps, how to make weapons, and shelter, how to prepare animals just killed etc.... I dont think there one book out there that is going to have everything you need, Its going to come down to what the situation is, what skills you have, basic knowledge, how physically in shape you are, people to rely on, the list could go on for pages. Basic knowledge of hunting, food prep, shelter building, trapping, energy making, are all things to consider

ive started a whole library that i will take with me if i can

i have a horse training book
dog training book
medical info book and first aid
atlas
biology book
algebra book
sas guide to survival
sas tracking guide
plant sphyradics book (alchemy,extracting medicines and such)
do it your self guide to home repairs
electricity and electronics course material
a book that has rules for a bunch of different card games
a complete guide to the force (maybe if i survive long enough i can implement it as the new religion among other survivers,lol)

also a couple of gardeniing guides

if you're in a place that allows guns then perhaps some simple guides to stripping down/repairing the guns you own so that you can cannibalize a couple of broken ones into a working weapon

Originally posted by DarthMuerte
SAS Survival Guide, hands down.

Does it also give information for people stuck in a city..or want to stay in the city? The book I was refering to only mentioned how to survive "in the field". I mean...things are different in a city....right?

I have heared people mention this SAS book before. What makes the SAS Survival Guide so special anyway, is the US-rangers survival guide (if there is one) not equallly good?

One very important topic in a SHTF scenario, as well fo very rural regions is health.
How to treat wounds, and all sorts of other health problems.

A very good book about it: "Where there is no doctor"
www.amazon.com...

It s a very good book, and easy to apply.

The author has much experience in the field, worked in over 50 Countries.
Later on there have been stories, that he molested boys. Dont know if true or not.
Anyhow, the book is worth a read.

dont mean to be awkward but what does S H T F mean

i see the expression on this website a lot

Hands down
The survival handbook
By Anthony green
Published by unwin paperbacks
Offices in Boston sydney and Wellington

Originally published '85
Got mine '87
Yeah it's battered and tatty now but is by far the best I've had and read

Not too complicated and broken down into straight forward chapters
1 too lonely
2 too crowded
3 too dry
4 too wet
5 too bright
6 too dark
7 too cold
8 too hot
9 too low
10 too high
11 too fast
12 too slow
13 too full
14 too empty

Yeah sounds over simple but as its blurb says

This book is about how to survive, how to live through almost every conceivable accident or disaster that our dangerous world could produce

Second choice as has been stated would be the SAS survival handbook

Off topic

Is my picture of some attractive dark haired naked woman ?
With a big bright light where her booooooooobs should be ?

If it is, that's not my pick lol.
Does this happen to anyone else from time to time ?
Or is it just me and my methods ?

Originally posted by DarthMuerte
SAS Survival Guide, hands down.

This is the answer....

I also will add the Foxfire series and for a "cliff note" type book I love "The Complete Survival Guide" ~ Thiffault.

reply to post by sopheruk


it stands for Crap hitting the fan....

and I believe with the Kindle and a solar charger, you can get all these books in a light portable format...

I've never been a fan of the SAS survival guide. One of the big problems with it is that it contains only a few tricks for each of many areas around the world. It suffers from a publisher's agenda to maximize sales by adding many chapter titles which interest a broad customer base while sacrificing details which make the information useful.

I think you will find that as you search for survival advice you will find the most useful information in books that are relevant to your specific area and environment. For instance I live in boreal forest and mixed poplar/spruce forest. Western Bushcraft (Now called Bushcraft, again in attempt to hit a broader customer base) by Mors Kochanski is by far the most relevant and practical survival guide for my area. For ways to exploit useful and edible plants in my area I study (among others) Plants of the Western Boreal Forest and Aspen Parkland by Johnson (who I've met at mushroom courses), Kershaw, Mackinnon and Pojar. Another that has helped to fill the gaps is Primitive Skills and Crafts by Richard Jamison. All of these books would be useless to someone in Arizona. The SAS guide is pretty much useless to me because it barely touches on the resources found in my habitat. I would surely starve in the garden of Eden we have here if I had to forage for edibles based on what the SAS guide had to offer.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that there is no one book that will ensure your safety in a survival situation and the only way to find out if you are carrying the knowledge you need is to get out there with the books you have purchased and test what they have or lack.

This brings up another point. In regard to edible and medicinal plant guides be sure to cross check the information in them with other sources. The book mentioned above for instance "Plants of the Western Boreal Forest & Aspen Parkland mentions a lot of uses of plants that were practiced by natives in the area but many of these uses have not been vetted by modern science and some seem outright dangerous.

Also, the SAS survival guide was written in simpler times, based on old military knowledge and is somewhat outdated. It's edibility tests are questionable and now that I've taken many, many mushroom courses I know that if you follow it's edibility guidelines you will probably die.

Originally posted by DocHolidaze
ive started a whole library that i will take with me if i can

i have a horse training book
dog training book
medical info book and first aid
atlas
biology book
algebra book
sas guide to survival
sas tracking guide
plant sphyradics book (alchemy,extracting medicines and such)
do it your self guide to home repairs
electricity and electronics course material
a book that has rules for a bunch of different card games
a complete guide to the force (maybe if i survive long enough i can implement it as the new religion among other survivers,lol)

also a couple of gardeniing guides

edit on 26-7-2012 by DocHolidaze because: (no reason given)

Nice collection you have going there. I really should start a collection of my own, I've started stocking supplies but I am lacking in learning resources. Having a good source of information could definitely make things easier

Originally posted by dainoyfb
I've never been a fan of the SAS survival guide. One of the big problems with it is that it contains only a few tricks for each of many areas around the world. It suffers from a publisher's agenda to maximize sales by adding many chapter titles which interest a broad customer base while sacrificing details which make the information useful.

I think you will find that as you search for survival advice you will find the most useful information in books that are relevant to your specific area and environment.

That is what I was afrtaid of. When talking about survival first thing people do is thinking about leaving the city and go out "in the field". There are many people who can not, are not able to or do not want to go into the field. What about these people in the cities...? I bet the SAS book doesn't mention anything about how to survive in the city. Is there a book on this specific subject that you know? If not, it will be a bestseller if writen well of course.

would recommend going out now and getting practical experience rather than waiting and relying on a book ... real world and book world two very different things ... cant learn everything you need to know from books .... especially when it comes to surviving ... they're good for reference but dont rely on them ...

Originally posted by zatara
That is what I was afrtaid of. When talking about survival first thing people do is thinking about leaving the city and go out "in the field". There are many people who can not, are not able to or do not want to go into the field. What about these people in the cities...? I bet the SAS book doesn't mention anything about how to survive in the city. Is there a book on this specific subject that you know? If not, it will be a bestseller if writen well of course.

There is the SAS Urban Survival Handbook, also by John Wisman, but I'm not impressed with it either. It has some practical advice like what to do if your brakes fail, but when ever it comes to large scale disasters it seems to fall back on hunker down and wait for help from the authorities type strategies which simply won't work when there is no more infrastructure.

In contrast, "The Ultimate Sniper, An Advanced Training Manual For Military and Police Snipers" by Maj. John L. Plaster has lots of great tactics for sneaking around in city and rural environments without being seen, avoiding ambushes, escaping a pursuing enemy, improving observation skills etc. In a city survival environment where government infrastructure has evaporated, skills like these are extremely relevant.

The Ultimate sniper is written from an offensive perspective so it doesn't cover everything you would hope to know for an urban survival environment but it adds a healthy chunk of knowledge. Again, no one book will cover it all. I would be inclined to find sources that also cover topics like how to monitor radio communications for the purpose gathering information about your area. How to communicate with others without being located. How to purify water that has toxins as well as the viruses and bacteria which pose a threat in rural environments, etc, etc, etc.

Take a look around you. Identify and make a list of the things you can't live without long term and find sources of information that teach you how to acquire those things in a post disaster version of your environment.

Originally posted by DarthMuerte
SAS Survival Guide, hands down.

Yep, always have this one in my BOB. Although the Boy Scout handbook is pretty good. I also have a Biology 101 textbook, a Meteorology 101 textbook, Algebra 101, which I keep at home.

I'd probably like a Chemistry 101, Physics 101, Farmers Almanac, Basic Mechanics, Electricians Handbook, Home Repair, Plumbing...

Basically, first place I go when I have myself situated when SHTF is the nearest public library.