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Why would you want Zombies to survive? :D
Could be worse books I guess : The Zombie Guide to Dating , Raising Zombies for Fun and Profit , Brains and why they taste like Chicken... LOL
Andy
 
Don't forget owner's manuals (and shop manuals or schematics or...) for all your stuff. Almost everything is online these days, just google for it. I have a place on my computer where I have downloaded most of the manuals I need.

+1 to this. We have all the manuals for tools, vehicles, farm/garden equipment, firearms, etc., in both physical hardcopies (in one central case) and in PDF format on a shared drive that is accessible by any device on our home network. I've found that 90%+ of manuals can downloaded and for those that can't be it is easy enough to scan most of them.

Beyond that, good thread. I need to put together a bibliography of survival reads to add to the thread, but I will save that for a little later. :)
 
As mentioned above, I thought I'd add a book list to the thread. The majority of these texts I derived some value from, though I am going to add a few that had minimal value, and at least one that I'd recommend be avoided. In addition to the specifics on the text, I've included a rating from no stars (✗) to five stars (★★★★★).

Though there are some good fictional texts, I'll limit this to nonfiction and how-tos. For those that may have missed it, there is a thread related to fictional SHTF events here. Also, the main military manuals have already been covered in the original post, so I won't repeat those.

"Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive ..."
(General survival)​

Title: Are You Ready?
Author: FEMA
Year: 2004
Notes: This is a free guide published by FEMA that covers the major disasters that can occur in the US. It is, candidly, pretty basic. However, it is free, in both PDF and hardcopy form (if you request a copy), and it isn't a bad primer.
Rating: ★★★

Title: The Survival Home Manual: Architectural Design, Construction, and Remodeling Of Self-sufficient Residences And Retreats
Author: Joel M. Skousen
Year: 1977
Notes: This is a pretty exhaustive overview of designing a home for disaster preparedness.
Rating:
★★★★

Title: Just in Case: How to be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens
Author: Kathy Harrison
Year: 2008
Notes: This is a fairly basic text about preparedness. It is not bad for beginners.
Rating: ★★★

Title: The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook
Author: Joshua Pivens
Year: 2010
Rating: ★★★★

Title: Shoestring Survivalism
Author: Andy James
Year: 2009
Notes: This is a guide for someone preparing on a very tight budget.
Rating: ★★★

Title: Tappan on Survival
Author: Mel Tappan
Year: 1981, reprinted 2006
Rating: ★★★★

Title: Urban Alert!
Author: Mary Ellen Clayton and Dr. Bruce Clayton
Year: 1981. Out of Print.
Notes: A guide for the city dwellers. It focus on nuclear and general survival.
Rating: ★★★

Title: Basic Electricity
Author: U.S. Naval Personnel and The Editors of REA
Year: 2002
Notes: This is a basic electricity training guide. It is lavishly illustrated.
Rating: ★★★★

Title: SAS Survival Guide
Author: John Wiseman
Year: 2010
Rating: ★★★★

Title: Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest
Author: Doug Benoliel
Year: 2011
Rating: ★★★★

Title: Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook
Author: David Werner
Year: 1992
Rating: ★★★★

Title: Where There Is No Dentist
Author: Murray Dickson
Year: 2012
Rating: ★★★

Title: Solar Power for Dummies
Author: Rik DeGunther
Year: 2010
Rating: ★★★

Title: Wood Stove Know-How
Author: Peter Coleman
Year: 1975
Rating: ★★★★

Title: Plumbing Do-It Yourself for Dummies
Author: Donald R. Prestly
Year: 2007
Rating: ★★★★

Title: Harvesting H20: A Prepper's Guide To The Collection, Treatment, And Storage Of Drinking Water While Living Off The Grid
Author: Nicholas Hyde
Year: 2012
Notes: This is a so-so guide to acquiring and purifying water. The big drawback is the illustrations; there are none. That is fine for basic tasks, but more complex projects really require diagrams.
Rating: ★★

Title: Auto Repair for Dummies
Author: Deanna Sclar
Year: 2008
Rating: ★★★★

Title: When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes
Author: Cody Lundin
Year:
2007
Notes: This one came highly rated, but all I can say is that I wasn't impressed at all. It had a mixture of stating the obvious, unnecessary and boring philosophical ramblings, idiotic cartoons, and the author poo-poos firearms as part of preparedness. I suppose there are a few tidbits that are worthwhile, but not at the price of admission. Save your money.
Rating:

Title: The Survival Retreat: A Total Plan For Retreat Defense
Author: Ragnar Benson
Year: 1983
Notes: This one is only being included as one to avoid. While there is some passable content, a lot of it is cobbled together material, the author contradicts himself, and references to playing with explosives is just beyond stupid.
Rating: ✗ (Coveted zero stars!)

"Radio, live transmission / Radio, live transmission ..."
(Communications)​

Title: Now You're Talking!: All You Need to Get Your First Ham Radio License
Author: Larry D. Wolfgang
Year: 2000
Notes: This is a great guide to getting your first amateur radio license. Using this guide and the practice test online, I passed the first time.
Rating: ★★★★

Title: The ARRL Emergency Communication Handbook
Author: Steve Ford
Year: 2005
Rating: ★★★★

Title: The World of CB Radio
Author: Bonnie Crystal and Jeffrey Keating
Year: 1988
Notes: It is a good guide to all things CB radio. When I used to live out in the high plains of eastern Oregon, I setup a CB system for our home and vehicles and used this guide at times. The house had a big, honking antenna and a good base station, and the vehicles and outbuildings were equipped with smaller radios. It worked well enough for that and other projects.
Rating: ★★★★

Title: ARRL's Low Power Communication
Author: Richard H. Arland
Year: 2007
Notes: It is a good guide to QRP.
Rating: ★★★

"Farm living is the life for me ..."
(Agriculture, traditional skills, etc.)​

Title: The Guide to Self-Sufficiency
Author: John Seymour
Year: 1978
Notes: This is a book I bought early in life, learned a lot from, and even go back to these days. It covers a lot of great topics such as farming, animal husbandry, fishing, hunting, clearing land, et al. Used copies are available and I've seen PDF versions floating around the web. There is an updated version that came out in some time in the mid-2000s that I didn't find as helpful and it was more "politically correct" if you catch my drift. Of the two, I'd get the one from the 70s, though the PC-a-fied 2000s version still has most of the original content.
Rating: ★★★★

Title: Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills
Author: Abigail R. Gehring
Year: 2008
Notes: There are some handy guides in this text.
Rating: ★★★

Title: The Foxfire Book
Author: Eliot Wigginton
Year: 1972
Rating: ★★★

Title: Five Acres and Independence
Author: Maurice G. Kains
Year: 1973
Rating: ★★★

Title: Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills
Author: Abigail R. Gehring
Year: 2008
Notes: There are some handy guides in this text.
Rating: ★★★

"I study nuclear science ... The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades ..."
(Nukes!)​

Title: Life After Doomsday
Author: Dr. Bruce Clayton
Year: 1980, reissued 1990
Subject: Nuclear and general survival.
Notes: This is focused on surviving a nuclear exchange between major powers. It covers shelter, supplies, defense, decontamination, etc. While focused on nuclear survival, a lot of the material can be helpful for other preparations. The communications section is, naturally, a bit dated though.
Rating: ★★★★★

Title: Nuclear War Survival Skills
Author: Dr. Cresson H. Kearny (Author), Jack Stone (Ed.)
Year: 1987, 2006 republished
Notes: Second only to Life After Doomsday on the topic of surviving the sum of all fears.
Rating: ★★★★

Title: The Effects of Nuclear Weapons
Author: Samuel Glasstone, editor
Year: 1977
Notes: This is a technical text that covers the medical, ecological, etc., effects of atomic weapons.
Rating: ★★★★

Title: U.S. Armed Forces Nuclear, Biological And Chemical Survival Manual
Author: Captain Dick Couch, USN, Retired
Year: 2003
Rating: ★★★★

Title: How to Survive the H Bomb and Why
Author: Pat Frank
Year: 1962
Notes: This is more a public policy book than an individual survival plan. Still, the list wouldn't be complete without out. Heck, the author wrote Alas, Babylon.
Rating: ★★

Title: In Time Of Emergency: A Citizen's Handbook On Nuclear Attack, Natural Disasters
Author: Office of Civil Defense
Year: 1968
Rating: ★★★★

Title: 11 Steps to Survival
Author: Department of National Defense (Canada)
Year: 1969
Rating: ★★★


"Big gun, Big gun number one ..."
(Firearms and related)
Title: Survival Guns
Author: Mel Tappan
Year: 1976, reprinted 1979, 1980 and 2009.
Notes: While most certainly dated, it does contain some good ideas concerning a survival battery.
Rating: ★★★

Title:
Silencer: History and Performance, Volume 1: Sporting and Tactical Silencers
Author: Alan C. Paulson
Year: 1996
Notes: It is a bit dated, but it does provide an overview on suppressor technology and history.
Rating: ★★★

Title: Shotgun in Combat
Author: Tony Lesce
Year: 1996
Notes: While kind of a mixed bag and a little basic, but it does provide an overview of the fighting scattergun.
Rating: ★★★

Title: Machine Gun Buyers Guide and Owners Manual
Author: Frank Iannamico
Year: 1996
Notes: This provides an overview to buying and owning machine-guns and other NFA items (e.g., short-barrel shotguns, short-barrel rifles, suppressors, and AOWs). Most of the information may now be found online these days though. That and the price guide is way out of date ($900 for a transferable Mac-10 ... teehee).
Rating: ★★★

Title: The Fighting Submachine Gun, Machine Pistol and Shotgun: A Hands-on Evaluation
Author: Timothy Mullin
Year: 1999
Rating: ★★
 
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There's also a "Where There is no Women's Doctor." It's a little more in your face than the general doctor and dentist titles in the series. The three together form the main part of my medical library.
 
There's also a "Where There is no Women's Doctor." It's a little more in your face than the general doctor and dentist titles in the series. The three together form the main part of my medical library.

Thanks for the heads up. I have not read that one, but there are a couple members of the fair sex in our family (my wife and daughter), sot that would make sense.

Out of curiosity, have you read "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" or "Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times" both by Steve Solomon?

Edit: Nice list BTW. :)

Thanks. I have not read those, though I have heard of the latter. I should check them out.

Parenthetically, one I forgot for the long list above is: Prepping for a Suburban or Rural Community: Building a Civil Defense Plan for a Long-Term Catastrophe Paperback by Michael Mabee. It is a guide to setting up a civil defense organization in a small community before a serious disaster happens. It focuses on the EMP threat, though it could be used for any other major disaster. Whilst reading it, it occurred to me that this would work in some communities and certainly not others; it really would be who makes up the community and where it is located. But for those that it would work out in, it is pretty decent primer that covers major topics (organization, legal issues, logistics, defense, et al.). Anyway, I just thought I'd pass it along while I am thinking about it. Cheers.
 
Outdoor Survival Skills, Larry Dean Olsen
Bushcraft, Richard Graves
Practical Outdoor Survival, Len McDougall
Trail Life, Ray Jardine
The Complete Walker, Colin Fletcher
How To Stay Alive In The Woods, Bradford Angier
 

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