Preppers bookshelf

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Yeah, yeah, yeah...there are a thousand books on surviving whatever sort of doom you thik will befall us first. That shit has been talked to death.

To me, though, survival isn't about mere existence but thriving. The cataclysm is only a fraction of the overall issue. To me the point is to rebuild.

Assuming a large enough initial catastrophe electricity will be a thing one will have to live without and so electronic media will be inaccessible.

That being said, you need a good collection of books to help rebuild and reorder society.

Here's what I think are the books to be stockpiled:

The US Constitution
The Federalist Papers
The Anti-Federalist
Robert's Rules of Order
Any tome on engineering in the ancient world
The Harvard Five Foot Book Shelf Collection
A good encyclopedia set
A dictionary
A good engine repair manual
A good basic first aid, home remedy book...more advanced depending on personal skills
Various and sundry religious tomes



Any other ideas?

[rich_t]

Hunting and wild game butchering.

A book covering candle and soap making.

[cmypay]

A book (preferably OLD, if we are working with no electric) on canning and preserving

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Hunting and wild game butchering.

A book covering candle and soap making.

A book (preferably OLD, if we are working with no electric) on canning and preserving

How about something NOT survival related, i.e. literature, history, philosophy, etc.

[IassaFTots]

How about something NOT survival related, i.e. literature, history, philosophy, etc.

You already hit the mark with those you mentioned, as far as I am concerned, but I would add an atlas. 

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

... I would add an atlas. 

Capital suggestion.

It got me thinking a good collection of math books for all levels would be required.

History books would also be good. Ancient history to learn from the trials those living in reduced technological environments have faced (anthropolgy books too) and American history to remember where we need to keep a sense of heritage and aspiration as well as which pitfalls to avoid.

[LC EFA]

I've got thousands of books in my library - on many subjects.

Other than the surgical medical tomes , and "off the grid tomes" - I'd recommend a book called "Basic Butchering Livestock and Game" and "Handy Farm Devices and How to Make them". I've also got a couple of books specific to my climate and weather region on growing gardens.

A decent cook book is a plus - I've got a good 2 foot worth of assorted cookbooks.

[Odin's Hand]

The Wealth of Nations
S.A.S. Survival Handbook
Weapon's manuals
Machining Fundamentals
The Two Treatises of Government
Guerrilla Gunsmithing: Quick And Dirty Methods For Fixing Firearms In Desperate Times

[Eupher]

Books to ignore, burn, or toss in the nearest smoldering radioactive glow-in-the-dark shithole:

Dreams from My Father, by Barack Hussein Obama (but really written by Bill Ayres)
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Hussein Obama
Das Kapital, by Karl Marx
Mein Kampf, by Adolf Hitler

[BlueStateSaint]

Books to ignore, burn, or toss in the nearest smoldering radioactive glow-in-the-dark shithole:

Dreams from My Father, by Barack Hussein Obama (but really written by Bill Ayres)
The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Hussein Obama
Das Kapital, by Karl Marx
Mein Kampf, by Adolf Hitler

I'd lean towards the "fire starter" usage.  Also, if one runs out, "toilet paper."

[LC EFA]

I'd lean towards the "fire starter" usage.  Also, if one runs out, "toilet paper."

Not one of those books is going anywhere near my unwiped ass.

The goal is to get the shit off not wipe more on there.

[Eupher]

Not one of those books is going anywhere near my unwiped ass.

The goal is to get the shit off not wipe more on there.

 

h5

[BlueStateSaint]

Not one of those books is going anywhere near my unwiped ass.

The goal is to get the shit off not wipe more on there.

Almost put a mouthful of taco salad on the monitor!  H5!

 

[Celtic Rose]

I'd include books on history, especially ancient history. 
Books on various handcrafts (knitting, crochet, spinning, whatever men did with there hands by firelight  ), including knitting patterns, crochet patterns, etc.
Introductory language books, even if the world collapses, eventually we'll meet up with people who speak other languages, also learning languages is good for the brain, Alzheimer's won't end just because society collapses.
Mathematics books, especially older ones
Good science books, we'll want to continue to educate our children
Gardening books for various climates

[catsmtrods]

All the Foxfire books could be handy.

[rich_t]

All the Foxfire books could be handy.

H5

[DumbAss Tanker]

Just get the entire catalogs from Lindsay Technical Publications and Dover.  It's going to be a long time before any political stuff, no matter how great or awful, becomes relevant to anyone's daily life if the S really HTFs.  Add religious material to taste, which in my case means I'll let someone else worry about it.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Just get the entire catalogs from Lindsay Technical Publications and Dover.  It's going to be a long time before any political stuff, no matter how great or awful, becomes relevant to anyone's daily life if the S really HTFs.  Add religious material to taste, which in my case means I'll let someone else worry about it.

I dunno.

With roving gangs of mutant bikers on the prowl I'd think other strongholds would develop quickly as a counterweight and those that do form will have several material advantages.

man < mob < team

Anything they can do to better organize themselves and provide for civil order will first allow them to stabilize their own situation and in a relatively short period of time expand their territorial control. I think this is especially true once other enclaves observe their successes. Sure, the mutant bikers will be an issue for some time to come but the desire for security and prosperity will always be present...even joining a mutant biker gang is, in itself, a quest for security and material well-being.

If the natural tendencies for enterprise can also be capitalized upon you will see society recover relatively quickly so long as the natural resources are available, i.e. ariable land, water, building materials. Somewhere in your enclave will be a former auto mechanic. Once the food supply is stabilized he can convert his knowledge to powering machines to pump water freeing up even more labor hours that in turn will expand the enclave's wealth, influence and ability to defend itself...just as I know you've read described over the course of history.

Only this time, humanity will not be stumbling through the dark learning as it goes, it will be hungry to reclaim what it has lost.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Snugs, your idealism is commendable, but there is a time and place where popular democracy works, and it isn't close to the bone in desperate situations.  It needs stable ground to grow roots.

The amateur Revolutionary Army was nearly destroyed by too much democracy before some autocratic features of the real armies of the day were introduced by professionals like von Steuben, Lafayette, Pulaski, and Kosciusko, and then started to fight like companies, battalions, and regiments instead of a herd of cats.  There are many other examples of the perils of mixing democratic ideals with harsh reality from the reasons the Peloponnesian War finally came out the way it did (26 years of devastation the Spartans never wanted, and which the Athenians finally lost) to the disintegration of the the Russian Imperial Army in 1917 and the Imperial German sailors revolts in 1918.

A collapse that hits so hard that not even a weakened shell of existing government structure remains in place will be no ground in which democratic communalism can prosper, until a substantial period of death and violence has passed.  Getting to that period of growth, democracy, and cooperation would require first surviving a lot of bloody havoc which would be a Hell of a lot more like Anglo-Saxon England than the Age of Enlightenment. 

[Jasonw560]

How about "The Bent Stick" and all of "The Boyer's Bible" series?

Face it, if TSHTF, ammo will run out pretty quick.

Need another means to get food, and defend oneself.

[catsmtrods]

How about "The Bent Stick" and all of "The Boyer's Bible" series?

Face it, if TSHTF, ammo will run out pretty quick.

Need another means to get food, and defend oneself.

The zombie apocalypse is the only way I run out of ammo! Even then I'll last a long time! If need be I can set a snare and fish pretty good.
I have a old book I got when I was in Boy Scouts called The Outdoorsman's handbook by Clyde Ormond. Learned many outdoor skills I still use from that book.

[vesta111]

The zombie apocalypse is the only way I run out of ammo! Even then I'll last a long time! If need be I can set a snare and fish pretty good.
I have a old book I got when I was in Boy Scouts called The Outdoorsman's handbook by Clyde Ormond. Learned many outdoor skills I still use from that book.

I have one of those red well pumps, the kind that need to be primed to get water to the surface.  Bought it years ago to use as a decoration for my newel post to the stairs.   Still have it with my set of fox fire books from the 1970's.  I can get with a pipe either out of a well or lake with this.

Nam taught us about bear traps, just dig a few holes around the house, put in a few sharp stick's , cover with twigs and leaves,  never know what one is going to catch in these darn things.   

Point is what happens when one runs out of Ammo.  ?    One or two reels of fishing string, high tense placed about the property can do the job of alerting one someone is coming, you will hear the cussing when they trip and fall. 

Depending on the strength of the string and the  tightness of the wrap, a deer running get one in the neck will go down.  As will a humane.

Lots of ideas on survival out there, not a bad idea to check out on indigenous plants that are poison, then if very hungry and the fish are not biting, a load of gun power may being them to the surface to grab.  No gun powder throw in Ivory Soap flakes, takes he oxygen out of the water and causes the fish to surface.

All these ideas on how to survive when the Ammo is used up.  Must be many more.

[Jasonw560]

The zombie apocalypse is the only way I run out of ammo! Even then I'll last a long time! If need be I can set a snare and fish pretty good.
I have a old book I got when I was in Boy Scouts called The Outdoorsman's handbook by Clyde Ormond. Learned many outdoor skills I still use from that book.

I have the SAS Survival Handbook, and an old outdoor skills book my dad gave to me.

I have heard the official Boy Scout manual is a great one to have, too.

(Ironically, I have the Army Survival Manual on my ipod and iPad...LOL)

[Jasonw560]

I have one of those red well pumps, the kind that need to be primed to get water to the surface.  Bought it years ago to use as a decoration for my newel post to the stairs.   Still have it with my set of fox fire books from the 1970's.  I can get with a pipe either out of a well or lake with this.

Nam taught us about bear traps, just dig a few holes around the house, put in a few sharp stick's , cover with twigs and leaves,  never know what one is going to catch in these darn things.   

Point is what happens when one runs out of Ammo.  ?    One or two reels of fishing string, high tense placed about the property can do the job of alerting one someone is coming, you will hear the cussing when they trip and fall. 

Depending on the strength of the string and the  tightness of the wrap, a deer running get one in the neck will go down.  As will a humane.

Lots of ideas on survival out there, not a bad idea to check out on indigenous plants that are poison, then if very hungry and the fish are not biting, a load of gun power may being them to the surface to grab.  No gun powder throw in Ivory Soap flakes, takes he oxygen out of the water and causes the fish to surface.

All these ideas on how to survive when the Ammo is used up.  Must be many more.

I have a deck of playing cards with the different edible plants in the Western US.

[Dori]

My MIL had an old antique household tips book from making your own gun powder to slow roasting meat in a bale of hay.

There is also a lot you can find on the internet.  In India they cook a three course meal using the sun and a metal cone shaped thing.  I also found a site that told you how to trap your own yeast spores from the air.