One of the best ways to see if something works is to try it at home before you ever have to use it in a survival situation. I put this list together from the literature I’ve looked at and found useful and interesting. Read through the list and see if something grabs you.
There are a lot of books out there on Survival. I can’t profess to say that I am an expert on the matter ( I am more of a generalist) but I have read a lot and know more than the basics. Most good information is simple and doesn’t need to be made complicated.
With some survival books much is copied from other sources. Experts are those who can take complex situations and boil it down into digestible matter for others to devour. Survival copy-cats regurgitate what experts are saying or writing about and then reframe it into another offering. KISS Keep it simple stupid.
Most good books have lots of great info to sift through and even badly written books may have a gem or two. If it doesn’t make sense, move onto the next page and avoid the material that is posed as something ground-breaking. Common sense and common practices usually win the day in uncommon situations.
100 Deadly Skills: Survival Edition: The SEAL Operative’s Guide to Surviving in the Wild and Being Prepared for Any Disaster
“From national bestselling author and retired Navy SEAL Clint Emerson comes the essential guide for surviving today’s emergencies—from navigating in the wild to staying alive in any disaster.
These 100 skills, adapted for civilians from actual field experiences of special forces operations, offer a complete hands-on and practical guide to help you survive in the wild no matter the climate or terrain; be prepared for any crisis; and have the critical life-saving knowledge for staying safe in any hostile environment or disaster.
Yesterday’s survival guide is no longer relevant. 100 Deadly Skills: Survival Edition is what you need for today’s world, combining survival hacks developed on the battlefield with the low-tech tools you have on hand. This book is your essential prep manual, from securing shelter, building fire, finding food, and navigating back to civilization no matter the environment to thinking like a special forces solider so that you can survive a hostage situation, an active shooter, a suicide bomber, or a terrorist threat on the subway, and even apply trauma medicine as a first responder.
Full of specific scenarios to help you get in the mindset of survival, 100 Deadly Skills: Survival Edition is better than a Swiss Army knife whether you’re lost at sea, forced to land a plane, fighting off a bear, or deciding whether to run, hide, or fight. Next to each skill are easy-to-grasp detailed illustrations, because when you need to survive the apocalypse, you don’t have time for complicated instructions.”
Hawke’s Green Beret Survival Manual
“Green Beret and outdoor survival expert Mykel Hawke provides the most practical and accessible survival skills and information necessary for anyone to survive an unexpected situation in the outdoors. These are the most tried-and-true methods based on Hawke’s 25- year career as a captain in the US Army Green Berets, founder of the survival training company Spec Ops Inc, and popular survival expert on a wide range of television shows.
Geared to the untrained civilian, Hawke provides essential and easy-to-apply information on shelter, water, fire, food, survival psychology, first aid, tools, navigation, signaling, and basic natural phenomena. Hawke’s Green Beret Survival Manual gives every reader the tools necessary to survive the worst imaginable circumstance and make it out alive. With more than 200 how-to illustrations and complete survival-training information, this is the most useful and user-friendly survival book available.”
Holding Your Ground: Preparing For Defense If It All Falls Apart
“Holding Your Ground is an instructional guide and planning tool that addresses defensive preparation of a location. If the government can no longer protect your home, farm or property, Holding will teach you how. Holding covers virtually every aspect of protecting you and your family in the event society breaks down.
Many people have preparations for food, water, shelter and personal defense. Holding will teach you how to configure your home, train your team, and properly equip any location for defense. Covering topics ranging from hiding in plain sight to pre-positioning of supplies, Holding uses common sense, military tactics and historical examples that allow you to prepare for defense without affecting your property’s value or appearance.”
How To Stay Alive In The Woods: A Complete Guide To Food, Shelter And Self-Preservation Anywhere
“HOW TO STAY ALIVE IN THE WOODS is a practical, readable-and potentially indispensable-manual for anyone venturing into the great outdoors.
Broken down into four essential sections, Sustenance, Warmth, Orientation and Safety, this enlightening guide reveals how to catch game without a gun, what plants to eat (full-color illustrations of these make identification simple), how to build a warm shelter, make clothing, protect yourself and signal for help.
Detailed illustrations and expanded instructions, newly commissioned for this deluxe edition, offer crucial information at a glance, making How to Stay Alive in the Woods truly a lifesaver.”
How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, And Technologies For Uncertain Times
“The definitive guide on how to prepare for any crisis–from global financial collapse to a pandemic
It would only take one unthinkable event to disrupt our way of life. If there is a terrorist attack, a global pandemic, or sharp currency devaluation–you may be forced to fend for yourself in ways you’ve never imagined. Where would you get water? How would you communicate with relatives who live in other states? What would you use for fuel?
Survivalist expert James Wesley, Rawles, author of Patriots, shares the essential tools and skills you will need for you family to survive, including:
Water: Filtration, transport, storage, and treatment options.
Food Storage: How much to store, pack-it-yourself methods, storage space and rotation, countering vermin.
Fuel and Home Power: Home heating fuels, fuel storage safety, backup generators.
Garden, Orchard Trees, and Small Livestock: Gardening basics, non-hybrid seeds, greenhouses; choosing the right livestock.
Medical Supplies and Training: Building a first aid kit, minor surgery, chronic health issues.
Communications: Following international news, staying in touch with loved ones.
Home Security: Your panic room, self-defense training and tools.
When to Get Outta Dodge: Vehicle selection, kit packing lists, routes and planning.
Investing and Barter: Tangibles investing, building your barter stockpile. And much more.
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It is a must-have for every well-prepared family.”
Mud, Sweat, And Tears: The Autobiography
“Bear Grylls has always sought the ultimate in adventure. Growing up on a remote island off of Britain’s windswept coast, he was taught by his father to sail and climb at an early age. Inevitably, it wasn’t long before the young explorer was sneaking out to lead all-night climbing expeditions.
As a teenager at Eton College, Bear found his identity and purpose through both mountaineering and martial arts. These passions led him into the foothills of the mighty Himalayas and to a karate grandmaster’s remote training camp in Japan, an experience that soon helped him earn a second-degree black belt. Returning home, he embarked upon the notoriously grueling selection course for the British Special Forces to join the elite Special Air Service unit 21 SAS—a journey that would push him to the very limits of physical and mental endurance.
Then, disaster. Bear broke his back in three places in a horrific free-fall parachuting accident in Africa. It was touch and go whether he would walk again, according to doctors. However, only eighteen months later, a twenty-three-year-old Bear became one of the youngest climbers to scale Mount Everest, the world’s highest summit. But this was just the beginning of his many extraordinary adventures. . . .
Known and admired by millions as the star of Man vs. Wild, Bear Grylls has survived where few would dare to go. Now, for the first time, Bear tells the story of his action-packed life. Gripping, moving, and wildly exhilarating, Mud, Sweat, and Tears is a must-read for adrenaline junkies and armchair explorers alike.”
Outdoor Life – The Ultimate Survival Manual – 333 Skills That Will Get You Out Alive
“You’re lost in the woods without food or water. Confronted by an armed assailant in the dead of night. Forced to outrun a deadly tornado. Don’t worry—The Ultimate Survival Manual has you covered.
OUT IN THE WILD From navigating with a compass to fending off a mountain lion, learn to prevail in the forests, deserts, and open oceans like an expert outdoorsman.
DURING A DISASTER Whether it’s a towering tsunami or a blazing wildfire, bad things happen every day. Know what to do when the going gets tough.
IN AN URBAN CRISIS Arm yourself with the latest self-defense moves, weapons tips, and home-protection tactics, plus crucial strategies for handling bad guys and bad situations at home and abroad.”
The SAS Survival Handbook
“This book is an in depth “how-to” of outdoor primitive skills.
The bestselling guide to how to survive in the wild, in any climate, on land or at sea. Written by ex-SAS survival expert John ‘Lofty’ Wiseman. Have you thought about how you would deal with surviving out in the wild with nothing but the plants you could forage? Do you wonder how you would manage if you were lost and had to set up an improvised camp? Can you tie knots or make basic weather forecasts? All the above and much more are covered in the Gem SAS Survival Guide. The book is based on the training techniques of the Special Air Service, the world’s most famous elite fighting force. Whether you are a camper, a hiker, a sailor or anyone else engaged in outdoor pursuits, this reference bible could actually save your life. Using clear line drawings and colour illustrations, survival techniques from the sea to the mountains and from the polar icecaps to the desert are described, complete with what to do in a whole range of medical and meteorological emergencies. This edition has been updated to reflect rapidly changing developments in communication, textile and survival technologies, to make the most of your outdoor pursuits.”
The Classic Guide To Building Wilderness Shelters
“This excellent hands-on guide by one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America contains a wealth of practical instruction and advice on how to build everything from a bark teepee and a tree-top house to a log cabin and a sod house. No professional architects are needed here; and knowing how to use an axe is more important than possessing carpentry skills.
More than 300 of the author’s own illustrations and a clear, easy-to-follow text enable campers to create such lodgings as half-cave shelters, beaver mat huts, birch bark shacks, over-water camps, a Navajo hogan, and a pole house. Additional chapters provide information on how to use an axe, split and notch logs, make a fireplace, and even build appropriate gateways to log houses, game preserves, ranches, and other open areas.
An invaluable book for scouts, campers, hikers, and hunters of all ages, this guide and its fascinating collection of outdoor lore “still has intrinsic value,” said Whole Earth Magazine, and will be of keen interest to any modern homesteader.”
Prepper’s Home Defense: Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means Necessary
Does your disaster preparation plan include security measures? When civilization fails and the desperate masses begin looting, they will come for your food, water and life-sustaining supplies. This book shows you how to implement a complete plan for operational security and physical defense, including:
• Perimeter Security Systems and Traps
• House Fortifications and Safe Rooms
• Secured and Hidden Storage
• Firearms and Defensive Combat Techniques
• Gathering Intelligence and Forming Alliances
10 Killer Books to Add to Your Survival Library, List 1