98.6 Degrees
Cody Lundin
Survival is about keeping your core temperature normal, and Lundin builds the whole book around that idea.
beginner
A directory of 231 physical reference books
Books that work when nothing else does.
When the power and internet go down, the books on your shelf still work. This is a hand-picked directory of print references for medicine, water, food, foraging, repair, power, radio, navigation, and shelter, with verified editions and ISBNs. We never link to pirated PDFs, only free copies that publishers and governments give away legally (12 so far).
Directory
231 books
Advanced Bushcraft
Dave Canterbury
Longer-term wilderness living skills, picking up where Bushcraft 101 leaves off.
intermediate
The All New Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores
Steve Ettlinger
Identifies tools, fasteners, and parts so you know what you're looking at. Useful when you're scavenging or improvising.
beginner
All New Square Foot Gardening
Mel Bartholomew, Square Foot Gardening Foundation
A simple, grid-based way to grow a lot of food in a small raised bed. Easy for first-time gardeners.
beginner
All That the Rain Promises and More
David Arora
Arora's pocket-sized, funny guide to western mushrooms. A lighter companion to Mushrooms Demystified.
beginnerWestern North AmericaPocket-size
Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
FEMA (U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
FEMA's own preparedness guide covering hazards from floods to chemical spills. A government publication you can print for free.
beginnerFree legal PDF
The ARRL Antenna Book
American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
The standard reference on antenna theory and construction.
advancedLarge reference
The ARRL Extra Class License Manual
ARRL
Study guide for the top US amateur license.
advanced
The ARRL General Class License Manual
ARRL
Study guide for the General license, which opens HF bands for long-distance contact.
intermediate
The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual
American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
The ARRL's study guide for the Technician license, the entry-level US ham license. Check that the edition matches the current question pool.
beginner
The ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications
ARRL
The big technical reference for radio theory, building, and repair.
advancedLarge reference
The ARRL Operating Manual
ARRL
How to actually operate: procedures, nets, and modes.
intermediate
The Art of Fermentation
Sandor Ellix Katz, Alejandro Pareja Rodríguez
Sandor Katz's deep reference on fermentation traditions worldwide. For when Wild Fermentation leaves you wanting more.
advancedLarge reference
The Ashley Book of Knots
Clifford W. Ashley
The encyclopedia of knots, with thousands of numbered illustrations. The reference other knot books cite.
advancedLarge reference
Auto Repair for Dummies
Desiree White, Deanna Sclar
A plain-English introduction to how cars work and basic maintenance.
beginner
Back to Basics
Abigail R. Gehring
A broad illustrated guide to traditional skills: building, growing, preserving, and crafts. Covers a lot of ground without going deep.
beginnerLarge reference
The Backyard Beekeeper
Kim Flottum
A beginner's guide to keeping bees in small spaces. Honey keeps for a very long time.
beginner
The Backyard Blacksmith
Lorelei Sims
An approachable introduction to setting up a forge and basic smithing.
beginner
Backyard Foraging
Ellen Zachos
65 familiar plants from yards and parks that you can eat. A low-risk way to start foraging.
beginnerNorth America
The Backyard Homestead
Carleen Madigan
What you can produce on a quarter acre: vegetables, fruit, chickens, and more. A friendly overview.
beginner
Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
Ball Corporation
The long-running home canning guide from Ball, with tested recipes and processing times. Inexpensive and widely trusted.
beginner
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Judi Kingry, Lauren Devine
Hundreds of tested recipes for canning, pickling, and preserving. The bigger companion to the Ball Blue Book.
beginner
The Barefoot Architect
Johan van Lengen
A handbook for building with local materials in any climate, with simple drawings.
intermediateLarge reference
Bartram's Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine
Thomas Bartram
An A-to-Z reference of herbs and the conditions they've traditionally been used for. Dense, best as a lookup book.
intermediateLarge reference
Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game
John J. Mettler Jr., John J. Mettler
Step-by-step butchering of beef, pork, lamb, poultry, rabbit, and venison.
beginner
Basic Fishing
Wade Bourne
Wade Bourne's beginner's guide to fishing: tackle, knots, and where fish live.
beginner
Be Expert with Map and Compass
Carina Kjellstrom Elgin, Bjorn Kjellstrom
The classic orienteering guide to using a map and compass. Teaches a skill that needs no batteries.
beginner
The Beekeeper's Handbook
Diana Sammataro, Diane Sammataro, Alphonse Avitabile
A thorough beekeeping reference covering colony biology, management, and disease.
intermediate
The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair
C. Calvin Jones
Park Tool's bike repair manual. A working bike is reliable transport when fuel runs short.
beginner
Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Plumbing
Editors of Cool Springs Press, Chris Peterson
Photo guide to home plumbing repairs and installs.
intermediate
Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Wiring
Editors of Cool Springs Press
Step-by-step photo guide to home electrical work, updated to recent code editions.
intermediateLarge reference
Black & Decker The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair
Editors of Cool Springs Press
Photo-by-photo instructions for common home repairs. A good all-round reference for the house.
beginnerLarge reference
A Book for Midwives
Susan Klein, Suellen Miller, Fiona Thomson
A practical guide to pregnancy, birth, and newborn care for when a hospital isn't an option. Clear steps and illustrations make it usable under stress.
intermediateFree legal PDF
The Boy Scout Handbook
Robert Birkby, Boy Scouts of America
The Scouts' handbook covers camping, first aid, knots, and navigation in a format kids and adults can use.
beginnerLarge reference
Build a Classic Timber-Framed House
Jack Sobon
Traditional timber framing with hand tools, step by step.
advanced
Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag
Creek Stewart
Creek Stewart's guide to packing a 72-hour bag, item by item.
beginner
Bushcraft
Ray Mears
Ray Mears's foundational bushcraft book on fire, shelter, and woodland skills.
intermediate
Bushcraft 101
Dave Canterbury
Dave Canterbury's core bushcraft skills: tools, fire, shelter, and the '5 Cs'.
beginner
The Bushcraft Field Guide to Trapping, Gathering, and Cooking in the Wild
Dave Canterbury
Canterbury on finding and cooking food in the wild.
intermediate
Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival
Mors Kochanski
Mors Kochanski's classic on northern-forest bushcraft. Many instructors started here.
intermediateBoreal / Northern
California Foraging
Judith Larner Lowry
120 wild foods found across California's very different landscapes.
beginnerCalifornia
Camp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making
W. Hamilton Gibson
An 1880s guide to woods camps, traps, and snares. It's public domain, so Project Gutenberg has a free copy.
beginnerFree legal PDF
Camping & Wilderness Survival
Paul Tawrell
Paul Tawrell's large, heavily illustrated outdoor reference.
beginnerLarge reference
Camping and Woodcraft
Horace Kephart
Horace Kephart's 1910s classic on woods life. Old, but much of it still holds.
beginner
Chapman Piloting & Seamanship
Jonathan Eaton (editor)
The standard reference for boating, piloting, and marine navigation.
advancedLarge reference
Charcuterie
Michael Ruhlman
The craft of salting, smoking, and curing meat. Old preservation methods explained by a professional cook.
intermediate
The Chicken Health Handbook
Gail Damerow
Diagnosing and treating poultry illness when there's no avian vet nearby.
intermediate
The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants
U.S. Department of the Army
A reprint of the U.S. Army's guide to edible and poisonous wild plants. Simple drawings and descriptions.
beginnerNorth America
Complete Guide to Home Canning
U.S. Department of Agriculture
The USDA's research-based canning guide, the source many other books draw on. Free from the National Center for Home Food Preservation; print copies are cheap too.
beginnerFree legal PDF
The Complete Guide to Hunting
Arthur L. Cone
A broad introduction to hunting methods and game.
beginner
The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game: Volume 1
Steven Rinella
Steven Rinella on big game: hunting, field dressing, butchering, and cooking.
beginner
The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game: Volume 2
Steven Rinella, John Hafner
Rinella's companion volume on small game and fowl.
beginnerSpiral / lay-flat
The Complete Medicinal Herbal
Penelope Ody
A photo-rich introduction to common medicinal herbs and how they're prepared. A friendly first herbal reference.
beginner
The Complete Modern Blacksmith
Alexander George Weygers
Alexander Weygers on blacksmithing and making your own tools from scrap steel.
intermediate
A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine
Eric A. Weiss
A small, tough field guide to first aid and improvised treatment. Sized to live in a pack or glovebox.
beginnerPocket-size
Create an Oasis with Greywater
Art Ludwig
How to reuse household greywater safely for irrigation. Useful when water is scarce or rationed.
intermediate
Deep Survival
Laurence Gonzales
Why some people survive emergencies and others don't. Reads like a story but changes how you think in a crisis.
beginner
The Dehydrator Bible
Jennifer MacKenzie
Covers drying fruits, vegetables, meats, and complete meals, with recipes for using them. Dried food is light and keeps well.
beginner
Disaster Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms
Arthur T. Bradley
Arthur Bradley, an engineer, explains what an EMP or solar storm could actually do and how to protect electronics.
intermediate
The Disaster Preparedness Handbook
Dr. Arthur T. Bradley
An engineer's practical, unhysterical approach to family emergency planning.
beginner
Ditch Medicine
Hugh L. Coffee
Covers advanced field techniques such as wound closure and improvised procedures. Strictly for readers with training; dated in places but still referenced in prepper circles.
advanced
Earthbag Building
Kaki Hunter
Build sturdy walls from bags of earth, a cheap and resilient method.
intermediate
Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada
Andy MacKinnon, Linda J. Kershaw, Patrick Owen
A photo guide to wild food and medicine plants across Canada, with notes on toxic look-alikes.
intermediateCanada
Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rocky Mountains
Linda Kershaw
Wild food and medicine plants of the Rockies, with poisonous species flagged.
intermediateMountain West / Rockies
Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West
Gregory L. Tilford
Covers edible and medicinal plants from the Rockies to the Pacific with color photos.
intermediateWestern North America
Edible Wild Plants
James Kavanagh
A laminated fold-out ID sheet you can carry in a pocket and get wet. A supplement to a full field guide.
beginnerNorth AmericaPocket-sizeWaterproof
Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide
Thomas S. Elias
A photo field guide to over 200 wild foods across the continent, organized by season. A good first foraging book.
beginnerNorth AmericaField guide
Emergency
Neil Strauss
Neil Strauss's first-person account of learning survival skills. Entertaining, with real practical content.
beginner
Emergency Medical Responder
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Staff
The textbook for EMR certification, a step above standard first aid. A good structured reference if you plan to take a course.
intermediate
Emergency Power for Radio Communications
Michael Bryce
Keeping radios running when the grid is down: batteries, generators, and solar.
intermediate
Emergency War Surgery
U.S. Department of the Army (Borden Institute)
The U.S. military's handbook for treating trauma in austere conditions. A professional reference, not a how-to for beginners.
advancedFree legal PDFLarge reference
The Encyclopedia of Country Living
Carla Emery
Carla Emery's massive reference on growing, raising, preserving, and cooking food. If you only keep one homesteading book, many people pick this one.
beginnerLarge reference
Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine
Andrew Chevallier
A large illustrated reference covering hundreds of herbs, their uses, and home remedies. Good for identification and preparation.
beginnerLarge reference
Essential Bushcraft
Ray Mears
Ray Mears's introduction to core bushcraft skills, well photographed.
beginner
Facing Violence
Rory Kane Miller
Rory Miller on the seven things you need to handle sudden violence, including what happens legally afterward.
intermediate
Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants
Bradford Angier
Bradford Angier's illustrated field guide to wild foods. An older classic that still turns up in survival libraries.
beginnerNorth AmericaField guide
A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and Central North America
Lee Peterson
The Peterson guide to wild foods, keyed by flower color and plant type. Compact and long trusted.
beginnerEastern & Central North AmericaField guide
First Aid Manual
St John Ambulance, St Andrew's First Aid, British Red Cross
A step-by-step, photo-heavy first-aid manual endorsed by the British Red Cross, St John Ambulance and St Andrew's. Easy to follow for anyone in the house.
beginner
Florida's Edible Wild Plants
Peggy Sias Lantz
A guide to wild foods in Florida's subtropical climate, where many northern guides don't apply.
beginnerFlorida
The Forager's Harvest
Samuel Thayer
Samuel Thayer's in-depth guide to identifying, harvesting, and preparing wild plants. Known for careful, first-hand accounts.
intermediateEastern & Central North America
Foraging California
Christopher Nyerges
Christopher Nyerges's guide to wild foods in California, from a long-time foraging teacher.
beginnerCalifornia
Foraging New England
Tom Seymour
A regional guide to wild foods across the New England states.
beginnerNew England
Foraging Oregon
Christopher Nyerges
A state guide to wild foods in Oregon.
beginnerOregon
Foraging Pennsylvania
Debbie Naha-Koretzky
A state guide to wild foods in Pennsylvania.
beginnerPennsylvania
Foraging Texas
Eric M. Knight, Stacy M. Coplin
A Texas-specific guide to wild foods across the state's many ecoregions.
beginnerTexas
Foraging the Ozarks
B. O. Brown
A regional guide to wild edibles in the Ozark highlands.
beginnerOzarks (MO/AR)
Foraging the Rocky Mountains
Liz Brown Morgan
A regional guide to wild edibles in the Rockies.
beginnerMountain West / Rockies
Foraging Washington
Christopher Nyerges
A state guide to wild foods in Washington.
beginnerWashington
Four-Season Harvest
Eliot Coleman, Barbara Damrosch
Eliot Coleman shows how to harvest vegetables all winter with cold frames and unheated tunnels.
intermediate
Foxfire 2
Eliot Wigginton
The second Foxfire volume, with more traditional Appalachian skills from spinning to wagon making.
beginnerAppalachia
Foxfire 3
Eliot Wigginton
The third Foxfire volume, covering animal care, hide tanning, and more mountain skills.
beginnerAppalachia
The Foxfire Book
Eliot Wigginton
Appalachian students recorded their elders' skills: hog dressing, log cabins, soap making, and more. The first of a long series.
beginnerAppalachia
Gaia's Garden
Toby Hemenway
The best-known home-scale permaculture guide: design gardens that feed you and need less work over time.
intermediate
Gardening When It Counts
Steve Solomon
Steve Solomon's guide to growing food on low budgets with few inputs, written with hard times in mind.
beginner
The Gift of Fear
Gavin de Becker
Gavin de Becker on trusting your instincts to recognize danger before violence happens.
beginner
Ham Radio for Dummies
H. Ward Silver
A plain introduction to amateur radio: licensing, equipment, and getting on the air.
beginner
Hand Mending Made Easy
Nan L. Ides
Simple hand-sewing repairs for clothes. When you can't replace things, you mend them.
beginner
The Hand-Sculpted House
Ianto Evans, Michael G. Smith, Linda Smiley
Building with cob, a mix of earth, sand, and straw. Low-cost and made from local materials.
intermediate
Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family
Arthur T. Bradley
Arthur Bradley's family-focused preparedness guide with checklists for water, food, power, and more.
beginner
The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook
James Green
Focuses on the process of making herbal preparations: extraction, ratios, and storage. A how-to rather than a plant encyclopedia.
intermediate
The Holistic Orchard
Michael Phillips
Growing fruit trees and berries without heavy spraying. Orchards are a long-term food source.
intermediate
The Home Water Supply
Stu Campbell
An older Storey guide to wells, springs, pumps, and plumbing for rural homes. The basics of water systems haven't changed much.
intermediate
The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy
Daniel D. Chiras
Overview of solar, wind, wood, and efficiency upgrades for homeowners.
beginner
How to Build Your Own Log Home for Less Than $15,000
Robert L. Williams
A practical, low-cost approach to building a log home.
intermediate
How to Grow More Vegetables
John Jeavons
John Jeavons's biointensive method for growing a lot of food in very little space.
intermediate
How to Invent Everything
Ryan North
A funny but surprisingly informative guide to the inventions civilization runs on, from the plow to the battery.
beginner
How to Stay Alive in the Woods
Bradford Angier
Bradford Angier's mid-century guide to food, warmth, shelter, and self-rescue in the woods.
beginner
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It
James Wesley Rawles
James Wesley Rawles's widely read guide to long-term preparedness, from retreat planning to supplies.
intermediate
How Your House Works
Charlie Wing
Illustrated cutaways of plumbing, heating, electrical, and appliances. Helps you troubleshoot what's broken.
beginner
The Humanure Handbook
Joseph C. Jenkins
Safe composting of human waste. If the sewer stops, sanitation becomes urgent, and this book covers it in depth.
intermediate
Incredible Wild Edibles
Samuel Thayer
The third of Thayer's foraging books, with 36 more plants covered in depth.
intermediateEastern & Central North America
The Joy of Cooking
Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker, John Becker, Megan Scott
The all-purpose American cookbook, with basics on staples, game, and scratch cooking. When stored food is all you have, a full kitchen reference matters.
beginnerLarge reference
Just in Case
Kathy Harrison
Kathy Harrison's family-centered guide to being ready for emergencies, with practical lists and a calm tone.
beginner
The Knowledge
Lewis Dartnell
How to rebuild technology from scratch: agriculture, medicine, chemistry, power. Explains why things work, not just how.
beginner
Land Navigation Handbook
W. S. Kals
The Sierra Club's guide to map, compass, and GPS navigation.
intermediate
Left of Bang
Patrick Van Horne, Jason A. Riley, Shawn Coyne
How the Marine Corps teaches spotting threats early through behavior and baseline.
intermediate
Lights Out
Ted Koppel
Ted Koppel's reporting on how vulnerable the U.S. power grid is to cyberattack. Explains why being ready for long outages matters.
beginner
Machinery's Handbook
Erik Oberg, Franklin D. Jones, Holbrook L. Horton, Henry H. Ryffel, Christopher J. McCauley
The machinist's bible, with data on materials, threads, gears, and tooling. For serious shop work.
advancedLarge reference
Making the Best of Basics
James Talmage Stevens
A long-running guide to building and using a home food storage program. Strong on what to store and how to rotate it.
beginner
Map Reading and Land Navigation
U.S. Department of the Army
The U.S. Army's land navigation manual. The Army publishes the current version (TC 3-25.26) free; print reprints are widely available.
intermediate
The Market Gardener
Jean-Martin Fortier
How to grow a lot of vegetables profitably on about an acre and a half, with hand tools.
intermediate
Medicine for the Outdoors
Paul S. Auerbach
A lay-reader version of wilderness medicine from a leading emergency physician. It sits between a first-aid pamphlet and a medical textbook.
intermediate
Meditations on Violence
Rory Kane Miller
Rory Miller on the realities of violence compared with what martial arts training assumes.
intermediate
The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook
Robert S. Porter (editor-in-chief)
A plain-language version of the famous Merck Manual covering symptoms, diseases, and drugs. Useful for working out what's wrong when you can't call a doctor.
beginnerLarge reference
The Merck Veterinary Manual
Susan E. Aiello, Michael A. Moses (eds.)
The professional veterinary reference used by vets and serious livestock keepers. Dense, but nothing else is as thorough.
advancedLarge reference
Midwest Foraging
Lisa M. Rose
115 wild foods of the Midwest with photos and when to find them.
beginnerMidwest US
Mini Farming
Brett L. Markham
How to produce most of a family's food on a quarter acre.
beginner
The Modern Herbal Dispensatory
Thomas Easley
A recipe-driven guide to making tinctures, teas, and salves, with formulas organized by condition. Useful when the pharmacy shelf is empty.
intermediate
Mountain States Foraging
Briana Wiles
115 wild foods of the Rocky Mountain and Intermountain states.
beginnerMountain West / Rockies
Mushrooms Demystified
David Arora
David Arora's huge mushroom identification reference, strongest for California and the West. Serious mushroom foragers treat it as the standard.
advancedCaliforniaLarge reference
Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast States
Alan E. Bessette, Arleen F. Bessette, David P. Lewis
Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida, a region often skipped by national guides.
intermediateGulf CoastLarge referenceField guide
Mushrooms of the Midwest
Michael Kuo, Andrew S. Methven
A detailed mushroom guide for the Midwest from the founder of MushroomExpert.com.
intermediateMidwest USField guide
Mushrooms of the Northeast
Teresa Marrone, Walt Sturgeon
A beginner-friendly mushroom ID guide for the Northeast, organized by shape and features.
beginnerNortheast USField guide
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest
Steve Trudell
A Timber Press field guide to Northwest mushrooms with clear photos and keys.
intermediatePacific NorthwestField guide
Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States
Alan Bessette, Arleen Bessette, William C. Roody
A thorough ID guide to mushrooms of the Southeast.
intermediateSoutheast USField guide
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms
Gary Lincoff
A classic vinyl-bound pocket field guide to mushrooms across the continent. Durable enough for field use.
intermediateNorth AmericaPocket-sizeLarge reference
The Natural Navigator
Tristan Gooley
Finding direction using the sun, stars, plants, and land. A backup for when you have no compass.
beginner
Nature's Garden
Samuel Thayer
Thayer's second book, covering more wild edibles in the same detailed, honest style.
intermediateEastern & Central North America
The New Organic Grower
Eliot Coleman
Coleman's guide to small-scale organic vegetable production. A cornerstone of market gardening.
intermediate
NOLS Wilderness Medicine
Tod Schimelpfenig
The textbook behind NOLS wilderness first-aid courses, focused on patient assessment and long transport times. Good as a companion to a hands-on class.
intermediate
Northeast Foraging
Leda Meredith
120 wild edibles of the Northeast from beach plums to wild greens, with harvest calendars.
beginnerNortheast US
Nuclear War Survival Skills
Cresson H. Kearny
Cresson Kearny's field-tested instructions for fallout shelters, ventilation, and radiation meters, from Oak Ridge National Laboratory research. Free online from its publisher.
intermediateFree legal PDF
Off Grid Solar
Joseph O'Connor
A handbook for designing off-grid photovoltaic systems with lead-acid or lithium batteries.
intermediate
Outdoor Survival Skills
Larry Dean Olsen
Larry Dean Olsen's classic on primitive survival skills, rooted in the desert West.
intermediate
Pacific Northwest Foraging
Douglas Deur
120 wild foods of the Northwest coast and Cascades, with harvest seasons and notes on Indigenous use.
beginnerPacific Northwest
A Paradise Built in Hell
Rebecca Solnit, Emily Beresford, David Muñoz Mateos
Rebecca Solnit on how communities come together after disasters. A useful counterweight to every-man-for-himself thinking.
beginner
Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice
Bryan E. Bledsoe, Robert S. Porter, Richard A. Cherry
A multi-volume paramedic textbook for readers with advanced training. Overkill for most households, but very thorough.
advancedLarge reference
Pastured Poultry Profits
Joel Salatin
Joel Salatin's pasture-based method for raising meat chickens.
intermediate
Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America
Steven Foster, James A. Duke
Identifies medicinal plants of the East and Midwest with photos and cautions about toxic look-alikes. Pairs ID with traditional uses.
intermediateEastern & Central North AmericaField guide
Peterson Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs
Steven Foster, Christopher Hobbs
The western counterpart to the Peterson medicinal guide, covering plants from the Rockies to the Pacific. Includes safety notes on toxic species.
intermediateWestern North AmericaField guide
Photovoltaics: Design and Installation Manual
Solar Energy International
Solar Energy International's training manual for PV system design. Technical and thorough.
advancedLarge reference
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast
Jim Pojar, Andy MacKinnon
A comprehensive plant ID guide for coastal Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alaska, with notes on traditional uses.
intermediatePacific NorthwestField guide
Pocket First Aid and Wilderness Medicine
Jim Duff, Peter Gormly
A compact flowchart-style guide for treating injuries outdoors. Small enough to keep in a first-aid kit.
beginnerPocket-size
Pocket Ref
Thomas J. Glover
A tiny, dense book of tables: conversions, wire gauges, fasteners, first aid, and much more. One of the most-recommended items in any survival library.
beginnerPocket-sizeLarge reference
Power with Nature
Rex A. Ewing
Alternative energy for home and farm: solar, wind, and micro-hydro explained.
intermediate
Practical Antenna Handbook
Joseph J. Carr
A hands-on guide to building and understanding antennas.
intermediateLarge reference
Practical Electronics for Inventors
Paul Scherz, Simon Monk
A hands-on electronics reference covering components and circuits. Helpful for repairing and building gear.
intermediateLarge reference
The Prepper's Blueprint
Tess Pennington, Daisy Luther
A step-by-step plan for preparing a household for disasters of increasing length.
beginner
Prepper's Communication Handbook
Jim Cobb
Covers radio and non-radio options for staying in touch when phones and internet are down.
beginner
Prepper's Long-Term Survival Guide
Jim Cobb
Jim Cobb on food, water, sanitation, and security for long emergencies.
beginner
Prepper's Water Survival Guide
Daisy Luther
A short, focused guide to finding, storing, and purifying water in an emergency. Good for a first water plan.
beginner
Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning
The Gardeners and Farmers of Centre Terre Vivante
Traditional French methods for keeping food without electricity or canners: drying, salting, oil, vinegar, and cellaring.
beginner
Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills
John McPherson
Detailed primitive skills: fire by friction, hide tanning, traps, and tools.
intermediate
Putting Food By
Janet C. Greene, Janet Greene, Ruth Hertzberg
A long-trusted home preservation reference covering canning, freezing, drying, curing, and root cellaring.
beginner
Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond
Brad Lancaster
Shows how to read your land and capture rain with earthworks and tanks. Volume 1 is the place to start.
intermediate
Rand McNally Road Atlas
Rand McNally
A paper road atlas for every vehicle. GPS needs signal and power; an atlas doesn't.
beginner
Renovation
Michael W. Litchfield
A thorough guide to renovating houses, from structure to systems. Teaches how houses are put together.
intermediateLarge reference
The Resilient Farm and Homestead
Ben Falk
Ben Falk's detailed account of designing a resilient Vermont homestead, from water systems to food forests.
advanced
The Resilient Gardener
Carol Deppe
Carol Deppe on growing staple crops (potatoes, corn, beans, squash, eggs) to stay fed through hard times.
intermediate
Rocket Mass Heaters
Ianto Evans, Leslie Jackson
Building efficient wood-fired heaters that store heat in thermal mass and burn very little fuel.
intermediate
Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis, Ellen Phillips, Deborah L. Martin
An A-to-Z organic gardening reference covering vegetables, fruit, pests, and soil.
beginnerLarge reference
Root Cellaring
Mike Bubel
How to store fruits and vegetables through winter with no electricity. Covers building simple cellars and which crops keep longest.
beginner
Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs
Rosemary Gladstar
Profiles 33 common, safe herbs with simple recipes. A gentle, practical starting point.
beginner
Sam Thayer's Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America
Samuel Thayer
Thayer's compact field guide covering a large number of species, designed for use outdoors.
beginnerEastern & Central North AmericaField guide
SAS Survival Guide
John 'Lofty' Wiseman
The pocket version of the SAS Survival Handbook. Fits in a go-bag or glovebox.
beginnerPocket-size
SAS Survival Handbook
John Wiseman
John 'Lofty' Wiseman's broad survival reference covering every climate and situation. The most-recommended general survival book.
beginnerLarge reference
SAS Urban Survival Handbook
John Wiseman
Survival skills for home and city: fires, floods, and everyday emergencies.
beginnerLarge reference
Seed to Seed
Suzanne Ashworth, Kent Whealy
How to save seed from 160 vegetables. Without seed saving, a garden depends on next year's store shelf.
intermediate
The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It
John Seymour
John Seymour's illustrated classic on running a small self-sufficient holding, from gardening and livestock to crafts.
beginnerLarge reference
Shelter
Lloyd Kahn
Lloyd Kahn's visual survey of handmade homes worldwide. Inspiration for building with what's at hand.
beginnerLarge reference
Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties
Daniel Carter Beard
Daniel Carter Beard's 1914 guide to building shelters from bark lean-tos to log cabins. Public domain, so Project Gutenberg has it free.
beginnerFree legal PDF
Ship Captain's Medical Guide
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
The UK government's medical guide for ships with no doctor aboard. It's written for non-medics who have to treat illness and injury on their own for days, which is close to a long emergency at home.
intermediateLarge reference
Small Engines and Outdoor Power Equipment
Peter Hunn
Repairing mowers, tillers, chainsaws, and generators. Small engines keep a lot of preps running.
intermediate
So Easy to Preserve
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
University of Georgia Extension's preserving guide, based on USDA testing. Covers canning, freezing, drying, and pickling.
beginnerSpiral / lay-flat
Solar Electricity Handbook
Michael Boxwell
A practical guide to designing and installing small solar electric systems. Updated in regular editions.
beginner
Southeast Foraging
Chris Bennett
120 wild foods of the Southeast, from muscadines to persimmons.
beginnerSoutheast US
Southwest Foraging
John Slattery
117 wild foods of the desert Southwest, from mesquite to prickly pear.
beginnerSouthwest US
Stalking the Wild Asparagus
Euell Gibbons
Euell Gibbons's 1960s classic that started the modern foraging movement. Charming and still useful.
beginnerNorth America
Staying Found
June Fleming
A simple, field-tested approach to not getting lost, from a long-time wilderness instructor.
beginner
Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens
Gail Damerow
The standard guide to chickens for eggs and meat: housing, feed, health, and breeding.
beginner
Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats
Jerry Belanger, Sara Thomson Bredesen
Keeping dairy goats for milk: breeds, feeding, kidding, and milking.
intermediate
Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs
Kelly Klober
Raising pigs from weaners to butcher weight, with health and housing guidance.
intermediate
Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits
Bob Bennett
Rabbits are quiet and efficient meat animals; this covers breeding, housing, and health.
beginner
The Survival Doctor's Complete Handbook
James Hubbard
A family doctor explains what to do for injuries and illness when you can't reach medical care. Short, calm, and organized by problem.
beginner
The Survival Handbook
Colin Towell
DK's photo-driven survival guide, clear for visual learners.
beginner
The Survival Medicine Handbook
Joseph Alton, Amy Alton
Written by a physician and a nurse for situations where help is not on the way, covering wounds, infections, and chronic conditions. It assumes a long-term grid-down scenario, not just a quick trip to the ER.
intermediate
Survive!
Les Stroud
Les Stroud's essential skills for surviving outdoors, drawn from his TV survival experience.
beginner
Survivor Kid
Denise Long
A wilderness survival guide written for kids, covering shelter, fire, water, and signaling.
beginner
Teaming with Microbes
Jeff Lowenfels
Explains the soil food web and how to build healthy soil without synthetic inputs.
intermediate
Technician Class
Gordon West
Gordon West's popular study guide for the Technician license.
beginner
Thrive
Juan Pablo Quiñonez
A long-term wilderness survival guide focused on living on the land, not just a weekend.
intermediate
Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival
Tom Brown, Jr.
Tom Brown Jr.'s guide to shelter, water, fire, and food with minimal gear.
intermediate
Tools for Survival
James Wesley Rawles
Rawles on the tools and skills needed to keep a household running after a collapse.
intermediate
Traditional Bowyer's Bible
Jim Hamm
The definitive series on building wooden bows by hand. Volume 1 starts with the fundamentals.
advanced
The Trapper's Bible
Jay McCullough, Eustace Hazard Livingston
A collection of traditional trapping methods and tips.
intermediate
U.S. Army Survival Manual
U.S. Department of the Army
Reprint of the Army survival manual (FM 21-76). The current version, ATP 3-50.21, is a free public-release Army publication.
beginnerFree legal PDF
Ugly's Electrical References
Charles R. Miller, Daniel Sandefur
The pocket reference electricians carry: formulas, wire sizing, and code tables.
intermediatePocket-sizeSpiral / lay-flat
The Ultimate Guide to Home Butchering
Monte Burch
Monte Burch's guide to butchering and processing meat at home, from game to livestock.
beginner
The Ultimate Survival Manual
Rich Johnson
Outdoor Life's illustrated guide to wilderness, urban, and disaster survival.
beginner
The Unthinkable
Amanda Ripley
Amanda Ripley on how people actually behave in disasters, and how to train yourself to respond better.
beginner
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible
Edward C. Smith
Ed Smith's wide-row, deep-soil method with profiles of common vegetables. Clear and practical.
beginner
Water Storage
Art Ludwig
Covers tanks, cisterns, and ponds: sizing, materials, and keeping stored water safe. Practical for anyone planning more than a few jugs.
intermediate
The Water-Wise Home
Laura Allen
A homeowner's guide to rainwater catchment, greywater, and cutting water use. Clear and well illustrated.
beginner
Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook
Ron Kujawski, Jennifer Kujawski
A week-by-week task calendar for a vegetable garden. Takes the guesswork out of timing.
beginnerSpiral / lay-flat
When All Hell Breaks Loose
Cody Lundin
Cody Lundin's guide to surviving disasters at home: water, sanitation, food, and heat, with humor and common sense.
beginner
Where There Is No Dentist
Murray Dickson
Covers tooth care, abscesses, and simple extractions for people far from a dentist. Dental pain is one of the most common problems in long emergencies, and few other books cover it.
beginnerFree legal PDF
Where There Is No Doctor
David Werner, Carol Thuman, Jane Maxwell
The classic village health-care handbook: plain language, hundreds of drawings, and a focus on what one person can do with few supplies. Hesperian posts it free, chapter by chapter, but a printed copy is the one that works in a blackout.
beginnerFree legal PDF
Where There Is No Vet
Bill Forse
Animal health care for farmers and keepers far from a veterinarian. Covers common diseases, wounds, and birthing in livestock.
intermediate
Where Women Have No Doctor
A. August Burns, Ronnie Lovich, Jane Maxwell, Katherine Shapiro
Women's health from puberty through older age, written for places without easy clinic access. It fills gaps that general first-aid books skip.
beginnerFree legal PDF
Wild Berries & Fruits Field Guide of Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan
Teresa Marrone
A compact guide to wild berries and fruits of the Upper Midwest, including the toxic ones.
beginnerUpper Midwest (MN/WI/MI)Pocket-size
Wild Fermentation
Sandor Ellix Katz, Nora Steinbrun
An approachable guide to sauerkraut, yogurt, sourdough, and other fermented foods. Fermentation preserves food without power or canning lids.
beginner
The Wild Wisdom of Weeds
Katrina Blair
Thirteen common weeds you can eat or use as medicine. Weeds grow everywhere, so the skills travel.
beginnerNorth America
Wilderness First Responder
Buck Tilton
Course-style coverage of the WFR curriculum: assessment, splinting, environmental emergencies. A solid step up from basic first aid.
intermediate
Wilderness Medicine
Paul S. Auerbach
The standard clinical reference for medicine far from hospitals. It is heavy and technical, best for households with medical training.
advancedLarge reference
Wilderness Navigation
Bob Burns
The Mountaineers' guide to map, compass, altimeter, and GPS navigation.
beginner
Wilderness Survival For Dummies
John F. Haslett, Cameron M. Smith
A clear, structured introduction to outdoor survival basics.
beginner
Wind Power
Paul Gipe
Paul Gipe's guide to small wind turbines for home, farm, and business.
intermediate
The Woodburner's Companion
Dirk Thomas
Heating with wood safely: stoves, chimneys, and fuel. Heat is a survival need in cold climates.
beginner
Woodcraft and Camping
George W. Sears (Nessmuk)
George Washington Sears ('Nessmuk') wrote this 1880s classic on going light in the woods. Short, practical, and public domain, so Project Gutenberg has it free.
beginnerFree legal PDFPocket-size
The Woodwright's Shop
Roy Underhill
Roy Underhill on traditional hand-tool woodworking, no electricity needed.
intermediate
The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener
Niki Jabbour
Niki Jabbour's guide to growing vegetables through every season, including winter.
beginner
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