The starter shelf: 10 essential books
If you only buy ten books, buy these. Together they cover medicine, water, food, preservation, repair, navigation, communication, and foraging, which are the gaps that hurt most when the grid is down. Most cost less than a tank of gas.
#1 · Medical & first aid
Where There Is No Doctor
David Werner, Carol Thuman, Jane Maxwell
Medical care for when help isn't coming. 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
#2 · General survival
SAS Survival Handbook
John Wiseman
The broadest single survival reference. John 'Lofty' Wiseman's broad survival reference covering every climate and situation. The most-recommended general survival book.
beginnerLarge reference
#3 · General survival
When All Hell Breaks Loose
Cody Lundin
Water, sanitation, and heat at home after a disaster. Cody Lundin's guide to surviving disasters at home: water, sanitation, food, and heat, with humor and common sense.
beginner
#4 · Homesteading
The Encyclopedia of Country Living
Carla Emery
Growing, raising, and preserving food, all in one volume. 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
#5 · Food preservation & storage
Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
Ball Corporation
Tested canning times you shouldn't guess at. The long-running home canning guide from Ball, with tested recipes and processing times. Inexpensive and widely trusted.
beginner
#6 · Repair & mechanical
Pocket Ref
Thomas J. Glover
Thousands of facts and tables in your pocket. 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#7 · Navigation
Be Expert with Map and Compass
Carina Kjellstrom Elgin, Bjorn Kjellstrom
Navigation that needs no batteries. The classic orienteering guide to using a map and compass. Teaches a skill that needs no batteries.
beginner
#8 · Comms & radio
Ham Radio for Dummies
H. Ward Silver
Communication when the phones are down. A plain introduction to amateur radio: licensing, equipment, and getting on the air.
beginner
#9 · Foraging
Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide
Thomas S. Elias
Wild food anywhere on the continent. Add a guide for your own region too. A photo field guide to over 200 wild foods across the continent, organized by season. A good first foraging book.
beginnerNorth AmericaField guide#10 · Gardening
Gardening When It Counts
Steve Solomon
Growing real food with few inputs. Steve Solomon's guide to growing food on low budgets with few inputs, written with hard times in mind.
beginner
Missing something for your situation? Browse by topic or find a foraging guide for your region.