Best general survival books
Broad survival guides are where most libraries start. They cover water, fire, shelter, food, signaling, and first aid in one volume, so you know what you don't know.
30 books, beginner-friendly first.
98.6 Degrees
Cody Lundin · 2003
Survival is about keeping your core temperature normal, and Lundin builds the whole book around that idea.
beginnerAre You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
FEMA (U.S. Department of Homeland Security) · 2013
FEMA's own preparedness guide covering hazards from floods to chemical spills. A government publication you can print for free.
beginnerFree legal PDF
The Boy Scout Handbook
Robert Birkby, Boy Scouts of America · 1990
The Scouts' handbook covers camping, first aid, knots, and navigation in a format kids and adults can use.
beginnerLarge reference
Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag
Creek Stewart · 2012
Creek Stewart's guide to packing a 72-hour bag, item by item.
beginner
Bushcraft 101
Dave Canterbury · 2014
Dave Canterbury's core bushcraft skills: tools, fire, shelter, and the '5 Cs'.
beginner
Camping & Wilderness Survival
Paul Tawrell · 2006
Paul Tawrell's large, heavily illustrated outdoor reference.
beginnerLarge reference
The Disaster Preparedness Handbook
Dr. Arthur T. Bradley · 2013
An engineer's practical, unhysterical approach to family emergency planning.
beginner
Emergency
Neil Strauss · 2011
Neil Strauss's first-person account of learning survival skills. Entertaining, with real practical content.
beginnerHandbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family
Arthur T. Bradley · 2011
Arthur Bradley's family-focused preparedness guide with checklists for water, food, power, and more.
beginner
How to Invent Everything
Ryan North · 2020
A funny but surprisingly informative guide to the inventions civilization runs on, from the plow to the battery.
beginnerJust in Case
Kathy Harrison · 2008
Kathy Harrison's family-centered guide to being ready for emergencies, with practical lists and a calm tone.
beginner
The Knowledge
Lewis Dartnell · 2015
How to rebuild technology from scratch: agriculture, medicine, chemistry, power. Explains why things work, not just how.
beginner
The Prepper's Blueprint
Tess Pennington, Daisy Luther · 2014
A step-by-step plan for preparing a household for disasters of increasing length.
beginnerPrepper's Long-Term Survival Guide
Jim Cobb · 2021
Jim Cobb on food, water, sanitation, and security for long emergencies.
beginner
SAS Survival Guide
John 'Lofty' Wiseman · 2018
The pocket version of the SAS Survival Handbook. Fits in a go-bag or glovebox.
beginnerPocket-size
SAS Survival Handbook
John Wiseman · 2014
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 · 2008
Survival skills for home and city: fires, floods, and everyday emergencies.
beginnerLarge referenceThe Survival Handbook
Colin Towell · 2020
DK's photo-driven survival guide, clear for visual learners.
beginner
Survive!
Les Stroud · 2009
Les Stroud's essential skills for surviving outdoors, drawn from his TV survival experience.
beginner
Survivor Kid
Denise Long · 2011
A wilderness survival guide written for kids, covering shelter, fire, water, and signaling.
beginnerU.S. Army Survival Manual
U.S. Department of the Army · 2013
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
The Ultimate Survival Manual
Rich Johnson · 2016
Outdoor Life's illustrated guide to wilderness, urban, and disaster survival.
beginner
When All Hell Breaks Loose
Cody Lundin · 2007
Cody Lundin's guide to surviving disasters at home: water, sanitation, food, and heat, with humor and common sense.
beginnerWilderness Survival For Dummies
John F. Haslett, Cameron M. Smith · 2023
A clear, structured introduction to outdoor survival basics.
beginnerDisaster Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms
Arthur T. Bradley · 2012
Arthur Bradley, an engineer, explains what an EMP or solar storm could actually do and how to protect electronics.
intermediate
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It
James Wesley Rawles · 2009
James Wesley Rawles's widely read guide to long-term preparedness, from retreat planning to supplies.
intermediate
Nuclear War Survival Skills
Cresson H. Kearny · 1987
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
Thrive
Juan Pablo Quiñonez · 2022
A long-term wilderness survival guide focused on living on the land, not just a weekend.
intermediate
Tools for Survival
James Wesley Rawles · 2015
Rawles on the tools and skills needed to keep a household running after a collapse.
intermediateThe Ashley Book of Knots
Clifford W. Ashley · 1993
The encyclopedia of knots, with thousands of numbered illustrations. The reference other knot books cite.
advancedLarge reference