Guest Post by Caroline from Culture Coverage.
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With all the natural disasters, terrorism, wars and potential economic collapse, the world is becoming an uncertain place. It’s vital to be prepared to deal with almost anything. From suturing wounds to raising chickens, there are countless things we need to know how to do if disaster strikes.
In our modern world, when we have a problem and need some advice, many of us immediately turn to the internet. We’ve become accustomed to finding information online with little to no effort. But if a major catastrophe hits the world, we’ll lose access to almost everything that we often take for granted, including electricity and an internet connection. While there are some ways to ensure you have access to certain online information, it’s still essential to have other sources.
That’s where books come in. People have used books for centuries, long before electricity and the internet became part of everyday life. If we lose access to electricity and the internet because of a catastrophe, we can always turn to books for the help we need.
If disaster strikes, it’s crucial to have an apocalypse starter library at the very least. Any decent collection will have books that cover basic survival, first aid, self-sufficiency and security. The following seven books cover those topics perfectly, so you’ll want to have them around if the apocalypse hits.
1. “SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere” by John “Lofty” Wiseman
“SAS Survival Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere” covers everything you need to know about survival. It’s filled with expert advice from John “Lofty” Wiseman, a former survival instructor for Britain’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) with 26 years of experience.
This book covers topics such as basic survival skills, pocket survival kits, where and how to make camp, where to find food, first aid, climate and terrain, security and self-defense. Most importantly, it has a section about how to survive hostile situations and natural disasters without normal services and supplies. The latest edition has been revised and includes new information about topics such as terrorism and urban survival.
2. “When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes” by Cody Lundin
Another must-have survival guide is ““When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes” written by Cody Lundin. Written with a sense of humor, it is aimed at teaching families survival skills.
Lundin believes that psychology is vital to surviving a disaster, so this book explains how to nurture the survival mindset you’ll need. The book also covers hygiene skills, basic first aid and creating survival kits for your home, car and office. Other topics include getting clean drinking water, catching rodents for food, proper food storage techniques, building a compost toilet, heating and cooling living areas without electricity, alternative lighting and even how to dispose of a corpse safely.
3. “Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills” edited by Abigail R. Gehring
If a catastrophe hits, you’ll need to become self-sufficient very quickly. “Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills” is the perfect book to help you do that. It gives basic living skills and explains how to live without modern conveniences such as electricity.
This guide contains hundreds of projects, step-by-step guides and illustrations that will help you become self-sufficient. It covers everything you’ll need to know to become self-sufficient, taking you through building a home and barn, using natural energy sources, growing fruit and vegetables, raising livestock, preserving food, and general homemaking skills such as soap making. It even covers a few recreational topics such as kayaking.
4. “When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency” by Matthew Stein
Another excellent book about self-sufficiency is “When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency” written by Matthew Stein. In addition to explaining how to become more self-sufficient, this book focuses on self-reliance in disaster situations.
Every chapter in the book describes self-reliance living techniques you can use in good or bad situations. The book covers all the important issues related to self-sufficiency such as clean water, food, heat, energy, shelter, storage, utensils, tools, first aid and clothing. It even has information about chemistry, metalwork, machines and engineering.
5. “The Doomsday Book of Medicine” by Ralph La Guardia, M.D.
Any major disaster will result in injuries. Even after the danger has passed, people might get ill or injured. It’s very likely hospitals will be overflowing with patients or even closed. This means an important part of surviving the apocalypse is learning basic first aid and general medical skills. “The Doomsday Book of Medicine” by Ralph La Guardia is filled with essential information you’ll need to stay healthy.
For more than 30 years, Dr. La Guardia has been researching ways to treat injuries and illnesses without the aid of prescription medications and doctors. He’s brought all this research together in an easy-to-follow book, complete with helpful illustrations.
6. “Living Ready Pocket Manual – First Aid: Fundamentals for Survival” by James Hubbard
“Living Ready Pocket Manual – First Aid: Fundamentals for Survival” by James Hubbard is a first aid book that’s essential for any medical emergency. With skills that can be used in any medical emergency situation, including major disasters, this book is a must-have to survive the apocalypse.
This manual has step-by-step guides to prevent and deal with cuts, bites, burns, gunshots, broken bones, injured joints, dehydration, allergic reactions, skin rashes, anaphylactic shock, heatstroke, frostbite and hypothermia. It also provides checklists for survival first aid kits. It’s pocket-sized, so it will fit into any bag.
7. “The Secure Home” by Joel Skousen
Anything can happen after a major disaster. Desperate people might turn to stealing and looting. If you’re prepared, you’ll definitely have things worth stealing. They might even be worth killing for. This means it is essential to keep your family and possessions safe by properly securing your home. That’s where “The Secure Home” by Joel Skousen comes in.
It covers every aspect of securing your home and provides detailed information about building a secure home from scratch or remodeling your current home. The book also has information about heating, cooling, power, food and water sources. Best of all, it comes with a detailed guide to building your own safe room to protect your family from earthquakes, fire, home intrusion, biological attacks, chemical attacks and biological attacks.
All of these books can be purchased on Amazon, either in hard copy or e-book format. If you decide on a hard-copy library, you need to keep your books in a waterproof and fireproof container of some sort. If you decide you’d prefer an e-library, you need to use a reliable Virtual Private Network to ensure you avoid hackers, keep your device in a waterproof case, and have a good solar charger and power bank to keep it fully charged.
These seven books are essential if you want to survive the apocalypse, but they’re by no means the only survival guides out there. Are there other books you’d want with you if the apocalypse hits? Please let us know in the comments.
About the author: Caroline is a tech and entertainment blogger who believes in always being prepared. She hopes these books will help you prepare yourself for any eventuality. Find her on Twitter at: @CultureCovC