Hello, Friends!
Preppers are always looking for ways to improve our preparedness. We research topics and apply what we learn because we value having useful skills for survival.
But we need great sources of information!! We need books and magazines and content rich websites and articles! In this post you will find some excellent sources of information for preppers.
But before I give you the list of books that I have found really useful for prepping, I want to ask you about where you keep your reading materials.
Some of you print out articles you find, and there are tons of articles on the files section in our Prepping group. You keep the most useful and comprehensive ones in binders with plastic sleeves and tabs for easy access to the information.
Some of you download many books and store those books on a jump drive or two, or five! These you keep in an EMP safe container, a Faraday Cage, with a reading device or laptop with a solar power supply.
The rest of you are proponents of hard copy books. Books you can hold in your hand and write in as you see fit. I'm a fan of having a book in hand. For many, bugging-in in an emergency is preferable to leaving the safe fortress that you have built. And certain books are just what are needed to refresh your memory on some of the basic prepping skills.
So, here is the list. You can obtain this information in many formats. Some will prefer the digital format. I recommend hard copies. Besides, hard copy books are good gifts for family or those in your group, if you have a group, to help them learn how to be prepared.
For Beginning Preppers
Anything by Jim Cobb. Yes, I said it! Anything by Jim Cobb!! Jim is our Yoda. He's a prolific writer and expert on just about every aspect of the topic of prepping. He also is the editor of the prepping magazines you see at the drugstore and other stores - PREPPER Survival Guide, and the Backwoods Survival Guide. His writing is balanced and informative, and he helps preppers to gain the knowledge needed to be confident in emergency situations.
Here are two books that are particularly valuable for beginning preppers.
First, I want to recommend the Prepper's Long-Term Survival Guide 2nd Edition: This is the book that I would suggest that you get if you get no other books. Especially if you believe we are heading toward an SHTF situation. Each prepping topic is introduced by a stage-setting story that engages the reader and whets the appetite for the information that follows. Get this book!
The next book that is worth your attention is the Countdown to Preparedness. This book starts you on a 52 week course that takes you through the first steps of prepping including the mindset of a prepper, and, by following the weekly lessons, the reader will become a competently prepared citizen. This book is available in print and in a Kindle version.
Here is another comprehensive and easy to understand beginning prepper book. This one is called Be Ready for Anything by Daisy Luther. She approaches each topic of prepping with a clear and pragmatic style. It is not a large book, but she covers what you need to know.
Medical Topics for Preppers
My favorite authors for medical issues for prepper are Dr. Joseph and Nurse Amy Alton.
Their Survival Medicine Handbook: The essential guide for when help is NOT on the way is a very comprehensive guide that should be looked through BEFORE you have a medical emergency during a time when help is not coming - like when the grid is down or the crap has hit the fan.
Foraging for Preppers
My favorite book for foraging is from the FalconGuides Publishers. My book is Foraging Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. This books is specifically for my region, but they produce foraging books for the other regions of the US and you can see the regions by clicking on this link.
Bushcraft for Preppers
If you can get a copy, the US Army Survival Manual (FM 21-76) is a 'must have' for your personal Library. It covers everything from the Will to Survive, to Fire building, Water Procurement, Shelters, Wildlife for Food, and specific chapters on how to survive in various climates and on the sea. Mine was published in 2004. The manual is available in the Kindle and Audiobook format as well as the print format.
I know there are more books about bush crafting. Please recommend your favorites in the comments below.
Self-Sufficiency for Preppers
So many of us got into Prepping through the Self-Sufficiency door. I know that is how I started prepping. These books are very useful.
The Self-Sufficient Backyard by Ron and Johanna Melchiore gives a lot of useful advice and inspiration for living self-sufficiently. They write from their experience on many aspects of providing for themselves, and let you see that it is possible on a smaller scale. Sure, acres and acres of land are a blessing, but there is much you can do on a smaller lot. There is a lot of information about food production, preservation and storage, as well as information about providing power for the homestead. It is only in the print format, but it would a valuable addition to your library.
The Lost Ways makes a great companion to the Self-Sufficient Backyard as it covers the other topics like animal husbandry, self defense information, and MANY skills that have been lost that we preppers are rediscovering.
One more book for this category is the one that may have reignited the self-sufficiency movement in the United States. That is the book Back to Basics. This book drew me into this movement like no other book, and it is still a beloved part of my library.
Special Mention
One of our Prepping group members, C.W. McElroy, just published their first prepping book: The Essential Preppers Survival Toolkit: Master Self Reliance, Enhance Crisis Preparedness and Ensure Water, Food and Home Security For Long Term Survival In Any Scenario. At the moment, it is being offered for free as a Kindle edition. Have a look and leave a review.
These are books from my personal library, and I know I'm not including your favorites. If you feel like I've missed a very important resource, please make a comment below so I can amend this list!
Have fun prepping!
Ruth
PS. This list is only part of my library.
PPS. I'm an Amazon Associate, and there are links scattered through the blog so you can find more information about each book. If you do end up purchasing something through one of the links, I get a small commission, and I thank you in advance.
PPPS. We live in strange times! Be watchful and ready!
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