Library

This is my prepper library. This will never be the most exhaustive list ever, but it’s a beginning. These are books that I’ve read or that are well-respected in their fields. I’ve read most of them or have them on my immediate to-be-read list (that stack of books by my nightstand or on the read first list on my Kindle). Some may be available as a digital file only. I do not link to a free .pdf version of a book still in print as these are often pirated, so check your local library if you can’t afford to purchase! Another great way to get free digital books is to borrow through Lendle.me.

Don’t have an e-reader? Check out the Kindle apps for your PC, Android, i-products and more.

NON-FICTION

Survivalism / Preparedness

• Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst-Case Scenarios by Lisa Bedford – love this book from a Mom’s perspective.
• SAS-Survival Handbook by John Wiseman
• The Prepper’s Pocket Guide by Bernie Carr
• Getting  Home by Alex Smith – great detailed book on what a Get Home Bag is and what needs to be in it. I found it to be really informative, and not just a list.

Gardening

• Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew – how we garden
• Texas Gardening the Natural Way by J. Howard Garrett – while this book is specific to Texas climates (there is a vast difference in climates in TX..take your pick!) the basic information on organics is useful everywhere.

Homesteading / Animals

• Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery
• Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills by Abigail Gehring

Food Preservation

• Putting Food By  by Hertzberg, Greene & Vaughn
• Dehydrator Bible by MacKenzie, Nutt & Mercer
• Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook by Mary Bell
• Ball Complete Guide to Home Preserving by Judi Kingry

Medical

• Where There is No Doctor by David Werner
• Where There is No Dentist by Murrah Dickson

FICTION

• One Second After by William Forstchen – the book that opened our eyes as adults and set us on this new path – a look at a father and his family and town struggling to survive post -EMP
• Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank – the book that got me started thinking about what if a nuclear disaster happens
• Going Home by A. American – available in book format or slogging through a forum for free (you’ll have to skip other people’s posts to get to the next installment as you go) – a man gets stuck away from home when the lights go out, and he has to make his way home.
• Lights out by David Crawford – post EMP/nuclear world where a community has to survive
• 77 Days in September by Ray Gorham – following a man as he has to trek cross-country to his family after being stranded by an EMP
• Patriots:  A Novel of the Coming Economic Collapse – (followed by Survivors). I’m gonna be truthful – I found this book sexist, focused more on the military than the practical, but I did learn a few things because of the military perspective.
• Restoration Series – Terri Blackstock – EMP type disaster and how a community survives it
• Collapse: New America Book One by Richard Stephenson – This is a 3-pronged story arc as America collapses from financial and meteorological disasters. The story follows a reclusive millionaire, a burned out small town sheriff and an ex-military prisoner all trying to survive in the aftermath with the collapse of the government and of society.  While the reclusive millionaire (or is he a billionaire?) story line is a bit farfetched,  it is no more so than the seemingly limitless finances of preppers/survivalists from other stories, and allows license for setting up more of the story-arc down the road. I am eagerly awaiting the release of book 2 in Spring 2013.

FOR KIDS

NON-FICTION

• Boy Scout Handbook by Boy Scouts of America
• Dangerous Book for Boys by Iggulden  – I wish there was a good equivalent for girls that didn’t focus on crafts and such – but with girl language, but I haven’t found anything, yet
• Willy Whitefeather’s Outdoor Survival Handbook for Kids by Willy Whitefeather

FICTION

• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – I hesitated to put this in kids because I think the premise makes it a book that’s definitely something you need to judge whether your child is mature enough to handle (a gladiator type life for children), but the survival aspect of a girl supporting her family through hunting/foraging and making do makes this noteworthy to be on the list.

NOTE: Some links to books at Amazon may contain a referrer’s link.

I’m going to go ahead and put movies/tv here as well.

Movies/Television Fiction

Book of Eli – starring Denzel Washington, a man travels with a mysterious book that will save man-kind. Mad Max-esque feel to the movie. Liked it.

The Day After – I remember watching this and being completely shaken by it when it was broadcast.

Panic in the Year Zero – 1962 movie about an LA family caught in the mountains and trying to survive until civilization can start again. After watching the martial law in Boston after the bombings, and the implications of it, I actually laughed out loud at one part (you’ll know which part). Completely unrealistic, but shows how quickly completely civilized folks break down.

Red Dawn 1984 Who doesn’t love this movie? A bit campy, low-budget, but great movie – WOLVERINES!

Red Dawn 2012   A remake of an idea, not a movie. Don’t go into it thinking it’s the 1984 movie redone, because it is completely different, and I actually liked it (which, if you know me, I don’t like it when people mess with the stuff I love).

Kids Movies/TV

Non Fiction Movies/TV