Six Survival Library Essentials Reviewed

One of the first steps I often suggest to new and budding preppers is to begin putting together a good library of essential reference materials.  Frequently, people new to prepping feel overwhelmed at the amount of knowledge they feel they need to learn all at once.  By acquiring hard copies of reference books, the necessary information can be at their fingertips when it is needed.
It is important that your survival library be in hard copy format, rather than just e-books or documents saved on a hard drive or disk.  During many types of disasters, electricity is one of the first things to go.  When that happens, you’ll be unable to pull up the information you may need at a moment’s notice.

Bug Out! by Scott B. Williams

A decidedly unique approach to the more traditional survival manual, this book is a complete overview of the continental United States.  Williams breaks up the country into several regions and for each one discusses the pros and cons of bugging out to those areas.  He greatly details flora, fauna, climate, and other pertinent information.  Williams then gets even more detailed and recommends specific natural parks and other locations that he feels would be ideal for an individual or family needing to fade a way for a while.

The Doom and Bloom(tm) Survival Medicine Handbok by Joseph Alton, M.D. and Amy Alton, A.R.N.P.

The authors are known throughout the prepping community by their aliases of Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy.  They have taught thousands of people through their various conference appearances as well as their Internet radio shows.  Now, their combined medical knowledge has been distilled into one handy book.  In the 400+ pages, they discuss just about every illness or calamity that may befall someone in a disaster, from broken bones to animal bites, athlete’s foot to seizures.  What I really like about this manual over other “survival medicine” books is they go well beyond just immediate first aid and discuss the long-term recovery of these ailments.  Further, in addition to providing the more traditional medical approaches, they also discuss herbal remedies for those who may not have access to a full pharmacy.

Build the Perfect Survival Kit by John D. McCann

Quite simply, this is THE book you’ll want when it comes to putting together get home bags and other portable emergency kits.  McCann has spent many years making his own kits out of just about anything you can imagine and shares his experience with the reader.  He has specific recommendations on gear as well as some very innovative solutions to common problems.

Emergency Food Storage and Survival Handbook by Peggy Layton