Article - Developing a Well Rounded Survivalist Library

There is a question in another part of the forum asking about survival books. Since the question is posted in the wilderness survival section of the forum, I guess the question was about wilderness survival books.

Rather than addressing just wilderness survival books, let’s talk about survival books in general and developing a well rounded survivalist library.

My favorite books are non-fiction history books. Also, I have a collection of modern survival / prepping books from various authors.

I usually pick a topic, such as the black death, or medieval history, buy several books from Amazon, read them, then pick another topic.

Last Three Books I Read

• Black Rednecks and White Liberals by Thomas Sowell.
• The Neanderthals Rediscovered by Dimitra Papgianni and Michael Morse.
• Technology in the Ancient World by Henry Hodges.

The technology in the ancient world is an older book published in the 1970s. I found it at a used book store and picked it up.
Once I read two or three books on a certain topic, I move to another topic.

When Paladin Press closed its doors I ordered several boxes of books. These were modern survival / prepping books which were added to my existing survivalist library of history books.

My Survivalist Library Topics

• Couple of books on chickens.
• Couple of books on canning.
• Books on Roman history.
• Couple of books on the Black Death.
• Books on trapping.
• Several books on Homesteading.
• Several books on medieval history.
• Modern survivalist books by authors such as Ragnar Benson

The goal of my library is to take historical examples, then apply those examples to modern prepping.

Then, take historical examples, modern technology, combine the two and develop a semi-self sustainable homestead. Why "semi-self sustainable?" Because no man is an island. Humans depend on those around them. Even if the farm was off the grid using solar, I would still need batteries, wire, solar panels... etc.

Survival Books and Historical Examples

The technology in the ancient world is an older book published in the 1970s. I found it at a used book store and picked it up.

When outbreaks of the Black Death would hit Europe there were two groups which usually weathered the outbreaks better than others.

• Land owners who were able to isolate themselves from outsiders.
• Rural dwellers who rarely came into contact with outsiders.

What do those two groups have in common? The ability to produce their own food.

Historical accounts of the Black Death are filled with stories of people dying along the side of the road while they were fleeing the cities. Some died of starvation, while a lot of them died from the Black Death.

What can we learn from those examples?

When merchants stop bringing food to the cities, the people in cities will starve. In desperation city dwellers will flee to rural areas. To a lot of survivalist, this means grabbing their bug out bag and bugging out.

Collecting Survival Books

What I do is get on Amazon, browse though various books, look at other books written by the author, then add the books to a wish list.

When I place an order with Amazon, I look at the book list, gear list, first aid… then add an item to my order. In April a couple of new knives were ordered, such as a Morakniv Companion.

Sometime in May I want to order a book on everyday life in the Middle Ages. Exactly, what kind of difficulties did people living in the Middle Ages face? With that knowledge I can address those issues here on the farm before a collapse.

Another book I want to order is something on goats. The next livestock to be added here on the farm will be goats. Before I get some, I want to educate myself on them.

After goats comes cheese and butter making.

Sometime in all of that is building a pole barn and fencing in several acres for said goats.

Final Thoughts

Millions of people fleeing the cities would probably cause serious issues for prepsteaders. We have dedicated the time, effort and money to develop a homestead, only to have it overran by people fleeing the cities? I don’t think so.

Hopefully that day will never come. However, history has a way of repeating itself, so it is just a matter of time before humanity another plague.

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Article - Developing a Well Rounded Survivalist Library