Recommended Survival Books for Your Collection

These are my most recommended survival books to keep as resources in your home library. We’ve written reviews of some of these over the years and included links. There is also a quick list with links if you want to go straight to Amazon to learn more about the book and see reader reviews.

image: survival books on bookshelves and lying open on table

Books by The Survival Mom

Do you mind if I include my books in this list of recommended survival books?

Go Straight to Amazon Using These Links

Those with an * beside them have reviews that can be accessed below.

  1. Last Light by Terri Blackstock
  2. Lights Out by David Crawford
  3. One Second After by William Forstchen*
  4. Patriots by James Wesley Rawles
  5. Stacey’s Quest by AK Steele*
  6. Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzalez*
  7. The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker
  8. The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood
  9. The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley*
  10. Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before it’s too Late by Scott B. Williams
  11. Survive! Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere – Alive by Les Stroud
  12. Will to Live by Les Stroud*
  13. The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan
  14. Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag by Creek Stewart*
  15. Crisis Preparedness Handbook by Jack A. Spigarelli
  16. The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook by Joseph and Amy Alton
  17. The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery
  18. Gardening When It Counts by Steve Solomon
  19. How to Survive the End of the World as we Know it by James Wesley Rawles
  20. LDS Preparedness Manual (free download)
  21. The Modern Survival Manual by Fernando Aguirre
  22. The Prepper’s Pocket Guide by Bernie Carr
  23. Prescription for Herbal Healing by Phyllis A. Balch
  24. When There is No Doctor by David Werner
  25. Where There is No Dentist by Murray Dickson
  26. Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judi Kingry
  27. Cookin’ with Home Storage by Peggy Layton & Vicki Tate
  28. Dinner is in the Jar by Kathy Clark
  29. Food Storage 101 by Peggy Layton
  30. Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook by Mary Bell

My Recommended Survival Books Grouped Into Categories

If you have an idea of the topic you’re wanting, I’ve sorted my recommendations into these groups:

  • Books for Motivating You to Prepare
  • Mental Preparedness
  • Wilderness and Outdoor Survival
  • SHTF and TEOTWAWKI Survival
  • Medical Readiness
  • Food Storage and Preservation

Wake Up, People! Books for Motivating You to Prepare

  • Last Light by Terri Blackstock
  • Lights Out by David Crawford
  • One Second After by William Forstchen describes life in a North Carolina town following an EMP attack. This permanently destroys everything that relies on electronics: cars, airplanes, all communication, medical equipment, etc.  I finally forced myself to read it, and, yes, it was dismal, depressing, and discouraging. I much prefer an economic collapse to a post-EMP world. Note from The Survival Mom: I don’t believe this is a realistic scenario anymore. It’s too widespread and renders critical infrastructure useless to the attacker as well. Instead, localized EMP events, sabotage, and, to a lesser extent, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are what we need to be prepared for. Still, the information contained within is useful and enlightening. Read more of this review of One Second After.
  • Patriots by James Wesley Rawles
  • Stacey’s Quest by AK Steele tells the realistic story of a teenage girl whose life revolves around high school, her friends, and shopping trips to the mall.  In every way, her life is that of any other American girl.  In a moment, though, that world completely changes with an EMP burst.  Stacey and her friends find themselves at the mall when the lights and heat go out, and a blizzard rages outside the mall doors.  They have nothing on but the flimsy shoes and fashionable outfits they left home with that morning. Read more of this review of Stacey’s Quest.

Mental Preparedness

  • Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzalez digs deep into questions like why some people survive, and others perish after experiencing the same set of circumstances. He looks at specific cases to scientifically examine why people tend to survive. His motivation stems from his father’s own survival in both a military plane crash and being a prisoner of war. Maybe survivalism can be passed down through the genes. Read more of this review of Deep Survival.
  • The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker
  • The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood
  • The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley investigates how humans respond to major disasters and what they did that gave them the ability to survive. Do you know your disaster personality? Survival lessons from The Unthinkable help teach everyday people about their disaster personality, among other survival lessons. Read more of this review of The Unthinkable.

Wilderness and Outdoor Survival

TEOTWAWKI and SHTF Survival

Medical Readiness

Food Storage and Preservation

Recommended Survival Books: Which Do You Recommend?

This isn’t an exhaustive list of the best survival resources, but it’s a good beginning to a valuable library you’ll need when survival is the issue.

3 thoughts on “Recommended Survival Books for Your Collection”

  1. IT’S SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE IS GETTING IN ON THE PREPPING
    THESE DAYS
    I AM AND OLD MAN WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN WHAT WE USE TO CALL COUNTRY LIVING
    NOW I AM A PAPA
    HAHA LOL JUST AND MAN AND OLD ARMY VETERAN
    JUST MAYBE I WILL START MY OWN SURIVIAL EMAIL POST
    (THE SURVIVAL PAPA )
    FOR ONE EVERYONE IN THE FAMILY AND PEOPLE WHO I REALLY DON’T KNOW
    ARE ALWAYS CALLING ME TO FIND OUT
    WHAT EVERYONE ON THE INTERNET IS SELLING FOR $39.95
    PLUS SHIPPING HAHA LOL
    LOOK I AM NOT MAKING FUN HERE OF ANYONE
    ALL I AM SAYING IS THE TRUTH
    HEY I AM VERY HAPPY FOR ANYONE WHO HAS WHAT IT TAKES
    TO GO OUT AND DO SOMETHING
    BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT THERE TO DAY
    NEEDS THIS TYPE OF SERVICE
    FOR ONE THEY ARE IN MY DAY WHAT WE WOULD CALLED
    JUST TO DAMM LAZY TO WORK AT ANYTHING FOR THEM SELF
    SO THESE TYPE OF PEOPLE REALLY REALLY NEEDS THESE KINDS OF WEBSITES
    SO KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK (SURVIVAL MOM)
    AND HAVE A VERY BLESSED DAY

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