Build A Survival Library

People tend to take things for granted and become complacent when conditions have been pleasant.  For some time the people in North America enjoyed a time of relative calm and prosperity; disasters and emergencies seemed like things that happened far, far away.   This was never completely true, disasters have always been possible, but the improvement in communications has allowed us to find out about these things much more easily than before.  Also, we now have the added problem of terrorism, which theoretically can occur anywhere.  If you have become aware of the relative fragility of the world, you may not know exactly where to start to prepare yourself and your family for the worst.  One of the best places to begin is with books – put the knowledge of those with a great deal of practical experience help you prepare for almost anything.

Basic Survival

When a serious disaster or emergency has occurred, you will often find that all the services and conveniences you are used to are gone.  Think of how primitive the conditions in New Orleans became after Hurricane Katrina.  When you are thrown back on your own resources, it is much better to have some idea of what to do, rather than make the emergency a ‘learning experience’ in itself.  There are several excellent books that address wilderness survival that will help you and your family to live through a disaster in your own back yard.

Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills by John and Geri McPherson is one book that you should add to your library immediately.  The topics covered deal with shelter, food, and how to make simple tools if nothing else is available.  The book has plenty of photographs to assist you in learning basic survival skills.

U. S. Airforce Survival Handbook by the United States Airforce can be added to the above book to make a nearly complete survival library.  This manual is so good that it is used by all branches of the service to help their personnel survive under nearly any conditions.  It covers not only basics like shelter and food, but also medical conditions that might arise.  This handbook has over 1,000 illustrations in black and white.

First Aid

While the above books may well address first aid to some degree, you may want to provide your survival library with some books devoted exclusively to the topic.  During a disaster or emergency, it may be impossible to reach medical help, so having some idea of how to handle not only small injuries, but also more serious ones, can help to ensure survival.

Medicine For The Outdoors by Paul S. Auerbach is not only useful in a wilderness situation, but anywhere that medical help may not be available.  Almost every conceivable injury is covered by the doctor, along with diseases and delivering a baby outside of a hospital.  This book is up to date in the information it contains.

U. S. Army First Aid Manual by the Department of the Army is another valuable first aid book that should be in your emergency library.  Almost every type of injury possible will be covered, and easy to understand treatment is provided.  The book is full of illustrations, most of them in color, to help you undertake the procedures outlined without trouble.