[sgtdeath66]

im curious about what books some of you would recomend as good reads, i came across a few of my old ones today looking through some boxes ive forgotten about and came across the ones ive read a few times. such books are; the us armed forces survival guide, us army survival handbook, the speacial forces endurance techniques-endurance, iq, stress control, memory, and the anarchists cookbook. trying to find new reads, prefferably about edible plants, poisonous plants and medicinal plants

[matt g]

Be very careful with the Anarchist's Cookbook. Many of the "recipes" have been altered to make them dangerous or non functional. Only someone who knows what they doing will be able to tell the "ingredient" or component that is incorrect and be able to fix it.

The same proves true for civilian reproductions of military manuals.

You might want to check out the Foxfire books and a Boy Scout Handbook. Both have good, practical info. Survival isn't something you read, really. It's something you know.

[pioneer461]

While not exactly considered as text books on survival, I can recommend some thought provoking reading.

I am a big fan of Stephen King. In 1978 King published what is arguably his best novel entitled; The Stand, a bio-warfare screw-up, post-apocalyptic novel. In 1990, the book was re-released in it's original, uncut version, which makes it a rather long story. A TV miniseries based on The Stand and scripted by King himself was released in 1994. It is now avalable on DVD.

I've read The Stand four times, and own the movie. The book is much better. In doing some research on the book, I learned that King was in part inspired by another post-apocalyptic novel, Swan Song, by Robert McCammon. Swan Song deals with post nuclear war survival. In ordering that one, Amazon.com suggested that I may enjoy Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Hammer is about survival following a comet vs. Earth collision. In all three (Stand, Swan and Hammer) ownership of firearms plays a role in the survival of the main characters. As I said, they are not survival texts, but can get you thinking about some survival scenarios.

Another novel suggested by Amazon is a book I am presently reading; "Patriots: Surviving The Coming Collapse." This one suggests the world-wide collapse of civilization due to an economic break-down, copy righted in 2006. This one is like reading today's current events.

The author presents the story in novel form, but is combined with real-life survival tactics and techniques. The places in the story are real, centered around Central Idaho. The author, James Wesley Rawles, goes into sometimes painfully detailed descriptions about constructing a fortified retreat for the characters who all contributed to it's building, and assumes that we all have an unlimited amount of funds at our disposal for supplies and equipment. Although dry in some places, this is a very thought provoking read, with a major focus on firearms, military-like small unit tactics and preparedness.

James Wesley Rawles has an Internet blog, "survivalBlog.com." I recommend not only the book, but the Internet site as well for some excellent ideas on survival.

There must be something to it, because on the copyright page it says;
"The making and/or possession of the some of the devices and mixtures described in this novel is possibly illegal in some jurisdictions." It goes on to describe other legal warnings I won't bore you with now.

Enjoy and like the Scouts, "Be Prepared."

[chopkick]

a couple of good first aid/med reference books are THE US ARMY SPECIAL FORCES MEDICAL HANDBOOK and DITCH MEDICINE. both are available from Paladin Press.

[sgtdeath66]

Originally Posted by matt g

Be very careful with the Anarchist's Cookbook. Many of the "recipes" have been altered to make them dangerous or non functional. Only someone who knows what they doing will be able to tell the "ingredient" or component that is incorrect and be able to fix it.

The same proves true for civilian reproductions of military manuals.

You might want to check out the Foxfire books and a Boy Scout Handbook. Both have good, practical info. Survival isn't something you read, really. It's something you know.

dont worry matt i dont plan on using the info in the "cookbook" i just obtained it when i was young because i heard it was going to be banned and wanted a copy before it was unavailable, as for the boy scout handbook i havnt read that since i was probly 10 or so. actually forgot all about it. thanks for the info though

[sgtdeath66]

the stand was a great read i remember reading it in 7th or the 8th grade for reading class, i remember getting detention because i would read it in my other classes, and the movie really, really long but good as well

[matt g]

Originally Posted by sgtdeath66

dont worry matt i dont plan on using the info in the "cookbook" i just obtained it when i was young because i heard it was going to be banned and wanted a copy before it was unavailable, as for the boy scout handbook i havnt read that since i was probly 10 or so. actually forgot all about it. thanks for the info though

It was banned in the mid to late '70s. The new and improved version is the one with the false information. The false information is the reason that it was re-released and taken off of watch lists.

You might want to look for FM 3-05.70. Don't buy the civilian version. I've seen it for sale in many book stores and it isn't the same as the Army version. The Army version is the beat all, end all survival handbook.

It's quite bulky, but it does have a large section of color photographs of edible animals, plants, fungus and lichens. The photos are arranged by area of the world that they're found in. It also has a similar section of dangerous animals to be aware of and another for medicinal plants.

It carries such useful info as who's feces is safe to consume, how to safely use urine to clean wounds and how to prevent gangrene by turning your wound into a maggot farm.

I had FM 21-76 and gained a lot of info from it. Here is an online version of 3-05.70, but I haven't had a chance to check it out yet to verify the source: http://www.equipped.com/fm3-0570.htm

If nothing else, you should be able to request a hard copy of the FM from the Dept. of the Army under the FoIA.

EDIT: I just checked out some of the info in that link. It seems to be good info, but it's very abbreviated. My hard copy of FM 21-76 went into much greater detail and had a lot more pictures.

[sgtdeath66]

yea i knew about the maggot farm, i think that would be freaky feeling but when it comes down to life or death or just losing the body part isay bring on the maggots

[CommandoJoe]

I know this topic is a little old, but I thought I would add something - the Foxfire books are available for download at Scribd, along with army manuals and many other things...
I think you have to sign up for an account to save them, but a few weeks ago I was able to use:
login: bugmenot
pass: bugmenot

[c3shooter]

FWIW, for some time I have been adding to my SHTF LIBRARY. And yes, the Anarchist's Cookbook is a crock.

Foxfires? Yep. Along with Euell Gibbons. Mother Earth Book of Homemade Power. Wilderness Doctor. Several of my military TMs and FMs. Reader's Digest Back to Basics (well worth the buy) Dean Ing's Pulling Through. Guide to preserving food. Audell's Engineers and Mechanic's Guide to Electricity (1904 edition- know how to wind a motor or generator? I do now) Home beer and wine making. 1001 recipes (know how to extract tannic acid to tan a hide?) Gunsmithing, metal working, carpentry, masonry.

I plan to be a VERY indispensable person. And most of these were purchased used for pennies on the dollar.