Welcome to my survival book recommendations page!
Note that all the books on this page are available as paperback books. This is because if SHTF you will want to have a paperback copy of a book, not a digital one.
Digital is fine for now, but if we were to lose power or communications, you will need a copy on print.
I recommend at least getting a general survival skills book that you can put in your bug out bag.
Personally, I have chosen to specialize in medicinal and edible plants. In my library, I have printed books of plants in my region that I can forage and harvest.
I suggest choosing a special craft or skill that you can develop which will enhance your long term survival quality of life, and you can use that craft to barter with others.
General Survival Skills Books
I like this survival skills book because it focuses on positive solutions instead of doomsday situations. It is very helpful and thorough.
Bush Craft 101 is an all-time favorite of survivalists and gives you all the basics you need to survive in the bush.
SAS Survival Handbook is written by John Wiseman, former survival instructor for Britain’s elite Special Air Service, and goes over every conceivable disaster scenario and how to survive it. It’s a great book to add to your survival collection.
Self Defense Survival Books
SEAL TEAM 6 operator Clint Emerson really hits home on how to defend yourself in a survival situation. It is a highly recommended book from its readers.
When Violence is the Answer challenges our normatives of society and answers the hard question of using violence with tactics to take down assailants in aggressive scenarios. This book could very well save you and the lives of your loved ones.
Let’s face it: us women are the weaker and smaller of the sexes and we need to develop special skills to protect ourselves in a violent situation. This book addresses how to develop self-defense tactics specially designed for women.
Survival Medical First Aid Books
Joseph Alton, MD wrote this excellent and thorough survival medical first aid book. His mission is to help prepare everyone for medical emergencies when professional help is not available. A must-have for your survival book collection.
This book spearheads what medications you will need post SHTF. This is especially important for the situation we are in now as China manufactures 90% of generic prescription drugs.
Another excellent book by Dave Canterbury, Bushcraft First Aid focuses on treating medical emergencies while in the wild. A strong recommendation from me!
Shelter Building Guides
A founder of the Boy Scouts of America wrote this hands-on guide giving you detailed techniques for building shelters in the wild.
This ultimate guide to building shelters gives you tips on how to build shelters in any climate and terrain.
Trapping and Fishing Guides
This is the most comprehensive book on the market that includes trapping, tracking, skinning, and even making your own animal scents. A must-have book for providing protein in the wilderness.
How to Eat in the Woods goes over all the ways you can provide protein including trapping, fishing, and foraging. An overall well-rounded book to own.
Edible and Medicinal Plants Books
This book is devoted to providing incredibly thorough information about medicinal plants in the Pacific Northwest.
John Kallas, PhD really shines in this book as he delves into how to identify, harvest, and prepare wild edible plants to a degree of detail that many other books fail to provide. The book has large colored photos of wild edibles for easy identification. In my top three foraging books!
A great book for foraging in the South!
This is the BEST mushroom field guide I have ever read! David Arora offers some humor through storytelling while having one of the easiest mushroom identification models I have seen. It is small enough to be a field guide yet thorough enough that you should have no problems identifying edible and poisonous mushrooms alike. A must-have for foragers!
Being able to identify trees can be really helpful. I love all the National Audobon Society books and this one adheres to their high standard of publication. Note that this is for the Western region.
This is the Eastern edition for tree identification.
Pioneer Skill Building
A good book that focuses on self-sufficiency through uncertain times.
Back to Basics is a thorough book focusing on building traditional skills and crafts for self-sufficiency.
This is the ultimate reference book for building a homestead using traditional methods of self-sufficiency.
I hope you have enjoyed my book recommendations! If you have any books to suggest, mention it in the comments or message me.
Hi, I am Regina, the creator of Maximum Off Grid.
My goal is to teach you how to become more self-sufficient, no matter how small the change.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments.
Have a great day!
Regina Ferrari
good stuff, thanks