Good shtf Book Suggestions

[recon]

Agree! I got the book. He has to make a living too!

[Dave L.]

Agree! I got the book. He has to make a living too!

I bought it too. It's in my pile of books to read.

[Moose-Knuckle]

I know I'm not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but. . .

seeing the cover alone on Patriots (not to mention it's title) screams some Cheaper Than Dirt customer of the century's wet dream.

[Dave L.]

seeing the cover alone on Patriots (not to mention it's title) screams some Cheaper Than Dirt customer of the century's wet dream.

I bought this for my wife to read. I'm using it like an Overton Window where I show her the crazy far out ideas some have, in order to get her to warm up to simple preparations for any realistic scenario involving civil unrest.

So far she likes it (I have not read it yet). She was shocked at some of the concepts like cannibalism and hijacking. I think my master plan is working.

[Travis B]

If you're not sure where someone stands on prepping and TEOTWAWKI, I wouldn't recommend starting them with Patriots. From raping, pillaging biker gangs to C4 explosives, about everything dirty (and real?) about SHTF is in there. If you want to slowly warm someone up to prepping, let them read the series by Terri Blackstock (the name of the series slips my mind at the moment). She writes about TEOTWAWKI, but with a lot less gore and a bigger focus on family unity and a deep larder. If you don't want to scare someone but want to get the idea out there, her books are a great place to start.

[HES]

I know I'm not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but. . .

seeing the cover alone on Patriots (not to mention it's title) screams some Cheaper Than Dirt customer of the century's wet dream.

LMAO. damned near scored in the X ring with that one.

[Redmanfms]

Honestly, none of the "survival" fiction I've read offers what I consider to be relevant "survival" information. As a way to generate interest and spark serious conversation with people not otherwise interested in survival/preparedness topics they can be useful, but I've found movies generally work better than books in that role, namely Threads, the original On the Beach, Panic in the Year Zero (which despite the asstastic title is far more serious than many movies on the topic), and a few others. Those that read recreationally can usually be engaged with straight-forward and logical discussion (unless they're Norah Roberts or Oprah BOTM fans).

The books I've found most useful as far as practical information are the old Boy Scout Handbook, some of the USA field manuals, Peterson Field Guides, and the back catalog of Mother Earth News (yeah, lots of hippy garbage but the '70s and '80s issues are actually really good), Backwoods Home Magazine continues to be a very good publication. There are others of course, this is a short list off the top of my head. Much of my library is actually dedicated to the topic of "survival" and self-sufficiency.

[Patriotme]

Get "The Last Centurion" by John Ringo.
It's a great read and while it's not simply a survivalist book it does deal with TEOTWAWKI from a soldier's point of view and it talks about the mistakes an ineffective government makes in America. I can't tell you how good this book is. Everyone I know that read it raved about it. I will warn however that Liberals will not be able to finish reading it as most of the mistakes made by the post SHTF US gov are attributed to their failed philosophy.

[Travis B]

Get "The Last Centurion" by John Ringo.
It's a great read and while it's not simply a survivalist book it does deal with TEOTWAWKI from a soldier's point of view and it talks about the mistakes an ineffective government makes in America. I can't tell you how good this book is. Everyone I know that read it raved about it. I will warn however that Liberals will not be able to finish reading it as most of the mistakes made by the post SHTF US gov are attributed to their failed philosophy.

The reviews on Amazon are mixed at best. Maybe I'll try it if I can find a cheap copy.

[Patriotme]

I don't know if I would call it a SHTF/survivalist book. The shit has certainly hit the fan in the book though and the main character is an Army officer stationed and left behind in Iran after America withdraws it's military from around the globe. This American unit has to fight it's way back to civilization and a chance to get home.
America has an economic collapse and the onset of another little ice age such as the one we had in the 1600's. The USA has the rioting, starvation and breakdown in infrastructure that you would expect during an economic collapse.
Everything is made worse by an inefficient government run by extreme Left liberals that are more worried about protecting their base and making everything "Fair" than they are about fixing the problems. Those in the Red areas largely pull together and survive on their own by helping each other while those in the Blue areas sit on their ass waiting for government handouts and looted goods from the countryside. All of this is the backstory that occurs while the main character is fighting his way across the Middle East.
There is a lot of social commentary in this book and it should appeal to the survival minded individual or even the general Conservative gun owner/ex military man or woman.
If you are a Lefty or lean at all towards the Left you will absolutely hate this book. The President of the USA is a Hillary type character and she pretty much does everything possible in the wrong way.
I passed my copy of "The Last Centurion" around to Right leaning coworkers and they all loved it. There's no way anyone that is a Lefty could even finish it. I suspect that is the reason for the mixed reviews.