Best Survival Books: The Must-Own Library (before SHTF)

By Will Brendza | Updated: 02/18/2024

Survival BooksToday I’ve got something really helpful to share…

A List Of The Best Survival Books To Add To Your Library

Because books are my favorite investments.

They’re pages with words bound together to transfer knowledge.

Doing so silently between human beings across time and space!

And survival books give you the ability to overcome the odds and Thrive In Times Of Chaos.

Because the difference between being a Resilient Hero or fragile victim is INFORMATION.

TOPICS IN THIS LIST…    ↓(click to jump)
Survival Gear Checklist eBook Cover -with fire piston on a rock and campfire in the background

Want a free 54 item survival gear checklist?

Click here to instantly download this Complete Checklist PDF. No purchase necessary.

Why Everyone Should Invest In Survival Books

Owning a library of survival books on edible plants, trapping, building shelters, and making fires is wise.

They’re resources you can repeatedly consult whenever you like.

It’s like having a miniature survival expert in your backpack or on your shelf.

One who you can ask for help when faced with difficult survival challenges.

Some survival books focus on specific survival topics—deep diving into specific survival fields such as edible plants or ascending mountains.

While other survival books are more general and speak to a wider range of essential survival skills.

Survival books should earn a spot in your library, and in an emergency, you’ll be thankful to have your own mini “Survivopedia” on hand.

But there are a lot of survival books out there.

Many claims to be,

“The best and most thorough guide to survival ever written by anyone in the history of anything ever”!

So, to save you the time and trouble of wading through the mass of options, I’ve compiled a shortlist of my favorites.

Survival Gear Checklist eBook Cover -with fire piston on a rock and campfire in the background

Want a free 54 item survival gear checklist?

Click here to instantly download this Complete Checklist PDF. No purchase necessary.

Best NonFiction Survival Books

Of course, the non-fiction variety of survival books includes the densest information.

These are your straight-up guides.

If you want an entertaining story to accompany your research, skip to the next section.

You won’t find many stories here.

But if you want a valuable resource to keep for emergencies, I recommend how-tos and fact-based DIY types.

1. Our Top Recommendation
Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival

Bushcraft 101 is a survival book that's been called “the ultimate resource for experiencing the backcountry.” And that claim is hard to dispute.

Dave Canterbury covers everything from:

  • What to pack in your backcountry bag
  • How to manufacture tools needed for wilderness survival
  • How to protect oneself from harsh natural elements
  • Collecting and preparing food
  • And more!

This guide has everything you need to get the most out of your wilderness experience. Helping you master the art of bushcraft and connect with nature like never before.

And for those who have mastered the 101 bushcraft series, it may be time to upgrade to Dave Canterbury's more advanced bushcraft series:

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Dave Canterbury – Bushcraft 101 – Book Review

2.
U.S. Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76

There are not a lot of organizations out there that know more about the art of survival than the US Army.

They know how to survive in any climate, on any geographical terrain, and under any circumstance.

The information in the US Army Survival Manual has been field-tested and battlefield-proven to an efficient and effective level.

It's the perfect guide for your wilderness survival needs.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ US Army Survival Manual Review

3.
Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills

This is my personal favorite outdoor survival guide out there, but it's particular.

It's for those of us who enjoy the challenges of mountaineering.

It doesn't cover things like "how to build a fire with wet firewood." You won't learn "how to skin, clean, and cook a dead snake."

While it has no fancy survival tricks, Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills is JAM-PACKED with important alpine survival info.

If you are at all interested in rock climbing, ice climbing, or backcountry medicine, this book is for you. Get it.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills 9th Edition

4.
Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide

They got super creative with the title on this one, right? Where the authors lacked imagination, they made up for it with plenty of foraging knowledge.

The Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants covers over 200 edible wild plants and contains 400 bright-color photos. Making it easy to identify specific plants in their images and descriptions.

Anyone interested in determining, collecting, and eating wild plants needs a copy.

Eating wild plants can be a dangerous business. One should be 100% certain of what one eats before eating it.

Lest they risk ending up like Chris McCandless from Into the Wild. Who died of severe food poisoning all alone in the woods. Which would suck, right?

Eating wild edible plants can prolong your survival, or they can end it. Get this book BEFORE you consume any wild edibles.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Edible Wild Plants Field Guide Book Review

5.
How to Eat in the Woods: A Complete Guide

Practicality meets reliability in this comprehensive wilderness survival guide.

  • Need tips on foraging? How To Survive In The Woods shows you how
  • Need fishing lessons? This book can help
  • Never trapped animals before? You will learn the key concepts

How To Eat In The Woods is a book all about maintaining your sustenance without grocery stores, pantries, and restaurants.

Good for both survival and preparedness.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ BRM How to Eat in the Woods

6.
Outdoor Survival Skills

This book has been around for decades. It's helped three generations of survivors hone their outdoor and wilderness skills.

It covers:

  • Building fires
  • Collecting food
  • Building shelters
  • Making tools

All with personal anecdotes from the author’s life. Outdoor Survival Skills should find space as one of the best survival options on your bookshelf.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Outdoor survival skills book review

7.
Hawke's Green Beret Survival Manual

Have you ever heard of the Green Berets? If not, they are US Special Forces, and they are badass.

Insanely BADASS.

They prepare to survive any mission they are charged with. Which means their training is brutal and intense.

In Hawke's Green Beret Survival Manual, retired Special Forces officer Mykel Hawke gives a crash course in Green Beret survival knowledge.

Perfect for both everyday citizens and skilled survivalists alike.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Hawke’s Green Beret Survival  Manual Review

Survival Gear Checklist eBook Cover -with fire piston on a rock and campfire in the background

Want a free 54 item survival gear checklist?

Click here to instantly download this Complete Checklist PDF. No purchase necessary.

Survival Novels (Nonfiction and Fiction)

Fiction survival novels are not textbooks.

They are not crammed with dry factual information.

However, there’s still much one can learn from nonfiction and fiction survival novels.

Reading the stories of these characters and how they prolong their lives can help you survive.

They serve as inspiration that can save your life.

Plus, having a story to entertain yourself can also be incredibly useful.

Entertainment is a valuable resource, especially if it contains useful survival information.

8.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Hatchet was one of my favorite books growing up. Gary Paulson, the author, taught me more about the vast wilderness and the human will to survive than I could ever explain.

A young man traveling in a small plane crashes into the Canadian wilderness.

Where he's forced to live out a season besides the lake, which swallowed his plane and pilot. He has to hunt, trap, fish, make fire, and seek help, all with only a single tool: his hatchet.

A hatchet saves his life and allows him to survive repeatedly throughout the story. If you want a great read from which you will learn much, look no further!

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Book Review: Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen

9.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

This book is an older one, but the skill of survival has remained much the same for thousands of years.

When it comes to being stranded and forced to survive as a castaway, even a two hundred old story is still full of relevant knowledge today.

But thankfully, they shortened the title from its original.

“The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years” to simply "Robinson Crusoe."

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe Book Review

10.
Life Of Pi by Yann Martel

This book goes beyond combining survival information with a great story.

It's also a spiritual survival journey.

Life of Pi has recently been adapted for the big screen. It chronicles the adventures of a boy who becomes stranded on a life raft at sea with a tiger, zebra, and monkey.

The story is every bit as strange as it sounds. And it's every bit as full of useful survival intelligence as its weird adventures.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Book Summary and Review)

11.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding

A horrifying study of the human survival spirit. This book is about a group of young boys who become stranded on an island by a plane crash without a single adult. They're forced to:

  • Organize themselves
  • Create rules
  • Delegate responsibility
  • And strive for social power

The boys must learn to hunt boars, start and maintain fire and live with one another.

Lord of the Flies is a harrowing illustration of the savage that lives in all of us.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Why should you read “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding?

↓ Into Thin Air / Jon Krakauer Book Review

13.
The Stand by Stephen King

A military super-virus escapes a lab in California. It's contagious and infects the entire world, killing off 99% of human beings on Earth.

The remaining 1% is forced into a world littered with dead bodies.

Where lawlessness reigns and wickedness flourishes.

The survivors form two encampments that both strive to rebuild what was lost.

One is good, and the other is evil.

The Stand is one of Stephen King’s finest works. He illustrates masterfully how mankind might fall into chaos and rise from the ashes.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ The Stand by Stephen King Book Review

15.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

This survival book was adapted into a very good movie of the same name.

The movie was good, but the book is better. 

If you're looking for a good survival page-turner, this is it.

If you've ever wanted to leave your current life behind and live in the remote wilderness alone, you'll have an immediate and deep connection with Chris McCandless. However, this is a cautionary tale as well.

Remote wilderness survival has its romantic side, but it also has a brutal, uncaring nature.

Check Today's Price
We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
↓ Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer | Book Review

Survival Gear Checklist eBook Cover -with fire piston on a rock and campfire in the background

Want a free 54 item survival gear checklist?

Click here to instantly download this Complete Checklist PDF. No purchase necessary.

The Final Word

Books are not the first thing people think of when planning for survival.

Instinct drives you to grab weapons, food, water purification, and shelter gear first.

But I urge you to invest in a few key survival books.

Honestly, any book in a survival situation is good, even if it is a fairy tale with nothing to do with reality.

Why? Because entertainment and distraction can be as important in an SHTF scenario as food and water.

But survival books are good for the mind, and they are good for the soul.

And maintaining a sharp and focused mind is imperative. Plus, in a post-order economy, books will become treasured items.

Their trade value will skyrocket.

You may find yourself with some serious power of commerce.

They are also useful on other levels: they can work as makeshift pillows and pages as a fire starter.

Although, I’d be hesitant to burn any valuable information in the book.

There’s no excuse not to have a few of the best survival books on your shelf.

So select the ones best suited to you, and waste no time adding them to your survival arsenal.

Why Trust Skilled Survival...

Go here now to review a full breakdown of:

  • Who We Are
  • Our Credentials
  • Our Mission
  • & Product Recommendations...

Here are a few highlights of our teams credentials & certifications:

  • Certified Member of a Mountain Search & Rescue Organization
  • Plant Emergency & Safety Leader for a Major Food Manufacturer
  • Member of the 10TH Mountain Division Hut Association
  • Certifications: Avalanche 1, WFR, CPR
  • Official Gear Tester for Numerous Outdoor Gear Companies
  • Countless Multiday Backpacking trips into Remote Wilderness
  • Bachelor's Degree In Mechanical Engineering 
  • Bachelor's Degree In Civil Engineering
  • Bachelor's Degree In Biomedical Engineering

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it." - Warren Buffett

We're fully aware that trust is NOT something you GET but is EARNED.

And we'll continue to earn YOUR trust through our forthright and honest approach with each new Blog Post, Guide & Product we create...

Will Brendza

Will Brendza

  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Colorado at Boulder
  • Member of The 10th Mountain Division Hut Association
  • Certifications: Avalanche 1, WFR (expired), CPR (expired)
  • 8+ Years Researching, Writing, About Survival and Preparedness
  • Awards from Society of Professional Journalists
  • Winner of Camp Cold’s “Happy Camper” award in 2020
  • P.s. Do You Live In A 'Danger Zone' County?

    Find out now using my Danger Zone County List & Special Report it’s absolutely FREE.

    In minutes you’ll know EXACTLY where you stand and if you should be worried or not..

    Cooking over a rocket stove
    Get My 10 Steps To Basic Preparedness Video For FREE.
    Plus daily survival tips (unsubscribe anytime).