In May, I posted my "end of the world" library. As an avid reader, I enjoy many genres including apocalyptic fiction. I'm also a huge fan of reference tomes.

I've left the list largely the same, but here's the link to the original thread:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000rCq

The thread includes many other books recommended by forum readers. On to the library:

THE REFERENCE SECTION

The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emery **** If you want to practice country living (or prepare for Y2K) and can afford one book, this is it.

"Five Acres and Independence," Maurice Kains ** A solid guide for practical, small-scale farming.

"The Good Life," Scott & Helen Nearing ** Ill pass on the socialist rhetoric, but theres plenty of good self reliance information along the way.

"The New Way Things Work," David Macauly **** This book is hard to put down. A delight.

"How to Grow More Vegetables," John Jeavons ** A primer on the biodynamic method of gardening in clear prose.

"Where There is No Doctor," David Werner * No review.

U.S. Army Survival Manual, FM 21-76 *** Uncle Sams guide to stayin alive.

"The Pocket Reference," *** A useful "little black book."

"The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog," **** A resource book full of resource books.

OTHER

"Robinson Crusoe," Daniel Defoe *** The original Y2K survivor.

"The Portable Thoreau," edited works of Henry David Thoreau **** Readable, enjoyable, calming.

"Follow the River," James Alexander Thom *** A great story about the human spirit.

"Deliverance," James Dickey **** Classic that just made B&N top 100 of century list.

"Alas, Babylon," Pat Frank ** Dated read about post-nuclear war life in central Florida.

"Lucifers Hammer," Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle *** Far better than the recent asteroid/comet disaster movies.

"The Stand," Stephen King *** I found myself enjoying this dark, complex book.

"Survive the Savage Sea," Dougal Robertson *** A sea-going version of Follow the River.

"Lord of the Flies," William Golding ** If you only read this book because you had to, try it again.

"Death in the Long Grass," Peter Capstick ** Not Ortega y Gassett, but very good hunting stories.

"Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945," by David Kennedy **** A personal recommendation for those who want a better understanding of the Great Depression.

-- Ken Decker (kcdecker@worldnet.att.net), December 08, 1999

Answers

Thanks for the list, Ken. I don't know how you manage to maintain your calm in the face of the abuse from the "believing is more important than thinking" mob. I'd crack up.

I'm planning to go and check a lot of useful books out of my local library, and I've just had another unpleasant thought. The library is in a mall.

I hope it doesn't come to this, but if the mall is looted, I might go along and try and save the books. Or I might not. It's not worth getting hurt or killed over (especially by the police, how ironic), but I hate the thought of them getting burned. :(

-- Servant (public_service@yahoo.com), December 08, 1999.

Anyone willing to risk life and limb for the sake of a book earns my deepest respect.

-- Ken Decker (kcdecker@worldnet.att.net), December 08, 1999.

Ken,

You missed the only book that I rate up there with Carla.

Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson Kearny.

Bypassing the nuclear considerations, the book has some of the best, most common sense advice available today.

It's out there on the web. Public Domain.

-Greybear

-- Got Reading Glasses?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), December 08, 1999.

Worth adding to the list:

"The Courage to Create," Rollo May **An excellent book, short, thought provoking.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), December 08, 1999.

Anyone willing to risk life or limb for a book should develop alternate hobbies.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), December 08, 1999.

Good list Ken, I'd add three onto the list:

Unintended Consequences by John Ross Patriots: Surviving The Coming Collapse by James Wesley, Rawles And most important of all, The Holy Bible

-- Powder (powder@keg.com), December 08, 1999.

Here is the link to the Nuclear War Survival Skills mentioned above. It is a very good read.

Nuclear War Survival Skills

It is well formatted and free for anyone's use.

-- Wild Celt (living@nukes.r.us), December 08, 1999.

Missed that link. Here it is:

Nuclear War Survival Skills

-- Wild Celt (sorry@about.that), December 08, 1999.

I figured someone would post such a response to Servant's comment. Thanks for not disappointing me, lisa.

-- Vic (Rdrunner@internetwork.net), December 08, 1999.

Dont forget On the Beach. I can't remember the authors name, but it's famous.

-- soapie (soapie@suds.com), December 08, 1999.

Right! I Think Neville Shute wrote "On The Beach". A good read, but the situation was unsurvivable. Your basic Kobayashi Maru scenario.

-- Powder (Powder@Keg.com), December 08, 1999.