
Ask HN: Hard copy books to keep for the apocalypse - tonteldoos
Good day HN,<p>I was curious - what books (and other similar items) would you keep hardcover copies of, for the when the zombiecalypse&#x2F;apocalypse&#x2F;skynet happens, and digital access ceases to be possible?<p>I&#x27;m wondering about both practical types and names of books (survival guides being an obvious one), but also sentimental and historical texts (bibles, encyclopedias, diaries, etc).<p>Assume you have room to keep whatever you need (within reason), and that we don&#x27;t have a &#x27;must fit in a backpack&#x27; restriction :)
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tbihl
It doesn't exactly fit the question, but you should check out survivor
library. It's definitely run by people who take this apocalypse idea pretty
seriously. Most of the things I've seen are old books describing pre-
industrial techniques.

[http://www.survivorlibrary.com/](http://www.survivorlibrary.com/)

One time I found a book about bread baking from the 1840s. There was a
multiple page rant about how you could discern good Christian character in a
housewife by the bread she made, among other hilarious things.

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OedipusRex
* Bushcraft 101 [1]

* Be Expert With Map and Compass [2]

* Lots of notebooks with pens

* An Almanac

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/Bushcraft-101-Field-Wilderness-
Surviv...](https://www.amazon.com/Bushcraft-101-Field-Wilderness-
Survival/dp/1440579776/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503580643&sr=8-2&keywords=bushcraft)

[2] [https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Map-Compass-Bjorn-
Kjellstrom/d...](https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Map-Compass-Bjorn-
Kjellstrom/dp/0470407654/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503580718&sr=1-3&keywords=orienteering+book)

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dasmoth
The Long Now foundation did something along these lines a few years back[1].

I'd probably go for a bit of 60s SF for my "inspirational" choices.

Have a soft spot for John Seymour's "Practical Self Sufficiency" too.

[1] [http://blog.longnow.org/02014/02/06/manual-for-
civilization-...](http://blog.longnow.org/02014/02/06/manual-for-civilization-
begins/)

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drallison
The Interval Bar, spiritual home of the Long Now Foundation, hosts a library
consisting of several collections of must have books for the far future.
[https://theinterval.org/](https://theinterval.org/) If you are in San
Francisco, it's a excellent place to drink with an interesting clientèle. On
Fridays the food trucks gather in the Fort Mason parking area so there is
something to do after solving the world's problems. Greens, the iconic
vegetarian restaurant, is next door.

~~~
dasmoth
Yes, definitely keen to visit next time I'm in California.

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DanBC
_Self Sufficiency_ by John Seymour.

[https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Complete-Book-Self-
Sufficiency/...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Complete-Book-Self-
Sufficiency/dp/1405345101/)

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cdiamand
I think Machiavelli's writings might prove useful. Particularly if you feel
ambitions to lead or rebuild after something like that happened.

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ultrablue
I would certainly grab as many versions of spiritual books as I could. For
example, the Bible, Koran, Vedas, Pali Canon, etc.

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jstewartmobile
The fact that this is being downvoted is a great example of how stupid smart
people can be.

If we get medievalized, theology would probably be very useful (simple set of
dos/do-nots for civil society, common belief system to help people collaborate
instead of compete, etc.)

The Abrahamic ones would be particularly useful since they have a lot in
common. Of course, that could also be undermined by the narcissism of small
differences...

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jpindar
Maps. I like the kind with ring bindings that open flat.

Shop manual for any vehicles or other equipment you're likely to be working
on.

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fiftyacorn
In the UK - plenty Ray Mears books. In Aus Id get Les Hiddins books

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JoeC3
Oooh. Great question.

I'd vote for Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

