In reply to Misty Reynolds (msg # 7):

Sun Tzu's Art of War.

Sometimes a good philosophy trumps specific survival knowledge.

The Prince by Machiavelli
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Can't hardly get more outside the box than that, can you?  :P

Given time I would think of a couple for sure ...

But my suggestion is not to simply have them on the shelf ... BUT TO READ THEM FIRST !!  Prior to the zombie apocalypse.

Machiavelli's "The Prince"

It might be pretty obvious, but I'd probably include one of the older versions of "The Boy Scout Handbook."

A book on visual communication or graphic design.

In reply to Grimmond (msg # 10):

The game I'm working to bring to the table is a small group of people are part of a survival retreat.  Something happens and the people are on their own.  The books you are helping to assemble are to be part of their bookshelf.

Ahhh ... I did not know if this was for a treasure trove in a survival game or you were assembling your own book shelf.

Since we are talking an in game scenario, as Misty put forth, I suppose it would depend on my character and my motivations.  Heck I have a survivalist character that would probably ave a few occult books, zombies and vampires and the like.

Did you consider a Bible? Not everyone's first choice, but an absolute must for others...

National Autobon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky
http://www.amazon.com/National...ide+to+the+night+sky
I take this one everywhere. It's not bulky. Gotta know where you're going and how long it's been.

The Field Guide to Fleece: 100 Sheep Breeds and How To Use Their Fibers
http://www.amazon.com/The-Fiel...1H8Y34HFXKY9JK889V3G
Another pocket pal. Gotta stay warm and entertained.

Also, for both, the pictures are pretty.

Edit: I forgot the whys.
This message was last edited by the user at 02:07, Tue 15 Apr 2014.

Military training manuals on survival (especially for the climate in their area), possibly something like The Ranger Handbook, which provides some of the basics on small-unit tactics, deployment, communications, and operations that could help provide a framework for the group to work with.  If any of the weapons they have available are military issue (or related to military issue, like a semi-auto AR-15 instead of the military-grade M4A1), then the military maintenance manuals for those weapons (which, from my limited exposure, tend to be written more plainly and bluntly than the manufacturer's manuals.)

In reply to facemaker329 (msg # 17):

A map book of the local area would be helpful too.

The Necronomicon
The Preppy Handbook

Field Guide to Medicinal Wild Plants by Bradford Angier
The Trapper's Bible: Traps, Snares & Pathguards by Dale Martin

Edit:
After the Field Guide, I'd suggest Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants by Christopher Nyerges. Field Guide has detailed illustrations in color while Nyerges's book has black and white photographs.
This message was last edited by the user at 03:17, Tue 15 Apr 2014.

Title: Scriptures
Author: Probably someone inspired by God?
Reason: Sure, I'm keeping myself physically alive, but I'm going to want a little something to stimulate my mind and keep myself spiritually alive.  Substitute whatever are "scriptures" for you, whether that's the latest D&D PHB or the Bible or Sun Tzu's Art of War or whatever.

Where's Mom Now That I Need Her? and Where's Dad Now That I Need Him?

It depends on the nature of the disaster but both books have some solid, simple advice with coping with various household things. Not what I'd recommend for a serious survivalist, but for the purposes of a game, I could see someone stocking them.

Physicians Desk Reference the most recent edition I could find. This book tells you basically what EVERYTHING you might find in your local pharmacy is, what it does, what the side effects are, and what other drug interactions you could have. If you have the most recent version, you basically have a copy of the package insert for EVERY drug available. It's especially useful if you have some more advanced medical training.



I would suggest something more contemporary. US Army Special Forces Field Manual and a Sappers's Manual. Sun Tzu is a little too.... cryptic for most people who need to know how to stage a proper ambush NOW.

Technical manuals concerning the Infantry Weapons used by the country that you live in might also be useful. It would be handy to know, for example, how to operate, maintain, mount and unmount that .50BMG machinegun that you find on the back of that destroyed tank.
This message was last edited by the user at 16:22, Wed 16 Apr 2014.

I would say read the books before the Apocalypse and train yourself before it is required.  All the skills you will need cannot be learned in the critical hours after some civilization-ending disaster occurs.  Those who don't know how to survive when it happens... won't.

Anarchist 'cookbook' / 'handbook' (different names basically the same thing)
Has all sorts of useful things in it, from basic survival to building homemade weapons (like pipe bombs and the like). Modern version has things about credit card fraud and identity theft to (according to the sites I found on google)
Came out originally in the 1960's not sure of the author.

Some reviews on the currently published Anarchist Cookbook say that material in the current version has been negatively revised and that things have been removed from the book.  I have no idea whether there's any truth to these reviews.

Personally, I suggest the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) Fieldbook.  No, not the handbook, you don't need to know which merit badges are required for Eagle, the Fieldbook.  It has instructions on how to make your own foam sleeping bag, how to build an igloo, how to set traps for animals (deadfall and wire traps), how to... this book just has a huge wealth of survivalist material.  Seriously, it's the best book I can think of in this vein, just tons of densely packed text with plenty of nice pictures as well.

There are some wild suggestions going on in here.

Here is a serious one I did not see. I have a copy, and I would suggest it to others whom are like minded.

http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Surv...limate/dp/0060578793

In reply to warlock4u (msg # 27):

Serious, I've got.  I'm looking for offbeat.  (I have the book, too.)

If I could add more, then I'd pick books for the kiddies.

The Game of Let's Go by Hervé Tullet
http://www.amazon.com/The-Game...Tullet/dp/0714860751

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-...s=dragons+love+tacos

and any Elvira Mistress of The Dark comic books. Or Elvira's House of Mysteries.
http://static.comicvine.com/up...houseofmystery10.jpg
I have two copies of #1, both autographed: one kept pristine; the other for reading.

Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
http://www.amazon.com/Like-Wat...mances/dp/038542017X
Nothing like a so-bad-it's-good paperback romance. And there are some awesome recipies separating the chapters. Especially if you happen to catch a quail and pick some roses. But I think any little game fowl would do in a pinch.

surprised nobody mentioned the many books in the Poor Man's James Bond series...

Unusual things to find on a survivalist's bookshelf was, I think, the condition.

Also, a book on distilling/brewing. In an after-the-end scenario, you're gonna want booze.