(Part 2) Top products from r/PostCollapse

I'm quite seriously considering a sailing wander about early retirement/escape. I recommend r/sailing. There are some experienced sailors there, and sometimes the discussion addresses cruising. I'd also recommend The Coastal Cruiser: A complete guide to the design, selection, purchase, and outfitting of auxiliary sailboats under 30 feet--with a portfolio of successful designs , . Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere , and Chapman Piloting & Seamanship 66th Edition

The art of shen-ku, by Zeek. Maybe not exactly what you are looking for, but a great survival resource.http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Shen-Ku-Intergalactic/dp/0399527257

These are books which I have read twice or more and would read again and again on the topic of post-collapse:

Alas Babylon

On the Beach

The Postman - not like the movie with Kevin Costner (just based upon and quite different)

One Second After - currently the most realistic and scariest of the bunch I think.

Earth Abides

Lucifer's Hammer - this one I wouldn't read without many years between as the start is sooooo slow but the second half is good.

This book actually does feature characters using stun guns (and electric fences) on zombies! Also it's awesome. But that's just me.

Peterson Field Guides is a fantastic resource for any person as far as regional plant and wildlife is concerned. You can find them on Amazon and they cover virtually everything- mushrooms, plants, trees, wildflowers, fishes, mammals, insects, reptiles, birds, and others.

Link to Bird book

Considering the clarifications made already, there has been something similar made already

https://www.wired.com/2009/04/ff-guidestones/

Though I imagine that would be incomplete.

Depending on the type of collapse, we could and would lose a lot of information, all cutting edge research (since that's mostly preserved digitally), though that would be less important, since we'd have to rebuild the machinery in order to use it.

As someone else mentioned, seed banks are a good start as well. As far as knowledge itself goes, there are two books I'd recommend, The Knowledge: How to rebuild civilization (linkhttps://www.amazon.com/Knowledge-Rebuild-Civilization-Aftermath-Cataclysm/dp/0143127047) which I have read and is interesting in an entertaining way, and even somewhat useful; and How to Invent Everything (link https://www.amazon.com/How-Invent-Everything-Survival-Stranded-ebook/dp/B07B2LNVBY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1543607051&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+invent+everything) which I haven't read yet, but is a similar idea. This one I have read, and it's kinda cool.

To get an idea for how difficult it will be to restart manufacturing at our current level, you may want to also check out The Toaster Project (link https://www.amazon.com/Toaster-Project-Attempt-Electric-Appliance-ebook/dp/B007N209P4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1543607108&sr=1-1&keywords=toaster+project) where someone tries to build a cheap toaster from scratch, and how impossible it is.

Awesome project. Required reading if you haven't already. :-)

This book might be worthy of study for such situations. Grew up with it in my dad's book collection.

Here is a link if anyone is interested

https://smile.amazon.com/Browns-Field-Guide-Living-Earth/dp/0425091473/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500711842&sr=8-1&keywords=field+guide+to+living+with+the+earth

Try this book... Last Light. Describes what the break down of civilization could be like, in a very rapid period of days.

A lesser known book in the same style as Foxfire is The Salt Book, from New England.

Mister Touch by Malcom Bosse

Books..
10 acres enough by Edmund Morris: https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Acres-Enough-Classic-Independent/dp/048643737X

Book of the farm by Henry Stephens: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Farm-Henry-Stephens/dp/1906388911/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494092172&sr=1-2&keywords=book+of+the+farm

The Foxfire Books

This is exactly what happens in World War Z with people who worked with computers, film, television, or just media in general. All the skilled laborers were now their leaders because they could provide and teach the essential skills to grow food, build shelters, hunt, and make weapons and tools. Something catastrophic like that can really turn the whole system around.

I don't know how this subreddit feels about zombies, but I highly recommend picking up a copy of World War Z.

The knowledge from books like the Encyclopedia for Country Living would be more important for sustained post collapse living, especially if "survival" means and sort of reconstruction of communal living.

But if it is just to survive the initial chaos from societies collapse than the SAS Survival Handbook should be considered. It offers knowledge of immediate survival techniques needed until a new base of operations can be established.

https://www.amazon.com/SAS-Survival-Handbook-Third-Surviving/dp/0062378074

https://www.amazon.com/Synthesis-Essential-Drugs-Ruben-Vardanyan/dp/0444521666

and a follow on book

https://www.amazon.com/Synthesis-Best-Seller-Drugs-Ruben-Vardanyan/dp/012411492X

The synthesis is not particularly sophisticated. Most of the chemicals are available in even a smaller town drug stores, agricultural supply stores, and hardware stores. You can find patent art on various methods as well, some with more exotic approaches.

This is why synthroid costs pennies per dose to make, and dimes per day to use in many countries.

The folks that are claiming this is a shit-out-of-luck situation are simply wrong. This is practically a high school chem lab exercise to succeed at in a basic way, and the path is there to purify it if required (likely not so important as the mere gross preparation of the chemical).

Most of the critical WHO pharmacopoeia is readily synthesized. These formulations only really cover about 90% of pathologic presentation (aside from mental disorders). The remaining 10% are, to a large degree, a shit-out-of-luck situation for those without resources to pay to ave them made, because they require precursors and resources that are vulnerable to degradation.

Thyroid meds are not, thankfully, in the SOL category.