# A suggestion on how to rebuild after the collapse



## White_Sands (Dec 1, 2012)

Hi everyone, I wanted to put up a suggestion and see what everyone has to say. From what I have read almost everybody is concerned with setting up their own means of survival in the event of a catastrophe. 

I wanted to know if there was some way that everyone can contribute in rescuing society after the expected economic collapse that is to occur soon. The one thing that I have noticed is that most people do not read any more. The quality of books that are being purchased and read are of a lower quality than what was produced and marketed from a century ago.

My suggestion is that if you can, please purchase some books and keep them in a secure location. See if you can find the most esoteric and oldest types available to you. Because all of the books are being converted in to electronic file format and once all of the books are gone, then whoever has the permissions to edit those files, will control your knowledge. 

Another thing, the knowledge and experience of the past is disappearing. Does anyone remember Madelyn Murrya O'Hare? Last year was the fiftieth anniversary of the supreme court case (Earl Warren, I spit on you!) where school prayer was outlawed. How many people even remember this? The MSM will not run an article about this because they want to control us. They do not want us to realize what has happened in this country. They want to eliminate all memory of the past.

This is why we need to rescue the books that are disappearing and protect them. We also need to keep this knowledge for the future. Another point is to safeguard the scientific knowledge that has been acquired as well. 

That is what I think. Any comments?


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

Your suggestion is good, but most of the members here have their own libraries of hard cover books. I personally have a whole basement full of books on every subject associated to survival. If fact most of my books are 30-40 years old. 

Along with the books, a good prepper will have a life time of acquired skills in all the survival crafts. Such as; gardening, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc.

A practical level of experience in the trades is just as important as the having the books. Without the skills the books are just text. If you don't have the skills then, start getting your hands dirty ASAP.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Tweto said:


> In fact most of my books are 30-40 years old.


Or even older...

Mine might might "average" 30-40 years because I have a lot of new ones mixed in.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

We are homeschoolers & we LOVE classic literature & read it to even our toddlers. We have old encyclopedia sets, _the Common School Book of Answers_(for students preparing to graduate 8th grade in the 1800's), & a rather extensive medical section. We have a pretty well stocked science section (we're all science nerds), as well as a microscope & about 50 pre made slides. We have several really old history books from the early 1900's & a rather extensive section of Christian classics, biblical reference books, & various biblical translations & study bibles. We have several books about flying & weather (pilots are part meteorologist) & a shelf full of books directly related to prepping, homesteading,etc. We have college level books on nursing, microbiology, physical & occupational therapy, chemistry, English, Algebra, Calculus, phlebotomy, etc. Hubby has several books on construction & architecture as well as books about vehicles we own.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

White Sands, I couldn't agree more. Our situation is similar to tsrwivey's - we're homeschoolers with a love of classic literature. We love books of all kinds, and I often joke that our house is slowly sinking due to the weight of them all.

I firmly believe that we have an obligation to future generations to be preservationists of literature and education, from Huck Finn to how to build a shed. We also have an obligation to preserve everything we can on constitutional thought, federalist and anti-federalist papers, the founding fathers and true history (including the history of economics and the difference between free market and Keynesian). Sometimes its hard to keep our collection at realistic levels, because I tend to see value in _every _book, and we just don't have the space for that. Although I've been meaning to make bookshelves along the stairs to the basement...

ETA: Along with classics and history and how-to, I also believe in good books for education, as I believe education may necessarily return to the home for a period of time. After my youngest has completed certain school materials (math, reading, etc.) I tuck away what I consider to be essential, should I be needed to educate a child at any k-12 level again.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I have a number of Bibles (HCSB, ESV, NIV, NLT, NKJ, NRKJ, etc.) and various books on Christianity, Apologetics and Grace. I also have several books on survival, military field manuals, books on horticulture, first aid, natural remedies, gun smithing and related topics. If I am at a garage sale or flea market and see an old book that explains how things were done before the modern era I tend to pick them up and stash them away. Plus somewhere in the basement I have two or three boxes of comic books from my youth that I have held onto. They may not help me restore society but I'm pretty sure my kids will enjoy them if we live in a world without modern-day conveniences and entertainment. I also have every National Rifleman magazine from the month of my birth through February 2014 (thanks to my Dad).


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Rebuild?

I believe it will take several generations.

Infrastructure will have been salvaged for other uses.

Experienced knowledge base dying.

After shelter, protection and food gathering hopefully time left to pass on to the next generation the how to on rebuilding.

I believe those that are planning to rely on their generator and stash of fuel to maintain the status quo are deluding themselves.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

TheLazyL said:


> ....those that are planning to rely on their generator and stash of fuel to maintain the status quo are deluding themselves.


No delusion. It's just to help adjust to a new lifestyle. Run only as needed, of course!

I hope to be able to make SOME power (mainly solar) for several years if TSHTF. In the meanwhile, as much shift of lifestyle training as possible would take place.


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## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

My library is extensive but I still have desire for as much secured knowledge as possible ... just too much of the turn of the century knowledge is no longer available except on the web ... have two massive external hard drives loaded and a laptop EMP/fire/shock protected ....

best download site around for the lost knowledge is an on-going SHTF archive library ... www.lighthousesurvival.com


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

Unless they burn, books aren't going to disappear. You just won't be able to order them from Amazon or walk into Barnes & Noble. Thes best deal is a well stocked library in your neighborhood.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Books on history, art, philosophy, music, and the humanities. People need to remember what civilization is and why it's worth restoring and fighting for.

Once a year my city library has a "banned books festival" with readings and discussion groups. Just for fun I've been working on my own personal collection of them.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

LincTex said:


> No delusion. It's just to help adjust to a new lifestyle. Run only as needed, of course!
> 
> I hope to be able to make SOME power (mainly solar) for several years if TSHTF. In the meanwhile, as much shift of lifestyle training as possible would take place.


I wasn't addressing what I'd call short term survival (1 generation, 20 to 30 years).

To me EOTWAWKI or SHTF isn't loosing power for a day or a week. It's the loss of the ability to mine and refined raw materials. No more manufacturing which in turn means no replacement parts. No "just in time" inventory replenishment. No more quick runs into town.

You grow it, you make it, you hunt for it, you trade for it or you do without.

If the last generation doesn't have or is unable to read a book or the past generation wasn't able to pass on their knowledge, "recovery" will be a very very long time away.


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

I just look up at my bookshelves in my office. Just rough estimate would be around four hundred books. One thing I love to do is go by places like Barnes and Noble and pick up the Classics sold for next to nothing on the bargain shelves up front. 

I buy books that I agree with the author and books where i do not agree with the writing. If you do not understand your opponent's way of thinking you will become a victim of his or her actions. 

I have shelves for Preparedness, How to books, faith based (not just the Bible or Bible based), great works of fiction, History, medical, biographies, old periodicals, photography and art, teaching tools (math, English, sciences, languages, for all grade levels). I also keep books on grading antiques for buying selling and trading. We have an area in our kitchen where we keep cookbooks from our parents and grandparents. 

The bad side to this is the books will not be easy to transport in a total SHTF scenario. books are hard to eat. At our BOL we keep key books (copies of ones we have at home) in safe storage. For one thing books tend to be very fragile when exposed to moisture, heat, and sun light. 

You will note I do not keep a lot of books on LAW. Those will be good for starting a nice fire when the time comes. GB


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

No one mentioned used book stores.

EVERY used book store has books that don't sell well. 

Some go for pennies (literally) and some go for FREE! I get used "out-of-date" textbooks all the time for nothing. Same with recipe books.

One local used book store has a sale 4 times a year, where books sell for like 90% off or better. If you have sales like that in your area and you aren't taking advantage of them, then shame on you!


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

Tweto said:


> Along with the books, a good prepper will have a life time of acquired skills in all the survival crafts. Such as; gardening, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc.
> 
> A practical level of experience in the trades is just as important as the having the books. Without the skills the books are just text. If you don't have the skills then, start getting your hands dirty ASAP.


Yes, yes and yes.

I have a huge library, books are my addiction. BUT it's acquiring skills that will see you through.

I've learnt nearly everything I know from books. I read, then try, read more try again. As you develop skills you understand more so you read again. NOW is the time to do this while you can still search out more information to fill the gaps of knowledge you have as you learn.

I also try to find information that looks at things from a scientific slant, not just HOW to do things but WHY it works. Once you understand the why you become much more adaptable.

A good book on plant biology and science of cooking would be a good start.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

A few years ago I heard a statistic: something like 33 % of those that graduate from high school and 42% of those that graduate from college never read a book again after they graduate. 
http://www.statisticbrain.com/reading-statistics/



> Reading Statistics
> Total percent of U.S. population that has specific reading disorders 15%
> Total percentage of american adults who can't understand the labels on their prescriptions 46%
> Total percent of young people who claim they read more than 10 books a year 56%
> ...


For much of my adult life I worked with children learning to read. I taught phonetics and worked with children individually to learn to read. I worked specifically with children who were not reading on grade level for many years.

Learning any new skill, such as learning to read, means frequent practice. Many student's parents were not interested in sitting down and working on prescribed, developmentally based materials geared toward their children's reading needs. *At. all*! Children who might struggle with reading may have undeveloped eyes which can be helped with vision therapy. Many children who struggle with reading often have parents who struggled with reading.

Classroom teachers with children who get extra reading support often think they are off the hook to give daily extra support to such children as well.

Have you ever tried to learn a foreign language by practicing for half an hour once a week? Does that work? Try the same thing of learning a foreign language by practicing half an hour twice a day. The acquisition of ability is much different. The same is true of learning to read.

What limitations we have, if we do not read, or read well.

I used to read much more than I do now. I tend to read more online now. Reading seems to be valued less and less, and then teachers are to blame.

I have a family of cousins whose mother was a teacher. They bought a set of encyclopedia when the kids were young. Those kids read the encyclopedias when they were very young. I remember being at their house when one was in second grade. He had a book mark and was several volumes in and was reading the books cover to cover. These kids never had anything less than a 4.0, and the oldest is a doctor. The other two are bankers and a comptroller for the government with an MBA. I believe they are under educated for their abilities. The youngest, in his 40s reads volumes and is always sending lots of articles to read about the economy, politics, etc. He was in the Pentagon on 9/11 and was with some colleagues watching what was going on in NYC and said, "The Pentagon could be a target." Minutes later, it happened.

Reading is a tool to acquisition of all information, except for hands on training.


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

IMO, encyclopedias are hugely benificial. My parents got a set when I was maybe 7-8yo. I spent lots of time thru the winter reading them. Most of the time they made reports for school a breeze. There is so much information located in them.


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## HomegrownGal (Feb 11, 2013)

Wow! Don't even get me started! Lol! I downsized to eleven full-length bookcases and three half sized when I moved! I have many still in boxes! I've collected good books since childhood and homeschooled my youngest daughter. We are both avid readers.

Sent from my iPhone using Survival Forum


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I am a bibliophile. I do not own an e-reader or digital books. In fact I am a first edition/first printing collector. I have out of print books that are titles most people have never heard of. Hell! My collection of books is so old 85% are older than my parents!

My graduating class in high school was the last to read Catcher in the Rye in our school district. For this reason I have copies of these "banned" books to share with Roo.

BTW Animal Farm is also on this 'banned' list. Given today's political climate I think it should be required reading for everyone in this country.



White_Sands said:


> Hi everyone, I wanted to put up a suggestion and see what everyone has to say. From what I have read almost everybody is concerned with setting up their own means of survival in the event of a catastrophe.
> 
> I wanted to know if there was some way that everyone can contribute in rescuing society after the expected economic collapse that is to occur soon. The one thing that I have noticed is that most people do not read any more. The quality of books that are being purchased and read are of a lower quality than what was produced and marketed from a century ago.
> 
> ...


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Homegrown Gal, your pictures are so beautiful I could cry. Especially that first one of Richard Maybury/Bluestocking Press books! We use those to educate ourselves and our children - just read the Ancient Rome one to our youngest during a road trip. Love those books! ("Do all you have agreed to do." / "Do not encroach on other persons or their property.")

Grimm, I totally agree with you about Animal Farm. I understand how hard it can be to schedule literature - there's so much out there, and only so much time to do it all. But the school districts are doing a grave disservice when they take that book out of the studies. It is so very thought-provoking. And you're right, with the way things are now, it should be required reading.


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## worldengineer (Sep 20, 2010)

Books are quite fine and all, and personally I have a small but growing library myself.

Although more importantly than the books themselves is the ability to teach proper English and reading skills to future generations. Which at this current day and age is a rare commodity.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

worldengineer said:


> Although more importantly than the books themselves is the ability to teach proper English and reading skills to future generations. Which at this current day and age is a rare commodity.


People have to want it. We don't want it in America anymore. We just want to blame somebody because they didn't just give it to us.


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

My husband and I are continually buying books. We have a full bookcase, nearly floor to ceiling of cookbooks, one for firearms, another for survival skills and several more just for casual reading. His parents up the road have one or more in almost every room and a full room in their basement that could qualify as a small-town library.

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## White_Sands (Dec 1, 2012)

Great responses everyone! Thank you for your answers. The reason why I put this post up on Prepared Society is because I see several things occurring in our country. You could also say that this is also happening in the rest of the world as well but for now we will focus our attention on our own nation. First of all I want to ask how many of you have read Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. For those who did not read that novel, it was about how society eliminated all books as a way to preserve harmony ( I know that is a brief summary of the novel but I am doing it like that in order to save time.) Let me tell you an anecdotal story about the state of our culture that mimics Farenheit 451. One day I was over at the local Barnes & Noble franchise. I went in an asked the sales associate if they had any copies of "The Elements" by Euclid (this is the treatise on mathematics & geometry by Euclid that is considered to be the first text on mathematics ever published.) The "Sales Associate" Said "What?" So I repeated myself and gave a little explanation of the book that I was looking for. I was suprised by the lack of knowledge of the person who was working at this store. 

We are slowly losing our intellectual history. The progressives are whittling away at the cultural legacy and replacing it with their own lies! If you doubt me, just look at what is being taught in public schools. As a matter of fact, in a hundred years the history lessons will say that president Johnson invaded Vietnam in order to set up cotton plantations. How can I make this claim? Quite simple I grew up in a "Progressive" town and had to deal with their abuse.

The responses were amazing and give me hope. What I should have said in my original post was that we need to collect and save books on all academic subjects that were not contaminated by the sixties and even the progressive era of our country. How many people know what John Harvard, the founder of Harvard university looks like? That is a trick question as there is no known portrait or description of him. That is the kind of knowledge that is being lost and will harm this country in the long run. 

At this moment Google and all of the other tech companies are taking over the intellectual resources of the whole world. Google wants to "digitalize" all of the books in existence. If you trust Google with your books, then you can trust Barry Soetero with your doctor. We can not allow the knowledge from the past to be lost. Especially the knowledge of the Founding Fathers to become corrupted or lost or else the country will be lost. 

My suggestion to all of you is to collect a few books that deal with various subjects. In particular find books that relate to our country and its' founding. We need to preserve books that were not contaminated by the progressives and their desire to reshape our world. 

Thank you for your attention and take care.


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

I love books, Im always reading. second hand stores n garage sales are a great place to buy books.


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## Dixie (Sep 20, 2010)

White_Sands;327371
First of all I want to ask how many of you have read Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
[B said:


> That was it! When I started reading your post, a book/movie came to me but I couldn't remember where I saw it. My husband worked for Paramount pictures so I remember the movies more, but we usually read it before the screening to see if it followed the book. Sometimes a movie would follow another book very closely so we needed to read that one too.
> Farenheit 451 is a movie also and I believe you can watch it online or at least some of it.
> [/B]
> 
> ...


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

Well, I know several people on here likely would not think it any better, but I know the LDS church keeps many, many copies of books covering a wide range of subjects, both digitally and as hard copies. The idea is to prevent another Library of Alexandria burning.

Sent from my HTC One SV using Survival Forum mobile app


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

It has taken most of my life to understand and except this but the American history that I was taught back in the 50's and 60's is not any more dependable then what is taught now. History books back then were written by men that had the stories told to them and they interpenetrated the story as they seamed fit (same as they do now). The true history will never be written and has been lost forever.

History (his-story) has always been written by the people that won the war, or are the dominate culture or who won the contract to write the text books. 

Most of what I read and what is now being read about our history is a lie. The only solid history that I know is what I lived in my life and from that I can say that the life and the culture from my childhood is far different then what is being written about those years and being taught in school now. This is a very sad reality.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Grimm said:


> BTW Animal Farm is also on this 'banned' list. Given today's political climate I think it should be required reading for everyone in this country.


No kidding! Imagine what this country would be if everyone would read it!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Geek999 said:


> Unless they burn, books aren't going to disappear.


Or... Unless the silverfish get to them... man, those little things are destructive!


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

LincTex said:


> Or... Unless the silverfish get to them... man, those little things are destructive!


Will diatomaceous earth help get rid of them? I know it kills many insects.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

weedygarden said:


> Will diatomaceous earth help get rid of them? I know it kills many insects.


I'll bet it does... but I don't know where you would put it where they would get into it.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Tweto said:


> It has taken most of my life to understand and except this but the American history that I was taught back in the 50's and 60's is not any more dependable then what is taught now. History books back then were written by men that had the stories told to them and they interpenetrated the story as they seamed fit (same as they do now). The true history will never be written and has been lost forever.


We collect & read books that are original source documents, books written by the person who actually witnessed the event & lived through the time period. This is pretty easy to do with American history. A lot of homeschoolers teach history this way, my youngest daughter didn't open a history textbook until she was in college. She read real books instead & loved it.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

tsrwivey said:


> A lot of homeschoolers teach history this way....


Ditto what she said.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Some of the stats above on literacy can be misleading ... I'm a bibliophile, but I seldom go into bookstores. I can read anything I want for free at the library. And listen to any music, and watch any movie. I do occasionally buy books at thrift stores, but that's it. I just don't have the space for them, and I can always go back to the library if I want to re-read.



Grimm said:


> My graduating class in high school was the last to read Catcher in the Rye in our school district. For this reason I have copies of these "banned" books to share with Roo.
> 
> BTW Animal Farm is also on this 'banned' list. Given today's political climate I think it should be required reading for everyone in this country.


The list of books banned around the world is quite impressive! It can be a good reading list in itself, although banned doesn't always equal good.

I was fortunate in high school to have some very courageous english teachers who stood up to the school board. When I was in tenth grade there was a big flap about teaching us the Canterbury Tales because some of them are naughty ... the compromise was a list of tales that the teacher could assign and others she couldn't. On the first day, the teacher handed out the books and said "Now whatever you do, *don't read* the following stories!" And she wrote the full list of disapproved tales up on the blackboard so we could carefully avoid them. Naturally, being teenagers, we all stayed up half the night reading the Miller's Tale right off the bat ...

:droolie:

Ah, youth.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

notyermomma said:


> On the first day, the teacher handed out the books and said "Now whatever you do, *don't read* the following stories!" And she wrote the full list of disapproved tales up on the blackboard so we could carefully avoid them.


Haha! She must not have had children.


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