The Prepared Home

BOOKS

There were lots of books on getting ready for the unexpected that were published in the run up to the beginning of the year 2000. Now that Y2K has been and gone without hardly causing a ripple, many of these have gone out of print. Yet many of the scenarios that people would like to be prepared for are still likely to happen. The other problem is that few such books are actually published in the UK.

I have copies of these ones and I have found them useful.

The Basic Basics Jams, Preserves and Chutneys Marguerite Patten
This book gives updated instructions for some of the traditional ways of preserving food. It includes instructions for making jams,pickles, herb vinegars, crystallized fruit and drying herbs.

RootCellaring : Natural Cold Storage of Fruits and Vegetables Mike Bubel, Nancy Bubel
The aim of this book is to show how you can grow and store fruits and vegetables so you can provide for the family all the year round. This is a book of that will generate ideas and dreams, however this book was published in the US and aims to help smallholders rather than those living in homes with gardens in the UK.

Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook James Talmage Stevens
This book was first published 20 years before the Y2K crisis hit the headlines and it is still considered one of the best in its field. It looks at storing food and water as well as emergency energy and fuel storage. There is advice on what to store, how to use it, kitchen gardening inlcuding sprouting and drying fruits and vegetables.

Outdoor Survival Handbook Ray Mears
I liked this book because of its illustrations. Its not a pretenious coffee table book although it is not a pocket handbook. It covers the obvious things like finding food, water, shelter and making a fire. It it also looks at making pots and baskets.

However, these are not the only books that you will find useful. You can use this link to help you search for them.