Most expert preppers agree that those with the ability to live or bug out to a rural location have a greater chance of surviving a widespread SHTF event.
But for those who find themselves trapped in an urban environment or suburb when SHTF, there are a number of excellent urban survival books that can provide valuable knowledge and strategies for survival.
Many of the survival skills needed in an urban environment overlap with those needed to survive in a rural situation but a large city or urban area presents opportunities for survival if you are prepared in advance.
We’ve put together this collection of books for you to consider adding to your resource library.
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1. The Urban Survival Guide by David Morris
This handy guide is chock full of good information on how and what to prepare as well as what types of threats to prepare for. Each chapter includes a homework exercise at the end. Get it here.
2. Prepper’s Pocket Guide by Bernie Carr
Complete with checklists to help you put your prepping into action, this handy guide includes detailed suggestions on how to prepare for natural disasters and other crisis events.
If you’re looking for a practical prepping guide that focuses on what you can do to be more prepared, even on a minimal budget, instead of using scare tactics and focusing on self-defense and stockpiling ammunition, this guide is one you’ll find helpful. Get it here.
3 Surviving Doomsday: A Guide for Surviving an Urban Disaster, by Richard Duarte
If you or a loved one is on the fence about prepping, Surviving Doomsday will motivate you to take action. This book includes detailed information about how to be prepared if you live in an urban location.
The author includes not only critical survival skills and shopping lists, but also personal anecdotes. It’s great for the beginning urban prepper but includes information even the most experienced prepper will find useful.
4. Urban Preppers with Kids, Pets, & Parents by James G. Mushen
This is a great book for any prepper who has other people or pets to consider in their SHTF planning. The author provides examples, diagrams, and links on everything from how to prepare for natural disasters to long term food storage and making the decision to bug in or bug out.
If you’re looking for a book that includes more than just the standard information you can find in a Google search of the Internet, Urban Preppers with Kids, Pets, & Parents is a great start.
5. Ragnar’s Urban Survival: A Hard-times Guide to Staying Alive in the City by Ragnar Benson
Focused on how to survive in the city, this guide by well-known survival author Ragnar Benson covers the basics of surviving in the city during and following a SHTF event. Complete with basic information on survival philosophy, food preservation and storage, and what to do if your city is under military control, this is must have for any urban prepper.
6. SAS Urban Survival Handbook by John “Lofty” Wiseman
Over 1,000 pages of basic foundational information about how to survive in a city environment. This book focuses on the threats and dangers of living in an urban environment, including everything from pesticides to processed foods and radiation.
This book is great for anyone that is new to living in an urban environment and needs basic information about how to survive. Experienced preppers may find this book is not focused enough on SHTF survival information.
7. The Modern Survival Manual by Fernando Aguirre
Get critical urban survival information straight from someone who lived through the 2001 hyperinflationary collapse in Argentina. In this book, you’ll learn more than just how to survive a short term crisis event, including ways to bring in income after an economic collapse, self-protection against looters, muggers, and home invaders, and even which weapons are most effective.
8. Urban Emergency Survival Plan: Readiness Strategies for the City and Suburbs by Jim Cobb
Written by survival instructor and Survival Weekly creator, this is not your typical urban survival book.
Experienced preppers will appreciate that this book includes plans for those who are stuck at work, who need to get home home, or who are forced to evacuate their home. Chock full of handy lists for a variety of different survival kits and bags.
9. Urban Survival Handbook: A Prepper’s Guide to Canning and Preserving for an Emergency, by Urban Survival Handbook
This is an audiobook narrated by Jack Jones. If you’re going to try to weather any disaster in an urban environment, canning and preserving food is a critical skill.
This is a great guide for any urban prepper to use to learn how to avoid fatal preservation mistakes and begin to preserve and can to grow their food stockpile.
10. Surviving an Urban Disaster by Richard Duarte
This book by well known prepping author, Richard Duarte makes a great guide for beginning preppers living in an urban situation.
If you currently live in the city or are trying to introduce a city dweller to prepping, this practical book is filled with the essentials and includes photos and lists to make prepping easy to understand for even the most inexperienced beginner.
11. Strategic Relocation: North American Guide to Safe Places, 3rd edition by Joel Skousen
This book by former Marine and well known security expert, Joel Skousen is a must have for anyone currently trapped in an urban housing situation.
The book includes very detailed information on all types of threats, bug out routes, high security practices, and shelter considerations, Joel Skousen’s book will help you determine where to set up your bug out retreat or your new home when resources allow.
12. When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes
Written by popular survival expert, Cody Lundin, this book is the perfect resource for anyone who needs to learn the skills needed to survive a disaster wherever it occurs. The book focuses on educating the reader on the mindset needed for survival in an emergency situation.
Lundin includes skills for nutritious food storage, cooling/heating and lighting using alternative power, how to manage corpses and waste safely and more.
Whether you find yourself in the city during a SHTF event by choice or by chance, the books on the list above will help boost the odds that you survive. Which of these excellent urban survival books are already on your bookshelf? Did we forget your favorite go to for urban survival info? Let us know in the comments below.
Born and raised in NE Ohio, with early memories that include grandpa teaching her to bait a hook and watching her mom, aunts, and grandmothers garden, sew, and can food, Megan is a true farm girl at heart.
For Megan, the 2003 blackout, the events of 911, and the increasing frequency of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, spurred a desire to be more prepared. Soon to be living off-grid, this mother of four and grandmother of ten is learning everything she can about preparedness, survival, and homesteading.
I have #6. It’s not worth buying.
Strategic Relocation is a great reference of all the states the good and bads, taxes, climates, military bases, ect. The book is a little expensive, but if you are looking to get a bug out location or moving on, this book is worth its weight.
Bought a book. Not a real how/what-to-do style. It’s like a story from a game, I think.
‘New York Collapse’ .
An eye opener with hints and many more but.. I left it before I could finish reading it all… in p R seE.
One of the best urban survival books I read was AAA Survival. he teaches skills that anyone can learn