Has fiction piqued your interest in survival?

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MG_Saldivar

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I'm a graduate student, and whenever my semester ends, as it did last week, I always dive into fiction for a few days to celebrate the end of another school term. This past weekend, I re-read three wilderness survival-themed novels* and I got to thinking about how these and other books have piqued my interest in wilderness and survival skills, and related issues (such as disaster preparedness).

I grew up hunting and fishing in a rural part of Texas, so I suppose I was immersed in a cultural setting that would have exposed me to these issues anyhow, but I wonder if any of you have been drawn to survival by fictional (or non-fiction) accounts in books or movies?


*TUNNEL IN THE SKY by Robert Heinlein, HATCHET by Gary Paulsen, and MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN by Jean Craighead George. I also saw a movie, THE EDGE, which is not exactly a realistic presentation of survial skills but is nonetheless entertaining.
 
As a kid I read "The Hardy Boys Survival Handbook" (STOP laughing, twats!) & packed my first PSK based on that. Ever since, I buy/read every manual I can lay my hands on. To a child, the beauty of that book was using the various elements of the kit in situations involving the characters & explaining pros & cons of different items.
I also read many of Jerry Aherns "The Survivalist" series & would still like to one day complete the collection, must have a look on Amazon/Ebay. Those books first got me interested in weapons, knives, preparedness etc.
 
StuToffee said:
I also read many of Jerry Aherns "The Survivalist" series & would still like to one day complete the collection...
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I bought the whole series for three bucks at a second hand store:D

I grew up a "boone rat". Dad was always taking me out fishing,hiking, camping. The one book that always made me want to get out was "Last of the Breed" by Louis L'amour. I love that book! It still makes me want to gear up and just head for the bush ( Not that BUSH perverts!).
 
I found my Uncle's boy scout manual when I was very young, and was hooked. From there, I immersed myself in James Fennimore Cooper's Leatherstocking tales. I have the author's annotated edition from 1851, the last work he did on the series. Not everyone can immerse themselves in the archaic language style well enough to enjoy the books though. From there, I discovered Don Coldsmith's books about ancient indiginous Americans, and a group of authors who specialized in realistic tales of the American fur trade of the 1820's-1840's. If ever there were a group of professional survivalists, it was the Eastern Longhunters and the Rocky Mountain men. Wheeler, Johnstone, a lot of them did extensive research before writing.

Codger
 
MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN by Jean Craighead started my quest to get back to nature.
 
lumpymike1 said:
Those are great books, try DIES THE FIRE by SM Sterling also. It was a fun, if improbable read.
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Yeah, I'm a big fan of Stirling's work and can't wait for the "Fire" series to conclude.

Anyhow, while I take both fictional and non-fiction works with a grain of salt, I would argue that many fictional accounts of survival take as much research as a non-fictional 'how to,' just as lots of historical fiction (Gore Vidal, James Michener) takes as much research as a 'real' history.

To the degree fiction introduces (entices?) people to survival/preparedness, it's great! I'm already plotting what to get my best friends' boys (ages 3 and 5) when the time is right. :D
 
Check out Lucifer's Hammer by Pournell & Nevens (Spelling may be off) great shtf book.
 
Hey, I forgot about "Last of the Breed", great book. I loved the part where the KGB guy recieved a little birch-bark box containing THAT note & the other "item" (Dont wanna spoil the book for anyone who's not read it!)
 
I can clearly recall the moment I became a survivalist. I was about 8 Years old, and saw either the movie Atomic Attack, or Panic in the Year Zero, I can't remember which one. The one where they had the trailer. I was scared silly, and do remember thinking that, for the first time, this was something that would effect everyone in the world, and something that maybe even dad and mom couldn't protect me from. Since then, I've probably aquired almost every fictional apocalyptic work written, and most of the best movies, like Threads. You can learn quite a bit from well researched fiction.

BTW 'Dies the fire' is an excellent choice, especially for knife knuts, as the premise is that all electronics (plausible) AND firearms (implausible), stop working. I just got the sequel and can't wait to read it.
 
Bladewolf said:
I can clearly recall the moment I became a survivalist. I was about 8 Years old, and saw either the movie Atomic Attack, or Panic in the Year Zero, I can't remember which one.
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Panic in the Year Zero was just released on a double-DVD with Vincent Price's The Last Man on Earth (later remade into another survial sci fi movie, The Omega Man.)
 
That's the movie I was thinking of, Panic in the Year Zero with Ray Milland. They were preparing to go fishing when the attack happened, so they had a headstart on survival. Made an impression on me even when I was 8. I also remember seeing the Day the World Ended, and thinking the radioactive monster was kind of ridiculous, not scary at all. The Omega Man wasn't half bad for it's time, just a little over the top. I've never seen the original, I'll have to check it out.
 
elvenbladesmith07 said:
sgt. art, what type of SHTF does the book talk about. invasion, rebellion, revolution, bombing, revelations, or natural disaster?
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I hope I'm not stealing Sgt. Art's thunder, but this is one of my favorites, too.

Amazon.com info here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...002-2078968-7860021?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

In a nutshell, a comet collides with Earth and the novel follows a few groups of survivors in the aftermath. Unlike a lot of end-of-world novels, though, this one doesn't introduce the disaster (comet strike) until about 1/3 of the way in.


I hope this doesn't take the thread off-topic, but since I created it... :D

My favorite survival/end-of-world/apocalypse novels (in no particularly order):

A Canticle for Leibowitz
A Dusk of Demons
A Wrinkle in the Skin
Alas, Babylon
Day of the Triffids (MUCH better than the awful B-movie)
Dies the Fire (and sequels)
Earth Abides
Empty World
Hatchet (and sequels)
Lucifer’s Hammer
Malevil (rare European end-of-world novel)
My Side of the Mountain
On the Beach
Pendulum
Riddley Walker
Shiva Descending
Some Will Not Die (rare urban survival novel [as opposed to rural survival])
Swan Song
The Death of Grass
The Long Winter
The Odyssey Project
The Postman
The Prince in Waiting (and sequels)
The Rift
The Sixth Winter
The Stand
The White Mountains (and sequels)
The Wild Shore
Tunnel in the Sky
Warday
Wolf and Iron
 
StuToffee said:
Hey, I forgot about "Last of the Breed", great book. I loved the part where the KGB guy recieved a little birch-bark box containing THAT note & the other "item" (Dont wanna spoil the book for anyone who's not read it!)
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"Last Of The Breed" was, as is most of his books, one of the best presented stories of survival I've read. L'amour was a gifted writer and used his skill masterfully in this book. Probly one of the most believable of this genre.
 
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