They say "Knowledge is power"! But more importantly in a really bad natural disaster or crisis situation, information may very well be the difference between life and death.
That may sound melodramatic but think back to the different stories that you have read in the newspaper or on the internet about people who have become lost while out hiking and have had to spend several days and nights in the woods before they were located or found their way back. Now think about the stories of those who became lost and never found their way back. Knowing where to find or how to collect water. Knowing how to trap food. Knowing which plants are edible and which plants are poisonous. Knowing how to build a shelter in the woods, or how to keep warmer in a bank of snow. Knowing how to orient yourself and to navigate from one location to a different location. Knowing how to start a fire. Just to mention a few of the things you need to know.
Knowledge can definitely be the difference between life and death but how do you go about accumulating the survival knowledge that you need. One way is to buy as many survival books as you can find, read them, and accumulate your own library. This approach can be both time-consuming and expensive. There are literally hundreds of books containing survival information that have been produced over the years. Additionally, you will soon find that many books will contain pretty much the same information, and that after reading a new book you will actually have acquired very little new information. Another way is to attend survival classes that are being put on. You will definitely learn at these survival classes. But they usually only last anywhere from 1 day to 5 days, and there is just so much you can be taught in that little amount of time. Another way is to watch the two or three different survival shows that are on television each week. Usually each show will present one or two pieces of survival information that may be helpful to you but this will be a very limited and slow process for acquiring information. Still another way is to hang around with another person who has that survival knowledge, go camping with them, listen to what they say, and learn that way.
As you can see, there are a lot of different ways to accumulate survival information and knowledge. However, I am going to recommend another way which I think is the most practical, less expensive, and the best use of your time. I suggest that you locate several different lists of "recommended" survival books. (Note: If you locate a list that lists book after book after book, just ignore that list. That is a list that's not trying to help you learn but is just trying to sell books. What you want are truly "recommended" survival books.) Next, compare the lists and identify any survival books that are on two or more lists. These are books you probably want to get. In addition, look for recommended survival books that talk about different survival topics. One book may be heavy on navigation techniques while another may be heavy on ways to start a fire or on identifying edible plants. What you want to accumulate is a small number of quality survival books that provide you with good information on a variety of survival topics and techniques that will be useful to you. From these recommended survival book lists choose which books you want. Lastly, once you have purchased the books you want, take the time to not just read them but to actually study them. Studying them will help you absorb and retain the information they contain.