I have found a lot of free Kindle e-books available through Amazon.com. Most of these public domain books are older, out of copyright [pre-1923] or out-of-print but may still have some useful information in them that could supplement your survival bookshelf. Just go to Amazon.com and download the appropriate Kindle Reader application for what you are using–such as PC, Mac computer, iPhone, Android, Blackberry–or if you are inclined you could buy a dedicated Kindle reader. The priced I haven’t tried this, but another SurvivalBlog reader might, see if a Kindle app can be downloaded and used from any computer via a USB drive or SD card.
I know hardcopy is still the best way to have a survival library but if you can get a digital copy at least you can have a backup that is very mobile.
In the following list I did not include very many cookbooks in the list as there are so many out there and all of the ones in Kindle format from Amazon are from the 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s.
DISCLAIMER: Nearly all of the Kindle format books are extremely old so if you or any reader decide to use them please bear in mind that most if not all of the info in these books is out of date so PLEASE USE ANY AND ALL INFO AT YOUR OWN RISK. Take any info from these and other antique books with a grain of salt unless you know for certain that any info will not harm you or anyone else.
[JWR Adds: Keep in mind all of SurvivalBlog’s usual provisos on fire safety, toxic chemicals, carcinogens, unguarded blades, obsolete medical practices, mushroom picking and so forth apply!]
There are literally more than one million books available free on the web. Just do a web search on the phrase “free e-books” and you can download most of them in just about any format. (I chose Kindle just to try it out and have another form of backup. I also have a lot of other books and references in PDF.)
Here is a list of the Kindle books that I’ve downloaded thusfar:
The Adventurous Boys Handbook by Stephen Brennan and Finn Brennan
Agriculture for Beginners Revised Edition by Charles William Burkett and Frank Lincoln Stevens and Daniel Harvey Hill
Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology by W.G. Aitchison Robertson
Amateur Gardencraft by Eben E. Rexford
Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter I. Pyle and George M. Gould
The Art of Confectionary by Edward Lambert
The Art of Making Whiskey by Anthony Boucherie
Assimilative Memory or How to Attend and Never Forget by Prof. A. Loisette
Broad-Sword and Single Stick by R.G. Allanson-Winn and C. Phillipps-Wolley
Camp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making by W. Hamilton Gibson
Canned Fruit, Preserves, and Jellies: Household Methods of Preparation by Maria Parloa
Carpentry for Boys by J.S. Zerbe, M.E.
Cobb’s Anatomy by Irvin S. Cobb
The Complete Book of Cheese by Bob Brown
Crops and Methods of Soil Improvement by Alva Agee
Culinary Herbs Their Cultivation, Harvesting, Curing, and Uses by M.G. Kains
Deadfalls and Snares by A.R. Harding
Elements of Military Art and Science by H. Wager Halleck, A.M.
Emergency Childbirth Course by U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Every Step in Canning the Cold-Pack Method by Grace Viall Gray
Everyday Foods in War Time by Mary Swartz Rose
The Field and Garden Vegetable of America by Fearing Burr
The First Book of Farming by Charles L. Goodrich
Food for The Traveler by Dora Roper
Foods That Will Win the War and How to Cook Them by C. Houston Goudiss
Gardening Without Irrigation by Steven Solomon
Gas and Oil Engines Simply Explained by Walter C. Runciman
Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants by A.R. Harding
Good Things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus Estes
A Handbook of Health by Woods Hutchison
The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by W.H. Simmon and H.A. Appleton
Handwork in Wood by Willaim Noyes
The Holy Bible English Standard Version
Home Medical Library (series) by K. Winslow (some volumes of this series are sold for $1 to $3 each)
Home Vegetable Gardening by F.F. Rockwell
How and When to Be Your Own Doctor by Steve Solomon and Isabel Moser
How it Works Dealing in Simple Language with Steam, Electricity, etc. by Archibald Williams
How to Camp Out by John M. Gould
How to Sew: Sew Basics by Various Authors
In Time of Emergency by U.S. Office of Civil Defense
In-door Gardening for Every Week in the Year by William Keane
Knots, Splices, and Rope Work by A. Hyatt Verill
Living Off the Grid by Dave Black
Logic Deductive and Inductive by Carveth Read
Making a Fireplace by Henry H. Saylor
Manual of Surgery (Vol. 1 and 2) by Various Authors
A Manual of the Operations of Surgery by Joseph Bell
Mission Furniture How To Make It (Part 1,2,3) by H.H. Windsor
Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking by Unknown
The Power of Concentration by Theron Q. Dumont
The Practical Distiller by Samuel McHarry
Practical Mechanics for Boys by James Slough zerbe
A Practical Physiology by Albert F. Blaizdell
Preventable Diseases by Woods Hutchinson
A Queen’s Delight, the Art of Preserving, Conserving and Candying by W.M.
Shelters, Shacks and Shanties by D.C. Beard
Simple Sabotage a Field Manual by The Office of Strategic Services
Small Gardens and How to Make the Most of Them by Violet Purton Biddle
Small Wars Manual by U.S. Marine Corps
Sound Military Decision by U.S. Naval War College
Surgical Anatomy by Joseph MacLise
Survival Tactics by Al Sevcik and Irving Novick
Textiles and Clothing by Kate Heintz Watson
Things Mother Used to Make by Lidia Maria Gurney
U.S. Army Hand to Hand Combat Manual by Department of the Army
The Untroubled Mind by Herbert J. Hall
Vegetable Dyes by Ethel M. Mairet
Wild Flowers Worth Knowing by Neltje Blanchan
Women’s Institute Library of Cookery (series)
Woodcraft by George Washington Sears