Reference library
Survival & Preparedness
19 guides, every one legally redistributable and traceable to its source.
AFH 10-644 Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) Operations
The most comprehensive modern US military survival text (2017): arctic, desert, tropical, open-ocean survival, shelter, fire, food/water procurement, navigation, signaling. Deeper than ATP 3-50.21 and a differentiator vs. competitors who only ship FM 21-76.
US Air Force (e-Publishing) · Large — 652 illustrated pages (size not verified; expect 15-60 MB)
ATP 3-50.21 Survival
The current (Sept 2018) official Army survival doctrine — successor to FM 21-76/FM 3-05.70. Covers water, food, fire, shelter, signaling, and survival medicine. The flagship item for a survival-manual library. Also the strongest free source on food procurement — plants, fishing, trapping and snares — and on water sourcing and treatment, which is why it is shelved under Plants, Food & Water as well.
US Army (Army Publishing Directorate) · Not stated on APD page; typical ATP is 5-15 MB
ATP 3-90.97 Mountain Warfare and Cold Weather Operations
Cold-weather and mountain operations doctrine: cold injury prevention, clothing layering (COLD principle), improvised shelters, movement over snow/ice, altitude effects. Fills the cold-climate pillar alongside AFH 10-644's arctic chapters.
US Army (Army Publishing Directorate) · ~5-15 MB
Camping and Woodcraft, Vols. I-II
The classic American woodcraft text: shelter building, axemanship, firecraft, camp cooking, wilderness travel. Adds heritage depth and 'bushcraft' appeal beyond military manuals.
Macmillan (public-domain scans via Internet Archive) · ~20-50 MB per volume as scans; much smaller as text/EPUB
FEMA B-526 Earthquake Safety Checklist
Current, compact earthquake before/during/after checklist — good offline quick-reference card.
FEMA · <5 MB
FEMA P-2064 'Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness'
FEMA's flagship all-hazards citizen preparedness manual (Sept 2020 edition): planning, kits, and hazard-by-hazard protective actions (flood, tornado, hurricane, earthquake, wildfire, extreme heat/cold, nuclear/radiological). The natural backbone of an offline preparedness section.
FEMA / Ready.gov · ~10-20 MB
FEMA P-320 Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building or Installing a Safe Room for Your Home
Residential tornado/hurricane safe-room design guidance with buildable plans — serves the 'shelter' dimension for homeowners rather than wilderness shelter.
FEMA Building Science · ~10-30 MB
FM 21-76 US Army Survival Manual
The classic, illustration-rich edition civilians know as 'the Army Survival Manual' — better plant/trap/shelter illustrations than the terser 2018 ATP; strong marketing recognition. Alternate clean copy: https://www.bits.de/NRANEU/others/amd-us-archive/FM21-76(92).pdf
US Army (historical copy via Internet Archive) · ~20-35 MB scan
FM 5-125 Rigging Techniques, Procedures, and Applications
The best public-domain knots/ropework reference: knots, hitches, splices, lashings, anchor systems, and tackle with clear line diagrams and safe-load rules of thumb. Anchors a 'knots and ropework' feature.
US Army (historical copy via Internet Archive) · ~5-10 MB
Knots, Splices and Rope Work
Compact illustrated civilian knots primer — friendlier than a rigging FM for beginners; text format makes it easy to restyle into app-native pages.
Project Gutenberg (eBook #13510) · <5 MB
Nuclear Detonation Response Guidance: Planning for the First 72 Hours
Shorter, more operational companion to the 3rd-edition planning guide; good source for distilled 72-hour checklists.
FEMA Office of Emerging Threats · ~5-10 MB
NWS weather safety brochures
Definitive severe-weather protective-action guidance (tornado sheltering, lightning 30-30 rule, flood 'Turn Around Don't Drown', heat index, wind chill). Short, visual, ideal for offline cards.
NOAA National Weather Service · 1-15 MB each
NWS weather safety flyers — Español
Guía de seguridad del NWS en español: inundaciones, calor extremo, huracanes, incendios forestales, tormentas invernales y tornados — protective-action guidance in Spanish, compiled as one offline pack.
NOAA National Weather Service · 1-5 MB each
Planning Guidance for Response to a Nuclear Detonation, 3rd Edition
Authoritative guidance on surviving the first 24-72 hours after a nuclear detonation — shelter zones, fallout timing, get-inside/stay-inside/stay-tuned. High-anxiety topic with almost no reputable free competition; strong differentiator.
FEMA (with interagency partners) · ~10-15 MB (mirror at https://remm.hhs.gov/PlanningGuidanceNuclearDetonation.pdf)
Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country
The best consumer earthquake-preparedness handbook — science, home hazard hunt, Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety.
US Geological Survey · 5.8 MB (GIP-15); ~10-20 MB (GIP-119)
Ready.gov Hazard Information Sheets
Concise, current (2023-2025) 2-page sheets for ~19 hazards: earthquake, extreme heat, flood, hurricane, tornado, tsunami, volcano, wildfire, winter storm, avalanche, landslide, power outage, thunderstorm/lightning/hail, etc. Perfect mobile-sized offline reference cards; multilingual versions are a subscription selling point.
FEMA Ready Campaign · ~10-25 MB for the full suite
TC 3-25.26 Map Reading and Land Navigation
The standard land-navigation text: topo map reading, compass use, terrain association, dead reckoning, navigation without instruments, plus an orienteering appendix. Exactly what an offline user without GPS needs.
US Army (Army Publishing Directorate) · ~15-25 MB (map-graphic heavy)
US Census TIGER/Line Shapefiles
The only comprehensive fully-public-domain US road network. Strategic value: a zero-ODbL fallback stack (TIGER roads + GNIS names + US Topo + 3DEP) exists if legal ever vetoes OSM share-alike exposure. Also the road source USGS itself switched to for US Topo in 2016.
US Census Bureau · All-county national roads ~6-8 GB of shapefiles
Virginia Cooperative Extension emergency-preparedness publication series
Rare extension system with a blanket reuse-with-credit policy. Practical household topics federal pubs cover thinly: emergency water supplies, document checklists, child and pet preparedness, first-aid kit contents.
Virginia Cooperative Extension (Virginia Tech / Virginia State University) · <2 MB each