In the book Lucifer's Hammer, one of the brainiac survivors baggied his library with mothballs and insect spray and sank the whole library in his septic tank. He brought Volume 1 of "How Things Work" and when he found a safe place for sanctuary, he used the book as an advance payment on his "entry fee". The rest of the library was various versions of the encyclopedia, Foxfire Books, chemical, medical, math and engineering texts, piles of classic literature, etc.
Just thought I'd share thatit came to mind when the septic tanks were mentioned!
GREAT EOTWAWKI book! A lot of thought went into it, and not just the drama, but it seemed like a pretty good "How to" primer… I actually have a couple of books already along the lines of what he saved, and acquire another every month or so. I'm not a "Renaissance man", and things like basic First Aid, Small engine repair, simple electricity and plumbing skills all seem like incredibly valuable abilities to have. Not for nothing, but when 10 people show up at "The Compound", I'm guessing that the 2 with the most to offer are the ones getting in…
Also, there was recently a show on (I think BBC America) for a couple of seasons along the same lines. I can't remember the name, but the premise was to drop a dozen or so people of various backgrounds in a devastated area (Post-Katrina Louisiana was one, the other was a post-apocolyptic style LA) and see how they did. Kind of a modern Survivor without Jeff and challenges. I picked up a few tidbits I pray to never need, and it was fun to boot...
