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The Knowledge: How To Rebuild Our World After An Apocalypse Paperback – 5 Mar. 2015
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If the world as we know it ended tomorrow, how would you survive?
A nuclear war, viral pandemic or asteroid strike. The world as we know it has ended. You and the other survivors must start again. What knowledge would you need to start rebuilding civilisation from scratch?
How do you grow food, generate power, prepare medicines, or get metal out of rocks? Could you avert another Dark Ages, or take shortcuts to accelerate redevelopment? Living in the modern world, we have become disconnected from the basic processes and key fundamentals of science that sustain our lives.
Ingenious and groundbreaking, The Knowledge explains everything you need to know about everything, revolutionising your understanding of the world.
‘A glorious compendium of the knowledge we have lost in the living…the most inspiring book I’ve read in a long time’ Independent
‘A terrifically engrossing history of science and technology’ Guardian
http://the-knowledge.org/
- Print length352 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherVintage
- Publication date5 Mar. 2015
- Dimensions12.9 x 2.4 x 19.7 cm
- ISBN-100099575833
- ISBN-13978-0099575832
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A glorious compendium of the knowledge we have lost in the living… This is the most inspiring book I’ve read in a long time -- Peter Forbes ― Independent
An extraordinary achievement... It is a great read even if civilisation does not collapse. If it does, it will be the sacred text of the new world ― Dartnell that world’s first great prophet ― The Times
The ultimate do-it-yourself guide to ‘rebooting’ human civilization ― Nature
A terrifically engrossing history of science and technology -- Steven Poole ― Guardian
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Vintage (5 Mar. 2015)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0099575833
- ISBN-13 : 978-0099575832
- Dimensions : 12.9 x 2.4 x 19.7 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 33,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 8 in Geology References
- 92 in Medicine References
- 115 in Teaching Aids for Geography
- Customer reviews:
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book an engaging read with good information. They say it provides basic ideas and is well-researched. However, opinions differ on the encyclopedia content - some find it well-written and informative, while others feel it gets too technical and feels like school.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book engaging and interesting. They say it's a good read, with great fantasies and a unique second-person future. Readers appreciate the resource list and additional reading points. The book is described as a comforting read and Dartnell writes well.
"...In one way, it can also be read as a novel in a unique (to me) second person future tense format- "you are going to............", although don't..." Read more
"...But it was still very interesting and I learned a lot. I would cautiously recommend it." Read more
"...A really interesting book and a handy guide that I how we never have to use!" Read more
"...history of technology, rather than a survival manual, this book is quite interesting, although not helped by the small number of illustrations and..." Read more
Customers find the book informative and well-researched. They say it provides basic ideas on how to do things and gives a fascinating insight into what underpins our way of life. The book explains the science and technology that is the basis of much of modern civilization. The approach makes a lot of sense and customers commend the author for sticking to a logical, interesting approach.
"...for it would have been infeasibly large in that case, but it is a great guide, and being reasonably educated in technology and science, I still..." Read more
"...but it’s absolutely fascinating! It’s realistic in that although nobody actually knows what would happen if there was armaggedon, it gives an idea..." Read more
"...So, full marks to the author for his ambition and for studying a very wide range of sources, but I am far from convinced that a programme based on..." Read more
"...From a purely interest point of view it explains the science and technology that is the basis of much of the development of the 20th & 21st..." Read more
Customers have different views on the encyclopedia's content. Some find it well-written and informative, with a resource list and additional reading points. They appreciate that it breaks down science into understandable terms and provides a guide to essentials a group would need to start again from scratch. Others feel it gets too technical and feels like school. The book is described as a guide, not an instruction manual with blueprints or schematics.
"...However, not all chapters were easy to read as technology becomes complicated. Well worth a read though...." Read more
"...As it is, it comes across like an extremely well written textbook about essential manufacturing, instead of the tightly-written primer it aspires to..." Read more
"This is NOT a DIY book with blueprints or schematics and a step-by-step checklist to be able to survive...." Read more
"...From simple engineering like weaves and crop harvesting, it tell how society could start again from scratch with just the most basic processes,..." Read more
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 April 2014Lewis Dartnell has put into one volume more useful information on the underpinnings of our society than I have ever seen in one place. Every schoolchild should read this.
It's not a complete manual, for it would have been infeasibly large in that case, but it is a great guide, and being reasonably educated in technology and science, I still learned a lot. In a few cases, you'd like just a bit more explanation, but again, it's one small volume.
In one way, it can also be read as a novel in a unique (to me) second person future tense format- "you are going to............", although don't take that analogy too far.
Later on in the book, it does seem as if LD has got a bit bored, and one or two items are a bit peremptory, but it remains highly enjoyable.
I checked a few numbers which seemed Ok, but I think I spotted one mistake. On p280, he requires that the tube in a glass barometer be a constant diameter- I don't think that's right, as the pressure is affected only by height of a fluid column, not volume. Any thoughts out there? Oh, I think I see now, calibration would be hard if not constant diameter-it wouldn't be linear. Too pedantic as ever.....
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 April 2020The knowledge is a primer on how to reboot civilisation after a cataclysmic event. It gives no details as to what the event might be: it could be a pandemic, nuclear winter, or some kind of Black Swan. It takes an unapologetic science focus — there is no explanation of how to return to the rule of law or establish a simple government. But I found the story of rebooting civilisation an excellent way to smuggle in vital information that would otherwise be drab — how to churn butter, or make a blast furnace, for example.
It is important to note the knowledge is a popular science book first, and a primer on rebooting civilisation second. It doesn’t give many good tips on how to prepare for serious disaster, and the possible disaster it imagines is quite a rosy one. The author assumes a terrible pandemic wipes out all save ~2% of the population. These 2% then have an extended grace period during which they can live off the decaying capitalist wreck that surrounds them. The cans in one supermarket are enough to feed a family of 4 for 50 years or so.
A real disaster, were it to occur, would probably leave more people alive and have a shorter grace period, if any. So preparing for one would be much more important.
The book references several great works, some of which I had already read, and some which I was pointed to. One of these, the essay “I, Pencil”, was excellent, and much better than the book. It is an account of how a modern wooden HB pencil came to be in this world, as told to the writer by the pencil. It is a meditation on the complexity of global supply chains and the decentralised brain at the heart of capitalism. The book’s author refers to it as an example of what we would lose when the economy collapses, and to his credit he does emphasise the importance of re-starting economic activity as soon as possible.
The knowledge doesn’t quite live up to its potential. If it were written with a more expansive style, it might’ve explored ideas like how bands of survivors might meet and go about setting up a post-apocalyptic society. The book could then explore the roles of the members of such a society, and smuggle the science in this way. As it is, it comes across like an extremely well written textbook about essential manufacturing, instead of the tightly-written primer it aspires to be. But it was still very interesting and I learned a lot. I would cautiously recommend it.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 July 2021I’m only half way through this (I’m a slow reader!) but it’s absolutely fascinating! It’s realistic in that although nobody actually knows what would happen if there was armaggedon, it gives an idea as to what would happen in regards to the natural habitat. From simple engineering like weaves and crop harvesting, it tell how society could start again from scratch with just the most basic processes, including making chemicals like charcoal, how to make materials for clothes, crop harvesting and so on. I’m only half way through so I can’t suggest anything else, and knowing me, it will be a little while longer yet before I finish!
A really interesting book and a handy guide that I how we never have to use!
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2025Bought as a present-recipient very happy.
Top reviews from other countries
- Lavender HoneyReviewed in Canada on 4 December 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars From Collapse to Creation: How to Rebuild Everything
Very awe-inspiring and sobering at the same time. The book lays out how humanity could rebuild civilization after a global collapse. I was fascinated by the idea that so much of what we take for granted -- like clean water or electricity -- is the result of centuries of collective knowledge that could vanish without proper preservation. At the same time, it’s a bit depressing to realize how fragile our world really is and how little I, or most people, actually know about the basics of survival. This book is like a survival guide for humanity itself making you appreciate how far we’ve come and how quickly it could all unravel. Empowering, depressing, and fascinating all at the same time. Highly recommended.
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Geórgia AlvesReviewed in Brazil on 23 January 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Desaster Literature
A Literatura da catástrofe é um ponto importante para compreender a pós-modernidade. Partir da destruição é sempre melhor para qualquer recomeço. A pós-modernidade nos legou um mundo caótico, de desarranjos e complexidades. É preciso aprender a importância do conhecimento. The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm é um livro completo, amplo, com uma visão igualmente ampla e complexa do que é possível fazer para ressurgir das cinzas de um mundo catastrófico e em destruição.
- Pralay MukherjeeReviewed in India on 27 January 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars a good read
nicely crafted
- carlosReviewed in Mexico on 29 December 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Smart geek
If you are a geek and also like building things then be a smart building geek so now I am a smart building doomsday ready geek!
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VitoReviewed in Italy on 28 December 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Un buon punto di partenza
Un buon punto di partenza per -eventualmente- ricostruire la civiltà. Come chiarito nel libro stesso, un libro solo non basta, infatti uno dei primi suggerimenti è andare a recuperare dalle biblioteche ancora in piedi alcuni libri - scienze, medicina, etc) per metterli in salvo; ma per i primi tempi, e per impostare la rotta, sembra adeguato (fortunatamente non ho ancora avuto modo di verificarlo in una situazione reale...)