{"product_id":"the-manual-of-lost-knowledge-a-black-start-guide-for-rebuilding-civilization-1","title":"The Manual of Lost Knowledge: A Black Start Guide for Rebuilding Civilization","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhat happens when the systems we depend on stop working?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Manual of Lost Knowledge\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is a comprehensive, authoritative guide to the practical technologies that built human civilisation and that a determined person or community could use to rebuild it. Drawing on ten thousand years of accumulated craft wisdom, historical example, and modern scientific understanding, this book does what no other survival guide attempts: it explains not just what to do, but why each technique works, and how the great chain of practical knowledge fits together from its foundations to its most powerful applications.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is not a book about fear. It is a book about capability.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the chemistry of fire to the principles of steam power, from ancient water purification to the production of crude penicillin from mold, from bloomery iron smelting to the construction of a simple radio transmitter, every section is written with the clarity of a knowledgeable friend who understands both the history and the science behind what they are teaching.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe book covers twelve essential domains of practical knowledge:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe fragility of civilisation and the concept of the black start, the engineering principle of rebuilding complex systems from nothing\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTools and the workshop, how to make, maintain and organise the first technology\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFire, combustion science, charcoal production, kilns and the full range of fuel sources\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIron smelting and metalworking, from identifying ore in the landscape to forging finished tools\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWater systems and sanitation, the single most important factor in community survival\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAgriculture and food security, soil science, crop rotation, seed saving and food preservation\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMedicine before modern hospitals, infection, herbal pharmacology, wound care and the production of natural antibiotics\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEnergy without electricity, human and animal power, wind, water, mechanical transmission and steam\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCommunication across distance, signal systems, telegraph technology, radio and printing\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBuilding and construction, traditional materials, structural principles, brickmaking and roofing\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKnowledge storage and education, papermaking, ink, libraries and the apprenticeship system\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRebuilding a technological society, the first year, trade, scaling industry and the lessons history teaches\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWho this book is for:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Manual of Lost Knowledge\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e was written for the intellectually curious reader who senses, correctly, that the practical knowledge underlying modern civilisation has quietly disappeared from common awareness. It will appeal to historians, preppers, homesteaders, makers, engineers, educators, and anyone who has ever looked at the world around them and wondered how any of it actually works and whether it could be built again.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt is also, simply, a remarkable book to read.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Every section moves between deep historical example and grounded scientific explanation, written in a voice that is calm, authoritative and genuinely fascinated by its subject. The chapter on Roman concrete. The section on bog iron. The account of how germ theory transformed wound care. The explanation of why a masonry stove uses a fraction of the fuel of an open fire. Each page rewards the reader who has never needed any of this knowledge and would prepare the reader who one day might.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA library may be the most powerful survival tool humanity ever invented.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Manual of Lost Knowledge\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is that library, gathered between two covers, written for the reader who understands that knowledge is the only wealth that cannot be taken away.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books Prime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45916218097855,"sku":"0d094e06-b7ea-49b3-b8ac-01f86953ab0b","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/7550\/7647\/files\/a4cd285ddf1b1dd2048e6ddaf53784ff.jpg?v=1785088986","url":"https:\/\/books-prime.com\/products\/the-manual-of-lost-knowledge-a-black-start-guide-for-rebuilding-civilization-1","provider":"Books Prime","version":"1.0","type":"link"}