Have you ever stopped to consider the fragile genius of civilization?

I found a book that does - and it’s truly wonderful

“The story of humans is the story of discovery” - opening words, The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding Civilization

One of the things that first drew me to environmentalism was its strong do-it-yourself spirit. We hand-painted banners, constructed tents and compost loos, and took part in various skill-sharing activities, from woodworking, to juggling, to knitting. I learned a lot, and this element of eco-living brought a positive, hands-on energy that helped to balance out the more serious and sometimes bleak aspects of the movement.

But, as many of you will already know, I stepped away from traditional environmental groups because I don’t agree with everything they choose to protest. Since then, I’ve been learning new skills in other ways, occasionally through attending workshops or from friends, but mainly through watching videos online. On occasion, when the internet has cut out, I’ve found it frustrating to lose access to my many bookmarked tutorials.

While I have multiple books on engineering, bushcraft and the like, I don’t have a single tome that encompasses it all. So for a while now, I’ve wanted some sort of manual that pulls together all the essential information in one place - something I can turn to if I ever find myself in a pinch without internet access. For this reason, when I came across The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization, the premise of the book immediately caught my attention.

On the surface, this book does exactly what it says on the tin: provide an illustrated manual for rebooting human society from scratch. With 23 chapters, it covers all the basics of human civilization, including how to make fire, forage, and execute basic farming practices. But what really drew my attention to it was that rather than focusing on the “doomer” narrative that we’ve all become accustomed to, it instead highlights the genius of human innovation and creation, and posits that this knowledge may sometimes be lost, but is always recovered. It makes this argument from the opening page - that while civilizations do sometimes collapse, people also always rebuild. And that’s what this book basically is: an homage to the pursuit of knowledge, preserved in one mighty compendium.

This homage is evident in the way the book is crafted. While most of my DIY books are more like school textbooks, The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization is more like a work of art: constructed with remarkably detailed instructions, sewn binding, and crisp paper. It has large pages (I’m not exaggerating - it’s a whopping 35cm tall), minimal but straightforward text which is easy to follow, and intensely gorgeous illustrations.

Something I get very frustrated with when looking up instructions online is having to scour through pages of rambling text, navigating numerous pop ups and dodging relentless adverts in order to get to what I’m actually looking for (and I would bet hard cash that anyone who has ever tried to find a recipe online has experienced this too). With The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization, I have voluntarily spent hours poring over the ideas, considering the various designs proposed and - occasionally - even attempting them myself. They have also captured the imagination of my children, who now have a list of activities they want to do based on the book’s ideas. We have inspiration in our hands without having to sit through countless adverts to get to them.

As I said, I love learning new skills. Some of the lessons in the book are old news to me - like how to make your own soap (remember, I used to be a massive hippy), how to make beer and wine (I maintain that strawberry was my best accomplishment) and how to keep bees (see first comment in parentheses). So it’s impressive to me that there are so many sections in this book on how to make things that I simply hadn’t thought of. This isn’t just a knitting, bushcraft or woodworking book - I already have a number of those.

Let me give you an example. There is a two-page spread on finding water and how to filter it using what’s in the environment around you. Another on how to make penicillin(!), one on how to improvise tools for surgery, one on how to construct a timepiece and - were you really trying to rebuild society - how to manage sewage, how to make a telegraph, radio, or use pigeon mail, and how to craft pens, pencils and paper. Genuinely, there are more ideas in this book than I can do justice to here. The brainiacs behind it clearly spent a lot of time envisioning how to start society from scratch, covering all the things we take for granted today, from what we’d need both practically, and beyond (there are sections on art and the written word as well).

While print book sales may be on the decline, as we’ve all grown used to being constantly plugged in and finding information online, at the same time, our world is also becoming increasingly precarious. Just look at the blackout experienced across the Iberian peninsula a few weeks ago. Without electricity, how would you find out how to do the most rudimentary tasks?

Obviously if your goal was actually to rebuild a functioning society, you’d need more than a single book (and probably a degree in engineering). But as a sort of imaginative exercise, a way to mentally map the building blocks of modern life, this book is unrivalled. And if the grid ever does go down, reading it won’t be a bad way to pass the time.

Although I steer clear of “doomer” narratives nowadays, what I like about this book is that it’s a subtle reminder of just how much we take for granted. Who has ever thought of trying making penicillin from scratch? And without the internet? How hard can it be? (Spoiler: I attempted different ways to make fire with my kids, but we didn’t manage to make it work. Better stock up on matches.)

But if, like me, you’ve played one too many apocalyptic video games and read your fair share of dystopian sci-fi, there’s something quite reassuring about having all this foundational knowledge in one place. It’s also a hefty tome - one that, thanks to its sturdy binding and the case it comes packed in, feels like it would last a long time.

Beyond its practical value, the book also sparks a deeper appreciation for the complexity and fragility of the systems we rely on every day. It reminds you that the comforts of modern life, like clean water, reliable energy, and medicine, are the result of countless layers of knowledge and collaboration. Flipping through its pages is a humbling experience, one that quietly invites you to think not just about survival, but about the incredible achievements and knowledge that humankind has cobbled together in its short existence on this planet.

The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization is not a textbook, but a work of art that is grounded in human knowledge and discovery. In reverence for human genius.

I’m not building a bunker just yet, but if I ever need to, I know just where to look.

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Get your copy of the book here with a discount of 10% off using the promotion code ZION10. It’s valid until June 30 - so act quick if you want one! And let me know in the comments what you think of it.

Disclaimer: I was sent a free copy of this book to review.