The 10 Best Prepper Audiobooks
We’ve updated our list of the top 10 prepper audiobooks, and will continue to update each year to keep your listening options fresh and current.
Prepper audiobooks are a great way to get through a book and learn a few things without having to sit around. Physical books take precious time to sit down and read through and I always feel a little lazy reading a book since it feels like I am not being very productive.
Audiobooks fix this since I can work on my preps, mow the lawn, commute to work- all while listening to a book!
Contents (Jump to a Section)
Audiobooks Can Improve Your Prepping
Audiobooks used to be annoying; you had to have several CDs or many cassettes and records to swap out between chapters. You had to hang out at your sound system to listen to them or save them for a road trip.
This is no longer the case. You can fit virtually all the prepping audiobooks available onto your phone and listen to them hands-free while doing anything you want. This makes them great for multi-taskers like myself.
There are some guides and how-to prepping books out there that have been converted into audiobook format, but they are much better in hardcopy or PDF. The material is dry- making it a tougher listen. Plus, with guides and project-style books, it’s better to be able to return to sections quickly to reread or reference. This is why all of our audiobook picks are fiction or story-driven.
The Top Audiobook Platform
There are plenty of ways to get your hands on audiobooks, but one of the most popular options (and the one I use) is Audible. It is an Amazon company that lets you subscribe and listen to audiobooks.
They have a free trial that gives you two books for free. It’s definitely worth checking out even if it’s just for the free books. In the list of the best prepper audiobooks below, I’ll put the Audible link for each book and you can sign up for the free trial if you are not already a member.
Also, any book that costs over $14.95 on our list is actually cheaper if you just grab a Premium Plus Audible membership outright. Many of them are included in the Audible subscription, and you don’t even need to use a token.
Check out the Audible Free Trial if you haven’t tried it before to check out multiple audiobooks at once from our list for free.
The 10 Best Prepper Audiobooks
Here is our list of the ten best prepper audiobooks and where to download them. We settled on a wide variety of topics
10. The Journey Home
by John Winchester
Narrated by Travis Baldree
Previous Rank = 6
6 hours, 29 minutes runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
Winchester crafts a story on how disasters usually don’t occur when it is convenient. The protagonist finds himself in a pickle when an EMP cripples the country as he is thousands of miles from home and his prepping stash.
It is the first book of the EMP Aftermath series. The book is six and a half hours long and serves as a great warning about preparedness on the move. Find it on Audible.
9. Zombie Fallout
by Mark Tufo
Narrated by Sean Runnette
Previous rank = N/A
10 hours, 35 minutes runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
The first zombie book on our list is an extensive series with over 25 books in it now. Mike Talbot is the protagonist and a survivalist persevering in a difficult time. With a mix of sarcasm, horror, humor, and actual preparedness – Mark Tufo writes a fast-paced mix that’s hooked a rabid fanbase.
Tufo’s series has him at the top of the zombie fiction lists, but the inclusion of hard survival skills and preparedness topics earns it a spot on our list. Check out Zombie Fallout to see what all the buzz is about.
8. World War Z
by Max Brooks
Narrated by a Hollywood Cast
Previous Rank = N/A
12 hours, 9 minutes runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
It’s been made into a movie and there is an abridged audiobook version, and this Complete Edition is vastly superior to both. It’s faithful to the original book, which is a collection of diary entries narrated by a Hollywood blockbuster cast this time, including:
- Alan Alda
- John Turturro
- Rob Reiner
- Mark Hamill
- Alfred Molina
- Simon Pegg
- Henry Rollins
- Martin Scorsese
The byline of the book is ‘An Oral History of the Zombie War’ so it makes sense to have a huge cast telling all of the various experiences. It makes the tale of a global response to a zombie pandemic (both successful and unsuccessful) interesting and leaves you wanting more from each narrator. Give World War Z a listen and you’ll be sharpening up your shovel and heading for the desert in no time.
7. Cry Havoc
by A. American
Narrated by Duke Fontaine
Previous Rank = N/A
10 hours, 38 minutes runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
A. American is on our list twice for a reason. They’re great at apocalyptic fiction that you just can’t put down. Financial collapse is the scenario set for this survival book, and many people even prefer this book over his larger series “Going Home”.
We won’t go that far, but you should give this well-researched and thought-provoking book a try. Find it on Audible.
6. American Exit Strategy
by Mark Goodwin
Narrated by Kevin Pierce
Previous Rank = 10
7 hours, 46 minutes runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
Realism is what Goodwin strives for, basing his dystopian fiction on a very possible financial meltdown. Although the method of the meltdown is certainly fiction, the grim aftermath could be a glimpse into the future.
This is the first book of the Economic Collapse Chronicles, so there is plenty to follow up with if you enjoy this one. The book is a good listen at almost eight hours. Find it on Audible.
5. Going Home
by A. American
Narrated by Duke Fontaine
Previous Rank: 9
13 hours, 12 minutes runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
This book borderline glorifies an apocalyptic trek, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. The protagonist has it relatively easy for someone enduring SHTF, but this allows the author to explore other concepts.
This book is the first one of the Survivalist series, so it could suck you in for more if you get hooked. The audiobook is a nice length at thirteen hours long. Find it on Audible.
4. Parable of the Sower
by Octavia E. Butler
Narrated by Lynne Thigpen
Previous Rank = N/A
12 hours runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
Award-winning Octavia E. Butler shows us a not-too-distant climate-related societal collapse. Octavia leans into dissecting racism and religion in her dystopian narrative
These themes make it different from many others on our list, but the writing is fantastic and the narration keeps you engaged. Find it on Audible.
3. Alas, Babylon
by Pat Frank
Narrated by Will Patton
Previous Rank = N/A
11 hours, 11 minutes runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
This classic from Pat Frank is set in a small town in Florida that is spared from the nuclear holocaust somehow. The book does show its age in spots, but for the most part, it’s as relevant and impactful as ever.
It’s a book that’s often referenced in prepping circles, especially prepping for nuclear attacks. The way the war unfolded may not be plausible, but there is still plenty to take away from Frank’s Alas, Babylon.
2. The Martian
by Andy Weir
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
Previous Rank = 4
10 hours, 59 minutes runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
I listened to this one back before the movie was made when the audiobook was narrated by R.C. Bray. Since then it’s been switched up to Wil Wheaton. You may remember him as Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but from the sample I heard he’s a solid pick for this novel.
The movie shows up in our 50 Survival Movies Preppers Should Watch, but the audiobook is worth the extra time commitment. If you’ve seen the movie, it is pretty faithful to the source with a few more hiccups Mark Watney has to deal with to survive.
Grab The Martian on Audible for an entertaining listen about realistic science fiction survival.
1. One Second After
by William R. Forstchen
Narrated by Joe Barrett
Previous Rank = 1
13 hours, 17 minutes runtime
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales. Or use one Audible credit.
This novel is set in my backyard (North Carolina) and is a harrowing tale warning of the consequences of an EMP detonation. The book has helped many get into prepping and is definitely a good listen. There is plenty to take away from this book practically, but it is also entertaining keeping you on the edge of your seat. We also have a full stand-alone review of the book.
John Matherson, the main character, has to make increasingly difficult and heartbreaking decisions as he and his family try to get by in Black Mountain after an EMP strike. Dwindling food supplies and critical medication cause issues, as well as other people who have been pushed to their limits.
The narration is great, which is another reason this is one of the best prepper audiobooks. The run time is about 13 ½ hours- so it will last you a good while if you can keep yourself from binging it! It is the first book of several in a series, so there is plenty to follow up on if you enjoyed it as much as we did. Give One Second After a listen if you need some good prepping motivation.
Honorable Mention Audiobooks
Our top 10 list shuffles around audiobooks based on what our team thinks of them, their overall reception, and how they discuss prepping, preparedness, and survival. Some leave the list or never make it there to begin with- but that doesn’t make the books bad.
Here are the honorable mentions:
- Pandemic: The Extinction Files
- The Survivalist: Frontier Justice
- Lights Out
- Getting Out
- Long Road to Survival
The Final Word
Staying informed is important but it is still hard to make time for. Audiobooks let you double up on time you are already doing other things. I like to listen on my commute, while doing yard work, and sometimes just relaxing. It never hurts to stay sharp and continue learning.
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I think the “Alone” series by Darrell Maloney belongs on this list, especially the first few books that detail preparations and actions involved with hunkering down. Most readers will likely find at least one, but probably many more, tips that are new to them or innovative.
Franklin Horton and Tom Abrahams are also excellent authors, and in the Audible collection they are narrated by Kevin Pierce, one of the best.