We take zombies as serious business. We even have a whole sister site devoted to preparing for the zombie apocalypse. Our motto is that if you're prepared for zombies, you're prepared for pretty much anything.

Are we crazy? You might be wondering if we're serious about the possibility that there could be a zombie apocalypse. Well, yes, we believe that it is only a matter of time until a pandemic that causes zombie-like behavior, be it engineered or naturally-evolved. Some people point to recent evidence of insane behavior as a herald of the necropocalypse. So, yes, we think a zombie apocalypse could actually happen. But let's face it, you're more likely to be trapped in a natural disaster than you are a zombie apocalypse, so we're taking a measured approach to survival that will put you on a path to preparedness. You're going to learn skills that will protect you from a variety of threats as well as the living dead. Preparing for the zombie apocalypse isn't wasted effort when faced with things like Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy or even the massive superstorm Nemo set to hit the East coast of the United States this weekend. So who's crazy now?

Here are the 4 books we consider CRITICAL to surviving the zombie apocalypse:

Before you learn how to ward off biters you'd be better off learning how to survive the natural world. By far the most exhaustive resource on surviving in any climate or condition is the SAS Survival Handbook (recently re-branded in a new edition as the SAS Survival Guide 2E) by John “Lofty” Wiseman, a 26-year veteran of the British SAS. This book has a no-nonsense approach to survival and will teach you techniques that have saved dozens, if not hundreds, of lives since the book was first published in 1986.

Most people's plan of zombie survival involves escaping heavily inhabited cities and going into the wild. Be honest with yourself – unless you've been studying and living in the wild for a long time, you're chances of surviving in harsh outdoor conditions for an extended period of time are next to none. A lot of people seem to think they'll be hunting big game and living by a lake, singing songs around a bonfire. These people will die. Do us a favor and don't die; do that by reading the SAS Survival Handbook.

Max Brooks is the king of modern zombie survival. He's famous for writing the AMAZING book World War Z (which could well be on this list of it's own accord). Before that he wrote The Zombie Survival Guide, a primer for zombie survival strategy. The book is written cover-t0-cover like a government issue military guide (though more interesting) and never breaks character.

To facilitate his concepts of zombies, Brooks uses an imaginary zombie virus called Solanum, which transforms the victim into a Romero-style shambling zombie. The book is divided into multiple sections covering everything from myths and misconceptions to weapon customization. Further chapters cover traveling in an undead wasteland, finding shelter and smart strategies to avoid becoming a zombie meal. To me, the strongest part of the book is the back cover, which contains 10 laws to survive the zombie apocalypse. Rule 1? Organize before they rise! Other notable rules: Rule 4: Blades don't need reloading, and Rule 9: No place is safe, only safer. You really need to read the rest of these rules, even if you don't read the rest of the book. This is sound advice and shows how much Max Brooks has thought about the zombie apocalypse.

(Editor's Note: I once had a conversation with Max Brooks about those 10 laws, and he told me that they were added to the book as a last-minute change after a request by his editor. He penned the 10 rules in just a few minutes and thus cemented himself as the forever-king of zombie survival. Nice guy, by the way! Remind me sometime to share with you the fantastic Comic-Con exclusive art prints that Max collaborated with comic artists on. Nothing illustrates Rule 4 like a zombie's head getting sliced in half in full-colored gore-filled glory.)

You almost certainly know author Les Stroud by his more common television moniker, Survivorman. Les did the show Survivorman for the Discovery networks for 3 seasons and in doing so survived in some of the least hospitable places on the planet. Perhaps not quite as well-known as Bear Grylls, Les did his entire series with no crew, filming everything himself (which sounds even more taxing than just surviving).

In Survive! Les brings a very different point of view to surviving in the wild. He teaches you how to build structures, move safely through the bush, adapt to harsh environments with only the resources on hand, and he does it all in a way that feels very different from the SAS Survival Handbook. The two books compliment each other exceptionally well.

Survive! takes the approach of teaching you to do more than identify what snakes are poisonous. Rather, the advice is practical and no-nonsense advice on how to get out alive. Don't expect this book to teach you to live in the forest for the rest of your life (look to the SAS Survival Handbook for that sort of detail). Stroud's whole goal is to get you back to civilization alive. One of my favorite parts of this book introduces a method to carry fire (one of the hardest things to come by in the wild – which is why my Bug-Out-Bag contains no less than 5 different ways to make fire) from your old camp with you safely. The advice is incredibly practical and will give you an added edge that you can't get from other survival books alone. Read this book.

I'll admit it – when I first laid eyes on The Zombie Combat Manual I immediately thought this book was a cheap knockoff of the Zombie Survival Guide. I'd wager that some of you have even passed this book up with the same thought. Never have I been so happy to be proven wrong.

The Zombie Combat Manual is written by Roger Ma, and just like Survive! compliments the SAS Survival Handbook, this book compliments The Zombie Survival Guide. Where Max Brooks teaches you a framework to live in a world where the dead roam the streets, Roger teaches you how to handle the inevitable scenario where you need to do battle with the a rotting corpse. Every principle of combat this book teaches is sound and you'll know why as you read the book. The section on weapon types is nothing short of exhaustive and that alone is worth the read.

The Zombie Combat Manual takes the body of each individual combatant into account and works to the strengths of each book. Zombieland's Rule 1 (Cardio!) still applies, but let's face it – some of us just aren't there yet. The book spends a lot of time talking about combat after the bullets run out. The chapters on weapons customization are just plain smart. The other key strength of this book is that it adapts SWAT team tactics to working with an entirely different kind of enemy. Concepts like the “Funnel of Death” are re-purposed for fighting zombies in close quarters. When the dead rise, this book will save your life.

Do you have a favorite book to prepare for the zombie apocalypse? Share that knowledge with us in the comments section below! You might just save some lives!