Book excerpt: Survival Guns: A Beginner’s Guide is the first firearms book in the Survival Guns series that covers building a basic firearm battery. Steve Markwith will take the reader through the process of selecting and buying firearms and accessories via a planned process that meets your needs and budget. Steve outlines some underlying principles to work toward the goal of building a coordinated battery, beginning with just a short list of “essential systems” that constitute a baseline inventory. The book’s premise is built on starting with a clean slate. While some readers may already own guns and pursue the tendency to weave what they already own into the mix, those end results may be less than ideal. Steve takes the reader through a logical approach to building a planned but practical collection that will suit a variety of needs. While this book, and Steve’s similar manuals, is written for beginning-to-intermediate users, those familiar with firearms will also find the content of value. The information contained within is detailed, covering far more than just a firearm itself, leaving the reader confident in his/her plan to acquire guns and accessories in a reasoned, logical way.