HOW would you rebuild civilisation if there was a global catastrophe?

That’s the question posed by astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell in this manual for survival, which brings to life how the world would look for those who are left.

He covers topics from agriculture to medicine, clothing and transport.

Good news is there’s a grace period during which scavenging should keep people alive. Bad news is that years down the line survivors would need to be cultivating five acres of crops to sustain up to ten people, processing 2,000 litres of mould juice a day for penicillin so they don’t die from a scratch, making material for clothes and fermenting or distilling their own fuel.

It’s a fascinating and fun read and Dartnell uses layman’s terms to describe how best to do all of this, but not in detail – so start studying advanced biology, chemistry and physics... or move in next door to the author.

Caroline Firth