Books

For the junk item, see Book (junk).

Books are a category of items featured in The Last Stand: Union City and The Last Stand: Dead Zone.

Background

The act of recording information in writing is something unique to humans amongst all the species on Earth, allowing people who have never met the writer to benefit from their wisdom. Books are the latest incarnation of this, and have been a source of learning ever since their invention.

Seemingly a useless luxury in the midst of the zombie apocalypse, survivors must never forget that knowledge is power, an asset which they will need for their continued survival.

The Last Stand: Union City

A book dropped from a zombie. (TLS:UC)

They increase skills proportionally to the Smarts skill. Increases are +4 for up to 33, +5 for 34-69, +6 for 70-99 and +7 for 100 onwards (only achievable with the Intellect skill bonus).

1. Batter Up! - Increases Blunt Skill (4)
2. Be Prepared - Increases First Aid Skill (6)
3. Businessman - Increases Smarts Skill (3)
4. Defcon Force - Increases Automatics Skill (2)
5. Future Weaponry - Increases Special Weapons Skill (0; this book was only used in the alphas)
6. Glendale Hunter - Increases Long Guns Skill (2)
7. Handgun Owner - Increases Handgun Skill (2)
8. Jacked Up - Increases Fitness Skill (2)
9. Martial Masters - Increases Blades Skill (3)
10. Nightwatchmen - Increases Security Skill (5)
11. Where's Wilmo? - Increases Searching Skill (5)
12. Wild Man - Increases Survival Skill (2)

• The bracketed numbers show the total amount of said books throughout the game, not counting those found in Whistler's Forest, and not counting those obtained through skilled/lucky finds or drops.
• It is recommended that the Smarts skill be increased to 100 before using the skill books. The 3 Businessman books can help with this.

The Last Stand: Dead Zone

There are a variety of ways to earn books in the Dead Zone. Books can be scavenged during missions in the Dead Zone, purchased from The Store, received as a prize in specific supply boxes and even as a bonus when purchasing Fuel. Books affect various things depending on their type and title, with wildly varying degrees of effectiveness and duration for those scavenged in the Dead Zone.

Permanent books usually provide a small bonus, but they can be used indefinitely, whereas Consumable books (indicated by a small stopwatch icon in the bottom right of the inventory slot) provide a large bonus, but will be used up after their duration expires. Challenge books can be either, and affect the game's difficulty (automated missions not included), usually to the player's detriment.

Up to 4 books can be active at any one time by slotting them into the slots in the upper left of the compound screen. Only 1 book per category can be slotted in at any one time, unless "How to Specialize in" books of the appropriate category are slotted in. Even then, books with the same title, even if they have slightly differing effects, cannot be slotted in.

Some Permanent books temporarily lock out a slot once slotted in, preventing its removal/replacement until a period of time passes. Consumable books cannot be removed once slotted in, and the player must wait for its timer to run out before they can slot in another book. If the timer expires during a mission or raid, its effects will remain active until the mission or raid ends.

There are five book categories:

• Combat
• General
• Mission
• Resource
• Survival

Tactics Manuals

Main article: Tactics Manual

When recycling a book, the materials the player receives is variable.

A recycled book.

Tactics Manuals are a special type of book that can be crafted by the player. Books can be recycled to provide Tactics Pages, which are required to craft manuals. Recycling a book will produce a random amount of general Tactics Pages, as well as one of either the Ability, Defensive, or Offensive specialized pages. Tactics Manuals are always of a limited duration, and provide a buff in stats for all survivors in the compound when equipped.

List

Item	Category	Description	Effect	Duration	Slot Lockout
Anatomy 101	Combat	Increases all damage vs infected.	Increases damage dealt to zombies from all sources	30 Minutes, 7 Days or Permanent	None
Crafting on the Cheap	Resource	A guide to crafting with tips on saving money while doing so.	Reduces the cost of crafting and upgrading	1 Hour or Permanent	None or 1 Hour
Conserving Cloth	Resource	A guide to finding useful cloth objects around the home.	Increases Cloth Drop Off production rate	8 Hours or Permanent	None or 1 Hour
Scrappers	Resource	A guide to finding useful metal objects around the home.	Increases Metal Drop Off production rate	8 Hours or Permanent	None or 1 Hour
Driftwood	Resource	A guide to finding useful wooden objects around the home.	Increases Wood Drop Off production rate	8 Hours or Permanent	None or 1 Hour
Boost Your Experience	Mission	A guide to combat experience and how to maximize your experience on the field.	Increases mission XP	30 Minutes, 1 Hour or Permanent	None
White Flag	General	"Establish that you want no part of conflict in whatever manner you can. Raise your white flag high."	Disables Player vs Player Raiding	Permanent	3 Days
Vacation from the Dead Zone	General	Take a break from the humdrum of the every day in the Dead Zone. Holiday without concern!	Compound is placed in Vacation Mode Disables Player vs Player Raiding -100% Consumption -100% Consumption	14 Days	None
Camouflage in the Apocalypse	General	Hides your compound from Infected attacks while equipped.	Disables Infected attacks on Compound	3 or 7 Days	None
Baiting Your Home	General - Challenge	"In order to attract attackers, simply provide the correct form of bait. Then wait. They will come."	Increases compound horde attacks	1 Day or Permanent	None
They're Not Human	Combat - Challenge	"The dead walk the earth as an unstoppable and insurmountable force."	Increases health of infected, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
One Man's Trash	Mission	"Learning to discern what is junk when picking will save you a lot of heartache later."	Decreases chance of finding Junk	1 Hour, 4 Hours or Permanent	None
Top Tips for Sightseeing	Mission	A sightseeing guide to the wonderful sites around Union City.	Increases Survivor vision range	4 Hours or Permanent	None
Shortening Your Lifespan	General - Challenge	"Lowering your constitution by drinking unclean water and eating spoiled food is a great place to start!"	Reduces survivor health, increases mission XP	1 Hour or Permanent	None
How to Specialize in General	General	A guide to specializing your abilities in the General field.	Allows you to equip 2 x General books	Permanent	None
How to Specialize in Resources	Resource	Allows you to equip 2 Resource books	Allows you to equip 2 x Resource books	Permanent	None
How to Specialize in Survival	Survival	Allows you to equip 2 Survival books	Allows you to equip 2 x Survival books	Permanent	None
How to Specialize in Combat	Combat	Allows you to equip 2 Combat books	Allows you to equip 2 x Combat books	Permanent	None
How to Specialize in Missions	Mission	Allows you to equip 2 Mission books	Allows you to equip 2 x Mission books	Permanent	None
Agriculture	Survival	A basics guide to agriculture. Specifically food and water management and production.	Increases food and water production	8 Hours or Permanent	None or 12 Hours
A History of Rationing	Survival	Book about the rationing that took place during the Second World War.	Reduces food and water consumption rate	2 Days, 28 Days or Permanent	None or 1 Hour
Union City Shortcuts	Mission	A map book filled with shortcuts around Union City. *Does not work on Automated Missions or Raids	Reduces return time for manual missions	4 Hours or Permanent	None
The Long Way Home	Mission - Challenge	A guide to the scenic routes throughout Union City. Take a Sunday drive.	Increases return time for missions or Increases all action times	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Wifflebat for Beginners	Combat - Challenge	A beginners guide to hitting things with a very soft touch.	Reduces melee damage done by survivors, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Rain Makers	Survival	"Capturing rain water might just be our best and only hope in a changing world."	Increases water production	8 Hours or Permanent	None or 1 Hour
Processed Foods	Survival - Challenge	A guide to inedible processed foods.	Decreases food and water drop chance, increases mission XP or Increases food and water drop chance, reduces wood, metal, cloth, and ammo drop chance	1 Hour, 12 Hours or Permanent	None
80's Action Movies	Resource - Challenge	Big Guns = More Fun	Increases ammo cost, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Gunsmith Monthly	Resource	Magazine covering all aspects of gun culture, including maintenance and modification.	Increases chance of Crafting bonuses	30 Minutes or Permanent	None or 1 Hour
Nighthunting	Mission	"Spend time with your eyes closed or in a limited light situation before heading out for the night."	Increases Survivor Night Vision	4 Hours or Permanent	None
Peak Oil - A Survivors Guide	Resource	A prepper's guide to finding and storing petroleum products in the case of peak oil.	Increases drops	22 Hours, 1 Day or Permanent	None or 2 Days
Martial Law in the Apocalypse	Combat	"All order will be lost. Increased police and military presence, through Martial Law, will see order return."	Increases Rare Infected found during missions	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
That Smarts	Combat - Challenge	"Once they have risen, the driving force of the now dead may outshine that of what they were capable in life."	Increases infected damage, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Ninjutsu: For Urban Ninjas	Combat	"Move silently. Kill with precision. This is the way of the Ninja."	Reduces noise from survivors	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Non Lethal Gun Mods	Combat - Challenge	A comprehensive manual for reducing the lethality of firearms.	Reduces projectile damage done by survivors, increases XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Blind Mice	Mission - Challenge	"Big Blind Mouse said, 'I can't see a damned thing'."	Disables the HUD on Missions, increases mission XP	Permanent	None
Three's A Crowd	Mission - Challenge	"In almost all situations, three people is a bad idea. Especially when trying to go unnoticed."	Limits the number of Survivors on a Mission to 2, increases mission XP	Permanent	None
Ready. Aim. Zombies.	Combat - Challenge	"Taking the time to aim your shots will ultimately better your survival over time."	Disables Automatic Targeting for survivors, increases mission XP	Permanent	None
Ammunition Annual	Survival	A guide to this year's ammunition, supply and demand.	Increases drop chance	1 Hour or Permanent	None
Everyday Gardener	Survival	A gardening guide about edible vegetables and care for plants.	Increases food production	8 Hours or Permanent	None or 1 Hour
Finding Reclaimed Timber	Survival	A guide to finding useful wooden objects around the city.	Increases drop chance	1 Hour or Permanent	None
Leading From A Distance	Mission	"Delegating your command to others can be risky but ultimately rewarding for your company."	Increases Automated Mission Success Chance	4 Hours or Permanent	None
Modern City Living	Survival - Challenge	"In modern society over half of our cities food, water and building materials are imported. The imports stops, society stops."	Reduces Resource drop chance, increases XP	1 Hour or Permanent	None
Quantity Not Quality	Mission - Challenge	"What you get isn't important, it's the quantity. The man with the most stuff wins."	Reduces chance of finding Quality items, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Raising Spirits	General	"In dire situations, knowledge about how to raise the morale of your friends and family can be invaluable."	Increases survivor morale	Permanent	2 Minutes or 12 Hours
Reprogram Your Motorskills	Combat - Challenge	"Unlearn everything you think you know about your physiology. We have been taught WRONG!"	Increases Level Requirement for Weapons and Gear by 2, increases mission XP	Permanent	None
Searching Eyes Closed	Mission - Challenge	A blind person's guide to locating objects around their home.	Reduces chance of finding items, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Slow Motion	Mission - Challenge	Take your time. It's fine.	Increases all Action times, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Stepladder to Success	Mission - Challenge	"Getting a job done quickly will push you to the top much quicker than if you'd taken your time."	Reduces Mission time, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Survivor Psychology	General - Challenge	"Often times under duress the usual affects on a persons morale can be multiplied significantly."	Increases Morale effects, increases mission XP	1 Hour or Permanent	None
They Live Again	Combat - Challenge	"Unstoppable and ravenous, they tore through our group in a matter of seconds. We stood no chance."	Increases Infected damage and health, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
WALLOPED!	Combat - Challenge	"Striking with such ferocity the infected now had the ability to decimate our survivors."	Infected can inflict Critical Damage, increases mission XP	Permanent	None
Warzone Logistics	Mission	A military logistics guide that may help you locate more Supply Boxes.	Increases Supply Box drop chance	3 Days or Permanent	None
Whistler's Grove Handyman	Resource	A simple guide to doing handy work around your home while efficiently using resources. Does not work with traps.	Reduces resource costs for repairing destroyed compound buildings	30 Minutes or Permanent	None or 1 Hour
Ammo Conservationist	Combat	Ammunition enthusiast magazine, filled with good articles on ammo conservation.	Reduces cost	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Call of the Clothier	Survival	A guide to finding useful cloth objects around the city.	Increases drop chance	1 Hour or Permanent	None
Plastics - The Future	Survival - Challenge	"By 2055 around 90% of all products, food, pets and possibly children, will be made of plastic."	Reduces , , and drop chance, increases mission XP	1 Hour or Permanent	None
Bull in a China Shop	Mission - Challenge	"When threatened it is important that you make as much noise as possible."	Increases the effects of Noise, increases mission XP	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Modern Metal Finder	Survival	A guide to finding useful metal objects around the city.	Increases drop chance	1 Hour or Permanent	None
Ooooh Shiny!	Mission	"You have one goal. GO. FOR. THE. LOOT."	Reduces Survivor vision range Increases chance of finding Quality items	15 Minutes, 30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Vague Search	Mission	"Search, like, around the area and stuff. You know, like, quickly."	Reduces all Action times,  Reduces chance of finding Quality Items	12 Hours or 1 Day	None
Looter	Resource	Who needs fuel when there's weapons and gear and books!?	Reduces drops Increases chance of finding Quality Items	15 Minutes, 20 Minutes or 1 Day	None
Trained	Combat	A general guide to weapons and gear training. This should help our survivors with their equipment.	Reduces Level Requirement for Weapons and Gear	12 Hours or 1 Day	None
Shoot Softly	Combat	A guide to more accurate shooting. Decreases the damage you can do with firearms while conserving ammunition.	Reduces Projectile Damage for Survivors Reduces ammo cost in Missions	1 Day or Permanent	None
Melee Effort	Combat	"A warrior needs fuel. Fuel in equals damage out. Feed your warrior."	Increases food and water consumption, increases Melee Damage for Survivors	4 Hours or 8 Hours	None
Quality Crafts	Resource	"Spending more time with your tools will show a clear improvement in your crafting projects"	Increases chance of Crafting bonuses Increases Crafting and Upgrading Costs	30 Minutes or Permanent	None
Furious Search	Mission	"By increasing your daily dietary intake, you can increase your activity level substanitally	Increases food and water consumption Increases chance of finding Items	2 Days	None
Organizing Your Home	General	A handy guide to organizing your storage spaces around the home.	Increases Inventory Capacity	Permanent	None
Production Overdrive	Resource	Throws the production of all your resources into overdrive. More food, water, cloth, metal, wood, and ammo!	Increases Resource Production	12 Hours or 3 Days	None
Hardcore	General - Challenge	Only for true survivors.	Increases infected damage, health, infected attacks. Infected can inflict Critical Damae. Increases ammo cost, food and water consumption. Increases the effects of noise. Increases mission XP	Permanent	None
Quick Search	Mission	A guide to ransacking a location. This might result in a little bit of extra noise.	Reduces all Action times Increases the Effects of Noise	12 Hours or 1 Day	None
DIY without a Timeline	Resource - Challenge	A DIY book for retirees. The projects in here look like they take forever.	Increases Repair Time	Permanent	1 Hour
DIY without a Budget	Resource - Challenge	"Don't concern yourself with using too much material, there's always going to be plenty more."	Increases Repair Material Costs	Permanent	1 Hour
Blind Tony's Tinkering	Resource - Challenge	A visually impaired guide to crafting.	Chance to get negative Crafting bonuses	Permanent	1 Hour
Underequipped	Mission - Challenge	You are underprepared and underequipped.	Increases level requirement for Weapons and Gear Increases Mission XP Increases chance of finding Quality items.	1 Days or Permanent	None
Lone Wolf	Mission - Challenge	How to run missions all on your lonesome.	Limits the number of survivors on a Mission to 1 Increases Mission XP Increases chance of finding Quality items.	1 Days or Permanent	None
Danger Time	Mission - Challenge	Any extra time you spend in the zone is dangerous.	Increases Mission time Increasses infected health and damage Infected can inflict Critical Damage.	1 Days or Permanent	None

Gallery

• Rare Gunsmith Monthly that reduces the chance of a bonus.

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References

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