Customer Reviews:
When civilizaton falls, I'll be ready!.......2007-07-14
This book is well written, easy to read and full of useful information on how to survive out in the wild places. Anyone planning for the end of civilization (or just a fun weekend camping in the woods) should read this book.
"A Treasure".......2007-04-20
when i say treasure i don't use that term lightly. i originally read this book in it's entirety and really enjoyed it, then put it down for awhile. However, I have spent numerous hours in the outdoors as of late and have found this as a guide to just about anything i want to do in the outdoors.
I have used it to guide me through making baskets and containers in the wilderness, (and an easter basket for my wife), for skinning a wild animal, for making knifes, arrows, etc. from flint and bone, for guiding me to some edible wild treats. I could go on and on about the uses for this book. And even if this book isn't complete on a particular subject it will guide you to a book that does. Whether it's to one of his books or another field guide series.
Good place to start.......2007-02-11
This book is a great place to start if you're interested in learning outdoor survival. Very practical, not just what to do, but how to think when you're if you're stuck in a survival situation. Clear directions, simple illustrations. Not as dry as, say, a Boy Scout manual.
Survival at it's best........2007-01-10
Tom Brown is a mastermind.I got this book read it,then got all of his field guides. Outdoor survival is my love and Tom Brown has taken me to a whole other level. BUY IT!
Keep this in your pack. .......2006-07-26
This book is the best starting place for those wishing to learn about wilderness survival. The book is well organized and a pleasure to read. The subject matter can be dry, but Mr. Brown does a good job of interlacing his personal experiences with the instructional material. There are two reasons I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. 1) I think it could use more diagrams and pictures. Without an instructor by your side it would be easy to misunderstand some of the more technical skills covered. 2) This book is mainly for temperate regions. While much of the material is useful for any climate, it is missing tropical and artic specific information. Mr. Brown's knowledge of survival and tracking techniques is second to none. His field guides should be on every outdoor enthusiast's book shelf, and this book should be in your pack with you at all times.
Amazon.com
How to Wrestle Free from an Alligator: 4. If its jaws are closed on something you want to remove (for example, a limb), tap or punch it on the snout.
Though it's being marketed as a humorous title--after all, it's unlikely you'll be called upon to land a plane, jump from a motorcycle to a moving car, or win a swordfight--the information contained in The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is all quite sound. Authors Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht consulted numerous experts in their fields (they're cited at the end of the book) to discover how to survive various and sundry awful events. Parachute doesn't open? Your best bet for survival is to hook your arms through the straps of a fellow jumper's chute--and even then you're likely to dislocate both shoulders and break both legs. Car sinking in water? Open the window immediately to equalize pressure, then open the car door and swim to the surface. Buried in an avalanche? Spit on the snow--it will tell you which direction is really up. Then dig as fast as you can.
Each survival skill is explained in simple steps with helpful illustrations. Most stress the need to be prepared--both mentally and physically. For example, to escape from quicksand, you will need to lay a pole on the surface of the quicksand, flop on your back atop the pole, and pull your legs out one by one. No pole? No luck. "When walking in quicksand country, carry a stout pole--it will help you get out should you need to."
Hopefully you'll never need to know how to build a fire without matches, perform a tracheotomy, or treat a bullet wound. But in the words of survival evasion resistance escape instructor "Mountain" Mel Deweese, "You never know." --Sunny Delaney
Book Description
Danger! It lurks at every corner. Volcanoes. Sharks. Quicksand. Terrorists. The pilot of the plane blacks out and it's up to you to land the jet. What do you do? The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is here to help: jam-packed with how-to, hands-on, step-by-step, illustrated instructions on everything you need to know FAST-from defusing a bomb to delivering a baby in the back of a cab. Providing frightening and funny real information in the best-selling tradition of the Paranoid's Pocket Guide and Hypochondriac's Handbook, this indispensable, indestructible pocket-sized guide is the definitive handbook for those times when life takes a sudden turn for the worse. The essential companion for a perilous age. Because you never know...
Download Description
Danger! It lurks at every corner. Volcanoes. Sharks. Quicksand. Terrorists. The pilot of the plane blacks out and it's up to you to land the jet. What do you do? The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook is here to help: jampacked with how-to, hands-on, step-by-step, illustrated instructions on everything you need to know FAST -- from defusing a bomb to delivering a baby in the back of a cab. Providing frightening and funny real information in the best-selling tradition of the Paranoid's Pocket Guide and Hypochondriac's Handbook, this indispensable, indestructible pocket-sized guide is the definitive handbook for those times when life takes a sudden turn for the worse. The essential companion for a perilous age. Because you never know...
Customer Reviews:
The book works..........2007-07-13
I read the book. I saw a car accident. I can't go into further details because it is illegal to perform medical procedures without a degree in medicine. The boy didn't survive (he was brain dead immediately (happens when your head takes a cars bumper)) but his body did and was used to keep two other kids alive.
Laughter and Skills You Hope You Never Need.......2007-04-10
The odds may not be very good that you'll end up in some of these situations, but if you ever do, you'll be glad you read this book. If you never need these skills, then it's great for a laugh.
Entertaining.......2007-02-22
Extreme and extremely funny. Some are more plausible than others but all are thought provoking.
Really good.......2007-01-31
When I bought this book, my girlfrind and some friend where making fun of me, but as soon as one of them started reading it, he couldn't let it down and everybody was reading it. It contains information that I hope I'll never need. It's funny, but at the same time the information provided was well researched.
Great for having at your coffee table, since everyone will comment on it.
I belive it might be useful also for actual surviving....
Three Reasons To Buy This Book.......2007-01-20
One: You just might learn how to save your own life.
Two: You just might learn how to save someone else's life.
Three: You just might impress the hell out of your next date.
I like this book. It's like one of the Dummies titles devoted only to survival skills. It makes you feel like you're just a leetle bit superior to everybody else. The basics are here, but so are some of the coolest factoids, techniques, and tricks I've ever read. If someday you're in a falling elevator/locked in some pervert's trunk/facing an oncoming flash flood/freezing your epidermis off in a snow-covered SUV while driving home from a ski resort where you had a fight with your significant other who was wrong, not you, you'll be glad you bought this book and spent a day reading it. It's cool, it's fun, it's empowering, and it reminds me of someone I knew in college. (Yes, that last detail won't make you rush out and buy it, I know, but...)
Read The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and you'll feel like you're ready for anything life might throw at you!
Amazon.com
Rosehips, rich in vitamin C, will remedy scurvy. Poplar, red cedar, elm, and willow are preferable for friction fires. If stuck on a flat, shelterless desert, dig a shallow pit (east-west) to lie in; even a few feet can result in a 100-degree temperature change. This is the sort of information outdoor enthusiasts will find in Bradford Angier's classic guide to survival in the wilderness. Divided into four parts (sustenance, warmth, orientation, safety), How To Stay Alive in the Woods is packed with woodcraft tips and age-old tricks--and it's packable as well, so don't leave home without it.
Book Description
HOW TO STAY ALIVE IN THE WOODS is a practical, readable-and potentially indispensable-manual for anyone venturing into the great outdoors.
Broken down into four essential sections, Sustenance, Warmth, Orientation and Safety, this enlightening guide reveals how to catch game without a gun, what plants to eat (full-color illustrations of these make identification simple), how to build a warm shelter, make clothing, protect yourself and signal for help. Detailed illustrations and expanded instructions, newly commissioned for this deluxe edition, offer crucial information at a glance, making How to Stay Alive in the Woods truly a lifesaver. A sturdy, durable rubber cover with Dayglo type protects this must-have from the elements.
Customer Reviews:
A fun and handsome book to have around, great to read through or just occaisionally reference........2007-09-08
Like most people who have read this book, I received it as a gift. Perhaps some innate mountain man spirit or boy scout tendencies of mine made somebody think this was an appropriate present to give me around the holidays. Anyways, I appreciated the gift and have only recently gotten around to reading and reviewing it. In this edition of the book the cover is bound in olive drab, grip rubber, not unlike a basketball. This unique cover material makes the book a handsome and manly looking piece of literature if there ever was one.
So what about the content? Well, as a former soldier, I found much of the material consistent with standard military survival manuals, particularly when it comes to woodland survival. The language of the writing is classic 1950's American English, not too removed from those elitist publications put out by the East Coast gentry who cranked out books on every subject following the war. It is, however, not pretentious or condescending, Bradford Angier genuinely has written a book he hopes will assist the stranded, starvation-bound "Average Joe American (or Canadian)."
A fun and attractive book to read with at least a little insight into roughing it, either deliberately or not.
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS, READERS AND PUBLISHERS DESERVE YOUR HONEST OPINIONS.
Survive Anything.......2007-04-12
You won't believe the skills you'll pick up from this handbook on survival in the wild. You'll be able to start a fire with only a piece of ice, among other tricks.
This is a great book.......2007-01-10
I really enjoyed this book. Yes, it is a little outdated, but the ideas are just as valid today. This is written by a writer who lived off the land and knew exactly how to survive in situations that others would give up on. The fact that this was written before the GPS came around doesn't make it any less valuable a resource.
How on earth do you start a fire with only a piece of ice? Read the book! (And yes, I really don't think I could start such a fire even with the book in front of me, but it's nice to know that it is possible...)
How do you create a fish trap out of sticks? How do you create a snare? How do you find civilization if you are lost? How do you find water? What type of things do you need to bring with you on camping trips? What is safe to eat, and what is not? These types of things are all answered inside.
I've read it cover to cover several times and I believe it is the perfect type of book to give to an outdoorsman or to keep down at a cabin for a little light winter reading...
Highly Recommended!
Its ok but i would not recomend it.......2006-04-05
This book was ok but I would not recomend it.Bradford Angeir is not that great of a writer, so there are many parts that are hard to understand.But if you have time on your hands and want to know about the baics of wilderness survival it is preaty good.
Good Book.......2004-02-29
I have never had to use any of the information contained in this book in a susrvival situation but as a kid I did use the information about trapping and snares to catch rabbits in Alaska as a kid (I'm using the third printing 1966 version.) I also built snow shelters to play in. Everything I tried from this book worked.
Customer Reviews:
Over-detailed, but filled with great ideas.......2000-05-02
If you want to expand your campaign beyond the confines of yet another dungeon, this book is an absolute necessity! Here, you'll find complete rules on the wilderness, skills and proficiencies, shelter, weather, encumberance, travel, wandering monsters, climbing, jumping, swimming, flying, hunting, foraging, healing, traps and natural disasters (like quicksand and earthquakes), using magic in the wilderness, and much more. An outstanding compendium of lore that will finally make your campaign world complete, with endless horizons!
Average customer rating:
- Best Book On The Topic
- One of the best books I've ever read
- Very informative
- Good, but could be better
- Don't get lost without it
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Finding Your Way Without Map or Compass
Harold Gatty
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Similar Items:
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Tracking--Signs of Man, Signs of Hope: A Systematic Approach to the Art and Science of Tracking Humans
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Wilderness Evasion: A Guide To Hiding Out and Eluding Pursuit in Remote Areas
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Using a Map and Compass
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The SAS Guide to Tracking (SAS)
ASIN: 048640613X |
Book Description
Today's adventurers will learn how to find their way in the wilderness, in towns, in the desert, in snow-covered areas — even on the ocean — by observing birds, animals, weather patterns, vegetation, shifting sands, patterns of snow fields, and the positions of the sun, moon, and stars.
Customer Reviews:
Best Book On The Topic.......2007-06-08
Clear, concise, practical, completely useful. If you really want to find your way without map or compass, then familiarize yourself with the content. First rate!
One of the best books I've ever read.......2006-08-28
This book covers a subject that is oft-neglected, but is very important to anyone and everyone. It is engagingly written by a true expert. As odd as this may seem, given the subject matter, in many places it is near profound.
Very informative.......2006-06-02
This book is an example of why books are great. The knowledge contained in it would be largely lost or very difficult to compile had hte author not taken the time to publish it. He spent his life learning various methods of navigation around the world from many cultures: cultures not assimilated to the modern or western world.
I've always thought it would be fascinating to learn navigation or tracking from a native or someone who has learned information that has been passed down from generation to generation. Low tech, but very skillful. Art more than science. That is exactly what this book teaches.
The most interesting part for me was the explanation of how Polynesians navigated at sea: following migrating birds, seeing land beyond the horizon by watching reflections on the bottom of clouds, wave variation, and star positions.
There is a lot of good information for both land and sea, plus some for air. The author taught naviation to the US Air Force about the middle of the 20th century.
Good, but could be better.......2002-03-13
This book was able to confront the "old wives tales" to finding your way. An excellent guide for those at sea, but little for land travel. It is best if used in harmony with another outdoor survival guide.
Don't get lost without it.......2000-07-03
This book is a reprint of a classic. The author describes tested methods for finding your way using natural signs rather than map and compass. The methods covered range from the usual -- such as stars, the sun and trees -- to less common ones such as the routes of migratory sea birds or seasonal winds.
If you are travelling in the wilderness (or city; there is even a chapter on how to find your way in a strange city), I strongly recommend this book.
Customer Reviews:
The 10 Bushcraft Books.......2006-02-16
I was fortunate enough to win a copy of Graves' book 'The 10 Bushcraft Books' in 1976. It is in hardcopy and probably covers the same type of content that is included in this other bushcraft book; ropes & cords; huts & thatching; campcraft; food & water; firemaking; knots & lashings; tracks & lures; snares & traps; travel & gear; and, time & direction. It was printed by Hogbin, Poole (Printers) in Sydney, Australia (no printing or copyright dates). FYI, on the dust jacket it gives some background on Graves. He initiated and was the Commanding Officer of 'the Australian Jungle Rescue Detachment, assigned to the Far East American Air Force'. These were 60 specially selected soldiers who 'successfully effected more than 300 rescue missions, most of which were in enemy-held territory, without failure of a mission or loss of a man'. It goes on to say, 'An essential preliminary for rescue was survival, and it was for this purpose that the notes for these books were written. These notes were later revised and prepared for a School of Bushcraft which was conducted for 20 years'. And very accurately states that there 'is nothing quite like them, nor is any collection of bushcraft knowledge under one cover as comprehensive'. The ISBN was/is 0 909824 24. This book may be another option, though probably just as hard to find. Good luck!
Old Faithful.......2003-12-08
I picked up a copy of Bushcraft in 1983 and it has been my constant companion. As an Instructor at the Marine Corps Jungle Survival School in Okinawa I used its lessons extensively and have never found a better manual of wilderness survival. Later, as an instructor for the National Outdoor Wilderness school, I taught my students some of the skills I learned from Bushcraft. If you can find a copy, buy it!
Bushcraft.......2003-01-29
I bought this book way back in the mid 70's when I was in High School. I used it for a reference on my "Extreme" camping adventures. I then found it to be even more valuable and usefull while serving in the 82'd Airborne. I "Lent" this out to a friend and it was never returned. I know that info presented in this book has been used by my friend while assigned as a survival instuctor for a very elite unit in the U.S. Military. I would recommend this book to all who wish to have a practical guide to survival and I'm pleased to finally get a copy back in my hands.
Bushcraft is superb!.......2002-02-07
I purchased this book back in 1983, and I referred to it frequently while I was in the US Army. This book is an excellent read for novice or expert alike, and Graves makes the message simple with straightforward instructions and illustrations. It is a shame that I cannot purchase this book again since I have just about worn out the copy I have!
Kenneth Smith
Forget the Rest!.......2001-11-12
I bought this book 20 years ago, when I was a boy scout in the Pacific Northwest. It accompanied me during my Marine Corps enlistment -- and has been to more countries and climes than most people.
GRAVES writes in a straight forward and brief style that stays on message. Judging from GRAVES experiences and the few pics inside the book, it appears he was in the Aussie SAS -- although he never comes out and says so.
There are numerous sketches in the book that clearly demonstrate his ideas and methods.
I find it amazing that this book has not been reprinted. It is a shame...
Customer Reviews:
A great read.......2007-09-07
Extremely well written! I never lost interest. If you enjoy the outdoors and like to camp, then you'll love this book. If you have kids and want them to enjoy the outdoors and discover what it would be like to live off of the land, then this book is for you. If you'd like to teach your kids how to survive in an emergency situation then this is a good start.
I definitely recommend buying the book and keeping it as a reference guide on your coffee table.
A great read and informative book.......2006-11-11
This is a great book for anyone who is interested in their children's future and well being, as well as strengthening the relationship they share with their children. It is also a great selection for anyone, of any age, who is interested in learning wilderness survival skills and living closer to the Earth. Do not be fooled by the title, this book contains some very advanced techniques that are only taught in some of Tom's most advanced classes. The skills are presented in an easy to learn/easy to teach format and each skill is presented in a way that opens up opportunities to have lots of fun with your children and at the same time pass on invaluable knowledge to them. The book covers most of the basic survival skills such as; Shelter building, where to find water, basic fire making, finding food, easily identifiable edible plants, making tools, cordage, erecting traps and snares, stalking, basic tracking as well as some very advanced techniques such as; camouflage, wide angle vision, night stalking and tracking, lost proofing, Scout games and activities and most importantly a general respect for the Earth and our environment. Highly recommended to anyone, parent or not, who is interested in learning or teaching nature survival skills, and living a more fulfilling life than modern society offers us or our children.
Unique and inspiring.......2002-04-08
This book can be useful to people of any religion. As a Christian, I was not offended, although I agree that the author definitely does not share my spiritual beliefs. We can all benefit from connecting to nature and developing a greater level of understanding/awareness/respect of the beauty that surrounds us... especially as children. Do not pass by this wonderful book because of a religious bias. Remove the wheat from the chaff, absorb the good information and ignore the rest.
I like it.......1999-04-02
I present Stone Age technology in school programs. I find Brown's information quite useful.
You, and your kids, can learn to pay attention to nature........1998-08-08
An excellent resource for parents, teachers, etc. I even found many of the suggestions useful for myself and other adult friends. I used many of the exercises with 3rd through 6th graders as a Girl Scout leader.
Be surprised at how little of the natural world you appreciate on a daily basis. Learn to really see and hear.
Also good for general awareness building and personal security issues for kids in urban environments. A good read.
Amazon.com
Since 1965, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) has been teaching its students how to climb, kayak, and navigate; how to camp without leaving a trace; how to stay warm and dry in the wilderness; how to cope with a backcountry emergency; and how to effectively lead others through such experiences. There are many reasons for spending time in the remote outdoors. Awe-inspiring scenery, peacefulness, wildlife viewing, and exercise are all good reasons. Another is that such experiences build character: "The wildlands teach us to be smart, practical, resourceful, and observant. To hike ten hours through scabrous terrain, cross a brawny river, stay warm in a snowstorm, and navigate your way out of tangled woods tests and builds your best faculties." While no single book can prepare one for spending time in the wilderness--much less impart all the skills necessary to survive in the elements--the NOLS Guide is an eminently useful place to start. Chapters include primers on equipment (fitting boots and packs, choosing a tent, the "Five Commandments for Equipment Care"); appropriate dress for a variety of climates; and ways of traveling in the backcountry, from crossing scree fields to fording rivers. It's not a substitute for in-depth instruction in, say, snow camping, or reading a map and compass. But with a solid grounding in the basics, one can take that first boot-step into what Joseph Wood Krutch called "the great reservoir of energy, of confidence, of endless hope."
Book Description
The classic backpacker's handbook -- revised and updated -- providing expert guidelines for anyone who loves the outdoors.
The Wilderness Guide brings the savvy of the world's most famous and respected outdoor organization to everyone -- from the 16 million backpacking Americans to the more than 265 million people, tenderfeet and trail-hardened hikers, who visit our national parks annually. It covers:
- Selecting equipment -- including discussions of the advantages and disadvantages of products such as the internal frame pack, lighter-weight boots, and freestanding tents
- The latest "leave no trace" camping techniques
- Traveling safely and sensibly -- including vital information on maps, compasses, and tips on crossing difficult terrain
- Backcountry cooking, with tips on building fires and tricks for making gourmet meals
- Search-and-rescue techniques, including how to organize a self-sufficient search group and when to call in professional rescue teams
Illustrated throughout with instructional drawings and photos and featuring lists of equipment, the Wilderness Guide is a must-have for anyone planning to explore the great outdoors.
Customer Reviews:
Hamstrung by the past.......2006-11-21
I've read a lot of backpacking books and go on backpacking trips each month. A lightweight pack is a better way.
You'll love this book, if you think a 5,000ci pack is required for 2 night trips and a 4,000ci pack is required for an overnight, if you think heavy boots are required, or bringing a heavy fleece jacket or wool sweater is good advice.
It covers a lot of different topics. Unlike other books written by "traditional" backpackers, such as O'Bannon's Backpackin' Book, I didn't feel like I skimmed some good ideas from a knowledgeable and experienced traditionalist backpacker. It was mainly regurgitating dogma, some of which is good advice (but readily available from other sources) and much of it myth.
Good for this kind of camping.......2003-09-19
This book isn't for someone who wants to learn to be attuned to nature, or be able to flow with nature. I recommend Tom Brown Jr.'s books.
Excellent!!.......2002-08-25
A very good coverage of a large variety of topics. Learned a lot.
The best book for serious outdoor adventure.......2001-06-20
I read the book in preparation for a mountaineering course - it's great - informative, well written, a good balance of solid content and easy readability. He would be a great person to go up a mountain with - but the book is a little easier to fit in the backpack!
An absolute must for anyone who camps in the non-RV sense of the word.
If you Can't Take Mark Harvey Camping, Take His Book.......2000-01-28
As a carefree college student,I camped quite often, but today, as a thirty year old business owner, I prefer to enjoy the outdoors by day, and to sleep in my warm, safe, familiar home by night. Harvey's Wilderness Guide has not only helped me to more thoroughly enjoy my day hikes, but it has also served as a catalyst to reignite my enthusiasm in camping for more than a Sunday afternoon. Harvey delivers intelligent, informative information in an easy to understand and enthusiastic style. The Wilderness Guide is packed with information, but it is far from bland reading, for Harvey is not only intelligent and well written, but he has a sense of humor as well. I live in Aspen and have spent time with Mark Harvey on numerous occasions. Possibly I will be able to camp with him one day. If not, I always have The National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide.
Book Description
Discover nature by using it! Learn to meet your needs for clothing, shelter, fire, water and food from natural resources. Tom's guide gives you a direct, hands-on experience of the world around you. With this book you will discover the thrill of staying warm and comfortable without even a blanket! Experience the magic of starting a fire by friction. Butcher your own deer and braintan its hide to make warm buckskin clothing. Learn about edible plants of the Rocky Mountain region, plus processing techniques and "primitive gourmet" skills like making wild strawberry ashcake pies or stir-fry cooking without a pan.
This book is the source for in depth coverage of tire sandals, bedroll packs and pack frames, felting with wool, quick bows and bone arrowheads, sinews, hide glue, trapping, fishing by hand, water purification, birch bark canisters, willow baskets, primitive pottery, wooden containers, cordage, twig deer, stalking skills, simple stone knives, flint & steel, bowdrill and handdrill fire-starting.
Participating in Nature includes dozens of innovative skills and an incredible 350 pictures and illustrations plus a thoughtful philosophy. Tom does extensive experiential research. He places an emphasis on publishing new information that is not found in any other source.
Customer Reviews:
Participating in Nature.......2007-10-03
Thomas Elpel practices primitive living skills and is the director of Hollowtop Outdoor Primitive School (HOPS) in Pony, Montana. This book is not essentially about how to survive in the wilderness, nor is it about abandoning the modern world and living a primitive, pre-industrial lifestyle. Elpel seeks merely to remind us of our place in the ecosystem and to show us how to get along in the wilderness without the modern conveniences we benefit from in our daily lives. In the second chapter, Mind, he spends some time thinking about the primitive and the modern. "As for a philosophy about technology and society," he writes, "remember that all technologies are relative, and that they are neither good nor bad, but it is how we use them that makes them that way." Speaking of fire during the early ages of humankind, he reminds us: "Fire was a means to keep warm and cook food and makes tools, but it was also a technology that could be used to wage war and ravage ecosystems, both of which happened." (pg 13) The rest of the book is about what some of us would think of as skills and knowledge for survival: shelter, fire, water, cooking, plants, animals, clothing. But his focus is on enjoying those skills and knowledge now, in non-survival situations, as a means to realize or rediscover our place in nature, to "participate in nature", as the title suggests.
It is an extraordinary book, and I would evaluate it beyond the 5 stars Amazon provides. It is certainly well beyond the 4 stars I gave to Davenport's Wilderness Survival in an earlier review. Without the need to create a comprehensive survival manual, Elpel is allowed to go into detail and talk to us, without haste yet to the point, about the procedures he is showing us, and to tell us what has and what hasn't worked for him. The book, in that sense, a personal book, but it is not egocentric, and it is certainly not cloying with emotion, although there are emotions expressed.
His chapters on shelter and fire are excellent. He analyzes the concept of shelter into the four elements of shingling, fire, insulation, and air-proofing, because "instead of merely giving you some various shelters to replicate, I want to teach you how to think shelter." (pg 28) He spends a good amount of time discussing the bow drill and the hand drill, but does not neglect other methods, including flint and steel. In his chapter on Cooking he shows in detail how to find and prepare clay and how to form it and fire it into cooking pots.
The chapter on Plants is, frankly, overwhelming. Many of the illustrations in this chapter are line drawings, not photos, so this is not the place to learn the identification of edible plants, but Elpel does cover a large variety of them, with helpful information on harvesting - where and when, and how long it might take with a simple digging stick - and how they are best prepared and eaten. He is writing from experience, not untried knowledge. The book is not a compilation from other books. It is a report from the field.
It should be no surprise that someone as enthusiastic about primitive living skills as Elpel should prefer hunting with tools he has fashioned by hand. In the chapter on Animals he shows in detail how to construct arrows and a simple bow by hand, using a modern knife. He discusses hide glue and using tendons for sinew. Then he spends several pages, complete with photos, explaining how to butcher a road kill deer. Lastly, he mentions the spear and throwing stick, and briefly discusses deadfall traps, but says little otherwise in this chapter about hunting and trapping.
Having shown us how to butcher deer, he then shows us, in the chapter on Clothing, how to braintan its hide. There is a lot of rich detail here. Elpel is a practitioner of primitive living skills, not just a compiler, so he has years of experience - learning from his own experiments, mistakes and achievements - from which he teaches these skills to others. The chapter continues with making tire sandals and felting wool. As the book nears its end, he shows us how to make a primitive backpack, with or without a frame, and gives us a list of what he takes with him when he camps during the various seasons.
Primitive living skills can be enjoyed in themselves and are useful for wilderness survival. Whatever the basis of your interest, this book is an excellent source and a great pleasure to read. Highly recommended.
Not very detailed.......2006-07-26
This book is best described as an overview. It lacks detail and covers too many subjects.
Great practical book.......2006-06-29
What I liked most about this book is that the author tried to strike a balance between using only the most basic and natural tools and using resources derived from civilization.
A bit overwhelmed..........2006-02-07
Wow, this book is for someone who wants a little more nature than I could handle! I'm very glad the deer gutting is in black and white - I am still a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information in the book. Haven't read it cover to cover yet, but can see why it's getting such high ratings.
I'm not about to go into the deep woods or mountains, gut deers and make my own purified water....but I sure think it would be major fun, making our own fire and some ash cakes in the back yard.
My kids are in Scouts, as well as 4-H and Special Olympics....I can see MANY things in this book that could be used, especially in the Scouts, for the kids to learn and have fun - my favorite way - HANDS ON.
I don't think the book should suffer less than 5 stars from me just because it's bursting with so much information I had a mild nature overdose while reading. I'd absolutely rather have so much info I might not use it all, than the other way around. I don't think it would be possible for me to ever 'outgrow' all the info in this book. So a solid ***** five stars.
From the Island Park News - Rocky Mountain Expressions.......2002-01-08
Ever wonder how to start a fire with a bowdrill, weave a basket, build a stone oven, blow a coal-burned cup, or make reliable and comfortable shoes? Which plants are edible or medicinal, and what material makes the best bows and arrows? I've thought about these things and others, never really dwelling on them for long. None of these were on my list of things to learn to do for 2001Ñbut they should have been. I moved to the country to be closer to nature and to be more a part of it, and it's about time. So where do we start?
Take a beautiful quiet morning, before sunrise. Sit on a peaceful overlook with a view that you know will be breathtaking once the morning light touches it. Watch the stars shine until they fade into the half-light. Feel the dew on the grass and in the air. Listen to the day birds begin their chorus. Notice the smells that waft by on a soft breeze. Watch the animals begin or end their regular rituals as the morning breaks. Write a book.
This is how Pony, Montana resident Thomas J. Elpel wrote Participating in Nature. It begins before daybreak, and is written so that as you grow in understanding of many things natural, a day unfolds and runs its course. By evening, near the end of the book, you have learned how to do several things, and why.
This is not a survival book written for guerillas, though they might find it very useful. It is a book written for the average worker who wants to get away from it all or the family that wants to do something special together. It's those who want to learn something new, a new way of doing something old, or enrich their relationship with nature. It's a must-read for anyone who is interested in doing something on a personal level to help maintain and restore Earth.
Even if you don't consider yourself an environmentalist, you probably don't mind saving money, stimulating your brain, or learning a new stress-relieving habit. Learning skills such as those found in Participating in Nature could also help answer questions like "what do you want to do this summer?" or even the ever-annoying "are we there yet?"
Throughout the pages of this "Field Guide to Primitive Living Skills," you'll find pictures of the author's work with other medium also. Some of the photography is his, and most of the artwork, making it a book that is not only useful but attractive as well. Now that you understand the utilitarian and aesthetic qualities of the book, I'll move on to the style. In this, I've saved the best for last. He may describe it as a field guide, but don't let the name fool you. This is no dry instruction manual filled with only technical descriptions and directions for use. Oh, the step-by-step is there so you'll know you're getting it right, but there is so much more than that within these pages.
As I mentioned before, he wrote this as a day that progresses, and his details take you to the very spot where he sits wrapped in a blanket, leaning agaist a fir tree as the morning gradually pushes the night westward. By sunset, he has explored and explained Mind, Shelter, Fire, Water, Cooking, Plants, Animals, and Clothing. These are the chapters of the day that is the book. Of course, he adds a bibliography and a fairly comprehensive index.
"My tea is hot. I put away my journal and my pen... Then I sit back and think about what it is that I am seeking....
"I have always been drawn towards the idea of being able to move lightly, freely, almost invisibly through the ecosystem, to be like the breeze, being present, but invisible.... and I am referring to the Indian scouts from another era, is symbolic of that desire.
"...it is something I seek distinctly for myself. It is my dream to be able to move and live as the scout, to travel unhindered, hopping, skipping, and gliding through the wilderness."
Of course there are "trade-offs" that the author recognizes: "For me taking less gear means I can travel farther and faster, but it also means I have to spend more of my time providing for my sustenance....
"Thus I seek to balance what I take and what I bring so that I can have both the lightest load and the most free time."
Thomas Elpel writes from his experience with nature. "Primitive living is a metaphor we participate in. We journey into the Stone-Age and quest to meet our basic needs. We learn to observe, to think, to reach inside ourselves for new resources to deal with challenging and unfamiliar situations."
Aren't those the skills we need for everyday living even in the Space-Age?
-Deb Anne Flynt
Book Description
This unique book addresses the basic survival skills needed to keep you alive and healthy in the woods, suburbs, and city. Each chapter focuses on a primary area of concern--water, fire, food, shelter, clothing, tools, and weapons--describing in detail practices applicable to all environments. This one-of-a-kind guide provides real solutions to life-threatening situations caused by natural or man-made disasters, as well as the challenges encountered by anyone who wants to live more independently from modern systems, for a few days or a lifetime.
Customer Reviews:
Covers a lot of ground.......2007-04-28
Very well written and thought out. Covers a lot of ground thats both useful to a survival situation and a primitive lifestyle. There is something for everyone to learn in this book.
Opened my eyes to new ideas and rekindled the basics of what I knew.......2007-03-04
This is a well written book on Survival and preparedness.
This belongs in everyone's library.
A must read....
Tom tob9595
This is a valuable book.......2007-02-20
There are a great many books on survival in all manner of settings, but I've not seen one that attempts the scope of this one.
I found his style straightforward and engaging, and the material very helpful. I can't emphasize enough how much ground this book covers. No single book will be the comprehensive manual for all scenarios, and Nyerges doesn't attempt that. What he does, and well in my opinion, is to provide a solid general foundation that can be applied to a wide range of circumstances, situations which are likely to become relevant to not just the outdoorsman, but also to the average person living in cities prone to floods, earthquakes, and other such crises.
Sure, as one of the other reviewers mentioned, given the breadth of what's covered the author might have provided more detail in some sections. But for most people that would mean a book that weighs in at more than a thousand pages and winds up spending more time looking impressive on someone's book shelf than in their hands where it can inspire good thinking about these things.
As the author himself points out, there are other resources where more detailed information can be found on specific topics, and Nyerges provides those references. But at the same time he covers the basics sufficiently here, and in many cases goes beyond the basics.
Is this book the ultimate bible on saving your skin? I don't think any single book will be. But as an introduction to the skills and awareness needed to survive in a wide range of likely scenarios, this book does what it sets out to do, and in a format that's accessible for the average reader.
I've bought a few copies for friends and family, and even have one more on its way to me now.
A lot of not so common sense.......2007-01-10
The casual reader might think this another one of thousands of "Survival Manuals" out there, but Nyerges does a nice job of making it a "self reliance" manual. I sometimes think that some of these books are written by people wanting to sell something, but this book had some excellent "not so common" sense advice about making your home self sufficient, and not calling attention to oneself. It may not impress the tactical gear loving crowd so much, but I think the book should be on everyone's bookshelf who has an interest in long-term survival.
A seriously lacking work.......2006-12-30
Christopher Nyerges is a renowned wilderness survival instructor with decades of experience and a special knack for wilderness foodstuffs. With this knowledge I - an avid outdoorsman and amateur botanist - awaited the arrival of my first book by this author. It being a brand new volume on a subject with great many predecessors, I was anticipating the latest, up-to-date basic information on how to stay alive in unexpected catastrophies of various magnitude.
No book with a pompous, all-encompassing title like "How to Survive Anywhere" can possibly live up to its name, let alone a 264-page pocket book. But not being one to judge a book by it's cover, I read the book with an open mind. (Besides, titles like this are often not made up by the author but by the publisher.) Turned out naming was not the only fault in this work.
"NOTE: This book does not comprehensively deal with navigation and direction-finding," is a disclaimer the ninth chapter of "How to Survive Anywhere" starts with. Unfortunately, the same warning characterizes much of this book.
Besides water Nyerges puts an emphasis on discussing fire - the need for it and how to make it, and rightly so. But even this vital survival subject is plagued with hard-to-understand omissions. For instance, nowhere is the crucial latter half of every pre-matchstick firemaking method - the nurturing and feeding of the tiny initial coal into flaming tinder -explained or shown. Without that knowledge the survival firemaker is bound to fail, no matter how good an improvised fire set she managed to come up with. Moreover, while a dozen firemaking methods are listed here, not a word is spent on how to get a fire going after ignition succeeds: what to gather for firewood and what not, how much to gather it for various situations, how to arrange the wood for optimal combustion and different needs, or how to keep the fire at bay during sleep - none of these phenomenally important "What then?"-questions are answered. Firebuilding is an art as much as firemaking, and one without the other leads to perishing instead of survival.
An issue like improvised weapons is glossed over with two pages (!) in a style more often found in RPG handbooks: instead of giving a single useful fact on how to make any of these weapons, let alone use them, Nyerges tells us (p. 206) that "Initial practice is necessary to learn how to swing and release the sling" or that boomerangs are such that "If unskilled, don't rely on this method for hunting." Dull truisms are on offer here as well as elsewhere, with little more than clumsy line drawings to show us what a weapon like bow and arrow kind of look like to complete the chapter.
When discussing edible wild plants Nyerges' grasp sharpens temporarily - one can see where this man's actual hands-on knowledge lies. However, little else than good pointers (worth the single star) on how to start one's own botanical studies follow - 2x3" singular black&white photos of edible plants are truly insuffient for positive identification. And while a dozen nearly global edible plants are briefly introduced, no hard information on the nutritional value of them is given. Plants like chickweed (p.183) and purslane (p. 190) are tasty and rich with micronutrients, but contain so little energy that one would starve to death even if she ate purslane and chickweed all day long. Even a basic discussion of energy plants vs. salad plants, or of the nutritional priorities of people in a survival situation is left untouched here.
Instead of a to-the-point, efficient manual on 21st century survival techniques this book is a loosely organized, out-of-focus ramble more appropriately titled "Some Notes by a Veteran Survivalist", with tales like how Nyerges once spent a night in an outhouse. "The odor was not terribly bad", Nyerges informs potential farmyard survivors. Elsewhere he spends a good portion of a page to recommending the products of a certain Eli Miller, an Amish beltmaker. In a global survival book! Earlier, three pages and four photographs are used to illustrate the making of a yucca brush, hardly the information one needs to know when faced with immediate dangers like hypothermia, dehydration, hostile people and animals or injury.
Instead of showing us how to "survive anywhere", the author seems keen to give recommendations to numerous other survival / primitive skills books by renowned authors such as John McPherson or Thomas Elpel. "Read it", Nyerges says in more than a couple of occasions. "..instead of this", I have to add. Truly one of the worst survival books I've read in a genre known for its share of armchair experts.
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Tom Brown's Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants (Tom Brown's Field Guide)
Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking (Tom Brown's Field Guides)
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The Tracker
Tom Brown's Science and Art of Tracking
