It is NOT useful for hikers/backpackers/boaters etc. who are worried that if they get lost or stuck they need survival skills to last until rescued.

It has a information on topics such as building a bow and arrow, setting trap lines of 100-200 traps, making stone tools, and tanning hide (all things that require considerable time, energy, and practice). What it does not have is any information on getting rescued - not even a mention of what makes a good distress signal.

I haven't read many survival books, but if you're looking for a "survive until rescued" book check out The Complete Book of Outdoor Survival by J. Wayne Fears.


Survival skills   July 26, 2003
 29 out of 30 found this review helpful

I have read many survival books including: Wilderness Survival; the October 1970 edition of the Army Feild Manual; Living off the Country;Tom Brown's Feild Guide to Wilderness Survival;and this one as well as many others. Aside from Tom Brown's feild guide, this book is definately one of the best I have read. I would rate Tom Brown's feild guide higher than this one, but the two together make a great pair. Both cover topics such as the four great needs: shelter, water, fire, and food, as well as weapons, edible plants and animals et cetera, but they both explain different techniques and different ways of doing the above mentioned topics. The back of this book has color photos of many plants that are edible.
I strongly reccommend buying both books, they are very similar yet you can learn more from both than you can from just one.
If you don't wan't both then I reccommend Tom Brown's Guide. Either way you go, try to use your library and the internet in conjunction with the books.


ShortChanged   October 13, 2001
 1 out of 35 found this review helpful

The book seems to be very good but when I opened the front cover it starts out with Page 31. In other words I was cheated out of the first part up to page 31.


good book   November 7, 2000
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

All the chapters were difinitely helpful. The colorplate of plants in the back stated what you could use each plant for. However, when it mentioned if a plant was medicinal or not, it didn't give you any info on how they where medicinal or what they could do or how to use them. Overall a Very informative book about surviving in the wilderness.


Good Information but out of my range   February 10, 2000
 51 out of 52 found this review helpful

Personally, I thought the book was rather good. Some of the ideas this book provides are so simple and effective that you are amazed that you never thought of it before. The person who wrote it clearly has much experience in living in the woods with nothing, though. I didn't find many of the explanations to complete or clear enough. In addition, I live in Connecticut. The author really focuses on surviving in the desert and similar areas. This would make sense, as he was born in the Southwest, but for people like myself, this applies very little to the completely different woodland terrain.