Good books on Wilderness Skills?

[RokJok]

There used to be one called "How To Stay Alive in the Woods" by Bradford Ainger ( not sure of the spelling of the last name) It was a pretty good book geared more for North America. It is probably out of print now.

Really close on the spelling -- his last name is Angier. He has been hiking around the wilderness and writing books about it for decades. The book you recommend is available both new & used at Alibris.com webpage for Bradford Angier for as little as $2.95. They have several other books by him as well.

 

[abo4ster]

Well said Trout Tamer. Some books only mention that a plant is edible. Unless you are positive on the identification and source is descriptive on what part, what season(s), and preparation method if it doesn’t denote raw, it is not worth taking the chance.

Plants are what real food eats anyway.

 

[rnpollard]

This is available in hardback and soft as well. I've seen it at shows for $10. Lots of pictures and covers a lot of the bases. Fire, shelter, clothing but it also goes into weapons, hunting, skinning etc. A good read too.

 

[Brian Jones]

Trout Tamer and Quiet Bear,

Agreed on all counts. The other caveat is mistaken identity on plants: some plants that are edible look almost exactly like some that are deadly poisonous, and even top experts have trouble telling the diffeence without a lab experiment.

Also, many of the illustrations -- especially line drawings -- are inadequate for true I.D. purposes.

Also, some books talk about the basic "safe" plants to eat, and they include pines and grasses. Unfortunately, they don't tell you that some grasses are afflicted with fungal diseases, and you must check the seeds to make sure they aren't blackened or otherwise discolored. You could be in a world of hurt otherwise.

Also, some of the SAS survival improv techniques mentioned in the SAS survival guide, regarding using anti-freeze, will not work in the U.S., as the anti-freeze compounds are different here because of emissions/pollution regulations.

As always, try every technique in a a safe environment before relying on it in the wilderness

Best,

~B.

 

[CharlesMayKnives]

taxonomic botany (plant identification) is discipline that requires years of careful study...books on edible plants are too broad in scope or area (i.e- Edible Plants of North America)...even regional books, for example - Edible Plants of Mississippi dont always include all the possibilities as the natural range of plants vary greatly within this state...edible species in the south part of the state may not even occur in the north part...the safest way to learn the edible plants in a specific area is to find and accompany a trained botanist or well-versed expert to show you particular edible species...

Brian, Trout Tamer and Quiet Bear hit this dead on..illustrations and even pictures and totally inadequate for positive indentification...tomatoes are great on sandwiches but all other parts of the plant are seriously toxic...they are members of the deadly Nightshade family (Solanaceae)

although books can be a valueable general tool for learning which plants are edible, nothing can replace the time spent with a knowledgeable forager...and if you think plants are difficult to identify, try the edible fungi...your chances of making a mistake just increased 10X

not to scare anyone away from using edible plants as a food source but get the proper training from an expert b/4 venturing forth...that said there are some great books and plenty of websites that will aid in increasing your knowledge base in this area