good reads on jungle survival

M

mtwarden

Joined
Sep 27, 2009
Messages
2,656
fiction or non-fiction, looking for some reading material- toying w/ a trip (maybe Peru?) next year :D

tia
 
Definitly talk to Jeff Randall, he's the jungle expert for sure. Maybe if you're going you can sign up for his class down there.
 
Yossi Ghinsberg spent quite a while with a group of friends lost in the Amazon for a fairly long time.

Here's the summary from Amazon:
"A classic adventure book in the spirit of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Heart of Darkness. Four travelers meet in Bolivia and set off into the heart of the Amazon rainforest, but what begins as a dream adventure quickly deteriorates into a dangerous nightmare, and after weeks of wandering in the dense undergrowth, the four backpackers split up into two groups. But when a terrible rafting accident separates him from his partner, Yossi is forced to survive for weeks alone against one of the wildest backdrops on the planet. Stranded without a knife, map, or survival training, he must improvise shelter and forage for wild fruit to survive. As his feet begin to rot during raging storms, as he loses all sense of direction, and as he begins to lose all hope, he wonders whether he will make it out of the jungle alive.

Lost in the Jungle is the story of friendship and the teachings of nature, and a terrifying true account that you won’t be able to put down."

I haven't read the book but saw a special on it on Discovery or the Science Channel, or something.

The name of the book is "Lost in the Jungle" and it's supposed to be a pretty good read with lots of lessons learned.

Might be worth reading and reporting back here about it.
 
the Jungle is Neutral is evidently out of print, I'll try my library

^ Lost in the Jungle sounds intriguing- thanks for the suggestion :)
 
kage said:
Yossi Ghinsberg spent quite a while with a group of friends lost in the Amazon for a fairly long time.

Here's the summary from Amazon:
"A classic adventure book in the spirit of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Heart of Darkness. Four travelers meet in Bolivia and set off into the heart of the Amazon rainforest, but what begins as a dream adventure quickly deteriorates into a dangerous nightmare, and after weeks of wandering in the dense undergrowth, the four backpackers split up into two groups. But when a terrible rafting accident separates him from his partner, Yossi is forced to survive for weeks alone against one of the wildest backdrops on the planet. Stranded without a knife, map, or survival training, he must improvise shelter and forage for wild fruit to survive. As his feet begin to rot during raging storms, as he loses all sense of direction, and as he begins to lose all hope, he wonders whether he will make it out of the jungle alive.

Lost in the Jungle is the story of friendship and the teachings of nature, and a terrifying true account that you won’t be able to put down."

I haven't read the book but saw a special on it on Discovery or the Science Channel, or something.

The name of the book is "Lost in the Jungle" and it's supposed to be a pretty good read with lots of lessons learned.

Might be worth reading and reporting back here about it.
Click to expand...


I watched a documentary on these guys. Two out of four of them end up dying. Three friends paid a local "guide" to take them on a hike through the jungle. The "guide" turns out to be an idiot and gets them lost. They find a river and the group splits up. The guide and one other guy want to keep traveling overland to get out, the other two want to build a raft and float the river to safety. The two men who continued to walk at this point were never seen again. The two who decided to float, after the raft breaks up in rapids and separates the men, both get out about eight or nine days later (very long story short). Basically its a huge story of what not to do with a whole lotta luck in between.
 
I had a coupon from Barnes and Noble and ended ordering Jeff's book- Adventure Travel in a Third World Country and Lost in the Jungle by Yossi Ghinsberg

In my search, I also bumped into the SAS Jungle Survival Guide (may be out of print?) and Jungle Travel and Survival by John Walden- anyone rear either of those?
 
I have a lot of respect for Jeff Randall. I would definitely look to him as a resource and if you're thinking about Peru, get in on his jungle training course!
 
^^ that does look like an interesting video to say the least :)

^ thanks- looks like it got very good reviews

^^^I looked at Jeff's site and saw the school he holds in Peru, looks great- won't make this Octobers, but it's definitely something I'd be interested in
 
wanted to update this thread, just got through w/ Lost in the Jungle- it's a GREAT read.

the guy made quite a few mistakes (which are still good learning moments for the rest of us), but he also did a lot of things right

more than anything you'll come away with how important the will to survive is in your "toolbox", you'll probably have a new appreciation for the jungle as well

definitely a two thumbs up book :)
 
Mtwarden: thanks for reporting back on that book. It just got bumped up further on the book buy list.
 
Look up the book that Hiroo Onada wrote on his thirty years of holding out in the Phillipine jungle. I think it was called "Onada" or something like that.

It was a facinating look at how they made shelters for long term use, storing things in old Whiskey bottles that they sealed up with cloth and sap and stored in caves, using coconut oil to preserve thier rifles, making sandels and clothing. Had lots on very well done drawings in them showing how they lived.
 
There was a young woman who was the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Amazon jungle.She wrote a book about her adventure .Sorry that I don't know her name or that of the book.
Peter Fleming wrote a book about some crazies who went to the Amazon to search for some fellow Englishmen. It's a very funny book ." Brazilian Adventure"
 
Last edited:
mete said:
There was a young woman who was the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Amazon jungle.She wrote a book about her adventure .Sorry that I don't know her name or that of the book.
Peter Fleming wrote a book about some crazies who went to the Amazon to search for some fellow Englishmen. It's a very funny book ." Brazilian Adventure"
Click to expand...

that must be "One Left Alive", a 17 year old German girl who was the lone survivor of a plane crash in the Peruvian jungle- out of print unfortunately (maybe the library)

I'll be starting Jeff's book next :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top