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- Apr 9, 2006
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Recently my wife set aside a mailer for the National Geographic Complete Survival Manual a while back. I was intrigued, so I ordered the book to check it out, since my knowledge and skills can use whatever help I can get. 
From what I've seen so far, it's fairly well thought out, however, each topic only gets about 2-4 pages of print. It starts with the basics of preparation of mind, body and gear, then the basics of water, navigation, first aid, etc. then moves on to surviving in different climates and regions. Last couple of chapters touch on natural disasters and survival on the home front. When appropriate some of the topics have some tips thrown in from sources such as the U.S. Army, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and the America Red Cross. There are some maps in the back of the book for different purposes and some survival stories scattered about the book from various sources as well.
From what I've seen so far, this book covers the basics very well, is very well laid out and easy to understand. It would be good to chuck into a pack (it's apparently made of weather resistant material :thumbup
and have handy if something were to happen, and a person needed it for reference to set priorities, basics, get grounded etc. There are other books that cover this material more in-depth. This book kind is kind of makes me think of a stripped down version of the SAS Survival Handbook by Lofty Wiseman.
With the last statement, I'm not trying to bash the book in any way, because IMHO this book is definitely a keeper.
Disclaimer: I'm in no way associated with the National Geographic Society or trying to advertise for them, I just ordered this book from them and thought I'd regale you all with my crappy book review writing style!
Thanks for your time guys! -Matt-
From what I've seen so far, it's fairly well thought out, however, each topic only gets about 2-4 pages of print. It starts with the basics of preparation of mind, body and gear, then the basics of water, navigation, first aid, etc. then moves on to surviving in different climates and regions. Last couple of chapters touch on natural disasters and survival on the home front. When appropriate some of the topics have some tips thrown in from sources such as the U.S. Army, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and the America Red Cross. There are some maps in the back of the book for different purposes and some survival stories scattered about the book from various sources as well.
From what I've seen so far, this book covers the basics very well, is very well laid out and easy to understand. It would be good to chuck into a pack (it's apparently made of weather resistant material :thumbup
and have handy if something were to happen, and a person needed it for reference to set priorities, basics, get grounded etc. There are other books that cover this material more in-depth. This book kind is kind of makes me think of a stripped down version of the SAS Survival Handbook by Lofty Wiseman.With the last statement, I'm not trying to bash the book in any way, because IMHO this book is definitely a keeper.
Disclaimer: I'm in no way associated with the National Geographic Society or trying to advertise for them, I just ordered this book from them and thought I'd regale you all with my crappy book review writing style!
Thanks for your time guys! -Matt-
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