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Survival Book Resources

Captain Spaulding

Captain Spaulding

Joined
Apr 4, 2009
Messages
1,140
Ok, having perused the first 16 pages of topics I did not see this question.

Having just gotten a lovely gift certificate for amazon I am looking for the best survival manual that is the smallest in physical size. I don't want to carry the weight of a larger book and I am competent in the outdoors...I am looking for something small of stature and concise and simple to follow for a companion should something happen to me on an excursion.

Any suggestions?
 
Mors Kochanski's 'Bushcraft' is a smaller sized one. Pictures, simple language. Only thing is it is more for northern woods type climates although still applicable for the most part....


A really small SAS Survival Guide by Lofty Wiseman is out as well. It's super small!
 
Is it general enough so as to be useful in the San Juan and RockyMountains fo Colorado or is it specific to a geographic region?

What is the title or isbn of the SAS book?
 
If it is the Wiseman book I have the newest addition on order now...as an aside you guys would love that book by Neil Strauss...Emergency. great read.

Any thoughts on a good trapping/tracking book? Hopefully one that covers both?
 
Captain Spaulding said:
If it is the Wiseman book I have the newest addition on order now...as an aside you guys would love that book by Neil Strauss...Emergency. great read.

Any thoughts on a good trapping/tracking book? Hopefully one that covers both?
Click to expand...

Well I not sure that this book this book is as small as you want. It's dimensions are 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches. But Wildwood Wisdom http://www.amazon.com/Wildwood-Wisdom-Ellsworth-Jaeger/dp/0936070129 is arguably the best wilderness survival book I have ever come across; and I have bought many.
 
I have the Collins Gem SAS Survival Guide by John Wiseman and it is decent, Very small... ISBN: 0-00-470167-4
 
Small sized Wiseman SAS book AND the Kochanski Bushcraft book are both a great
size to carry.
 
Ive been looking for something similar. I have Kochanskis Bushcraft and the little SAS book, but I dont think either of them is a "survival field guide". They both have a ton of irrelevant stuff in them when considering that theyd be used in the woods. E.g. building a survival kit (a bit too late for that when your lost in the woods? :)), ten essentials, selecting gear, how to survive in Sahara...

Ive been actually thinking about making my own book/booklet. Something with info thats usable while in the woods:

S.T.O.P.
Rule of fours
First Aid
Natural shelters
Wild edibles
Navigation

... and so on. Basic hands-on info.
 
Collins Gem offers several small books on outdoor/survival books. SAS Survival Guide resides in my pack. The Hillwalkers Survival Guide is fair. There are also books on first aid and knots. They are inexpensive, and slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes. Also, a way to kill two birds at once, is a pack of survival cards. Get your info and play solitaire at the same time. I like the ones with the naked ladies better thou.
 
Captain Spaulding said:
looks like a ton of info on every aspect of the outdoors. I bookmarked him for future purchases.
Click to expand...

You won't regret anything you purchase from him. With his knowledge and the right gear, you can truly eat everyday without calories wasted stalk hunting.

His stuff is short on fluff and flair, long on reality.
 
attej said:
Ive been looking for something similar. I have Kochanskis Bushcraft and the little SAS book, but I dont think either of them is a "survival field guide". They both have a ton of irrelevant stuff in them when considering that theyd be used in the woods. E.g. building a survival kit (a bit too late for that when your lost in the woods? :)), ten essentials, selecting gear, how to survive in Sahara...

Ive been actually thinking about making my own book/booklet. Something with info thats usable while in the woods:

S.T.O.P.
Rule of fours
First Aid
Natural shelters
Wild edibles
Navigation

... and so on. Basic hands-on info.
Click to expand...

attej has a great idea. Buy any book, study it, learn from it, put into practice the things you learn (so you know you can do them and they actually work) and put the information and drawings on paper and laminate them. That way, you'll only have the information you consider important, with none of the fluff.

I kind of did this with laminated cards with survival tips for the PSK, I made for jwilliams. For me, one useful card would be ground to air signals because I can never remember them.

DSC04011.jpg


Doc
 
Doc as usual you are sharing a very good idea.

There is an SAS guide out called Essential Survival Skills or SAS Essential Survival Skills.

It is excerpted from wisemans work but is just the essential info that applies everywhere. It is very compact but very comprehensive for its size.

There used to be an aircrewmans copy of the Air Force Survival Guide that was the size of a pocket notebook.

Run a search on amazon with the keyword survival and you'll come up with a lot of books. Amazon ven makes it possible to preview the book.
 
wildmike said:
Doc as usual you are sharing a very good idea.

There is an SAS guide out called Essential Survival Skills or SAS Essential Survival Skills.

It is excerpted from wisemans work but is just the essential info that applies everywhere. It is very compact but very comprehensive for its size.

There used to be an aircrewmans copy of the Air Force Survival Guide that was the size of a pocket notebook.

Run a search on amazon with the keyword survival and you'll come up with a lot of books. Amazon ven makes it possible to preview the book.
Click to expand...

I found it here, but it says it hasn't yet been released??? :confused:

Doc
 
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