Survival Guides/Handbooks

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safetyman

safetyman

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Are the 'SAS Survival Guide Series' handbooks (SAS Survival Guide, Essential Survival) decent survival wilderness skills/survival books? I have read some about them but I wanted to get input from those of you who have or had them previously. I am looking to buy my first survival guide/handbook and am wondering if the duo I mentioned above would be a good starter pack.
 
It is a good book but I prefer "how to stay alive in the woods" better....but I do keep a copy of SAS mini version in my BOB just because of its size.
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that book Camping & wilderness survival by Paul Tawrell has more info than you can shake a stick at,for every climate region.....I highly recommend it but it is costly($35US)
 
I agree with Tony, I have only read a few books on the subject, but I really like "How To Stay Alive In The Woods" by Angier.
 
I'm actually with Tony on this one. Check out Bradford Angier's "How To Stay Alive In The Woods". It's really nice, and even has a full-color plant guide in it. The way the cover is made (out of some kind of OD colored green textured rubber) it can be carried with you in your field kit for a reference. :thumbup:
 
I just remembered I had a copy of "How to stay alive in the woods" from back when so I dug it out. Twenty first printing, 1978. Hard to believe I've had it for 30 years now. It's well worn but still serviceable. Time to read through it again. Also found "The Outdoorsman's Emergency Manual" by Anthony Acerrano, 1976 printing, and "Survival- How to prevail in hostile environments" by Xavier Maniguet, much newer with a 1994 publish date.

Guess it's time to look through those as well for good tidbits, if there are any. Glad you guys brought this up!
 
Just to add a little kindling to the fire....Mors Kochanski's Bushcraft is almost required reading for the north country and his chapters on the use of knife and axe are worth the cost of the book....Tony Nester's Desert Survival is written by a very practical guy who goes there and does that....He has spent a lot of time being hot, thirsty and uncomfortable all good stuff....A few years ago Laurence Gonzales wrote Deep Survival, an incredible look at why some of us make it and some of us don't when the doo doo gets really deep really fast....His discussion of the meetings our brains convene of the commitee to fight, flee, or give it up are worth the cost of his book....Just knowing how the process works can make a huge difference in the outcome......In looking over Tawrell's book again I am reminded of what turned me off to it to begin with---it is a bit scattered and he frequently over reaches and it's layout is way too busy and therefore distracts....A lot of good stuff but even the section on knives is full of misinformation......Although it was written in 1917 Horace Kephart's Camping and Woodcraft has more good suff in it than you can absorb in a lifetime...Ya gotta pick and choose but it is good stuff....The SAS books are generally OK for what they are-regurgitated military manuals- and are largely factually correct...The US Armed Forces manuals are also pretty good...Even if they tend to assume that you have an intact parachute with you at all times....

ethan
 
Ethan Becker said:
The US Armed Forces manuals are also pretty good...Even if they tend to assume that you have an intact parachute with you at all times.... ethan
Click to expand...

Why, what happened to your parachute? :confused:

Doc

BTW, thanks for the Cincinatti Machax - my favourite tool...............er, 2nd favourite. :rolleyes:

Doc
 
I'm with you fellers. There are better survival books out there, but the SAS book is most likely to be on you or available when you need it due to its size. Read and get ideas from other sources, but at least throw that little guy in your BOB or survival pak, or your regular camping gear.
 
With all of the book mentioned, check to see if the material is presented correctly. Especially check to see the illustrations are drawn accurately as many are simply recycled or copied and drawn differently from the author's original intent. When you see a drawing or illustration presented the same way a few times, you can be almost certain (until you try it yourself) it is correct.

My personal favorite books are (in no particular order)

Kochanski's Bushcraft
U.S. Field Manual 21-76
Tom Brown's Guide to Wilderness Survival with Brandt Morgan
98.6 Degrees (mostly for the laughs and off color jokes)
Mountaineering Freedom of the Hills
Ray Mear's Outdoor Survival Handbook
SAS Pocket Survival Guide
 
In the interest of full disclosure, Greg's a friend of mine, so I am biased - but still like his book :thumbup::

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Greg Davenport's Advanced Outdoor Navigation:
Basics and Beyond
"This guide takes readers well beyond the basic skills of map and compass, moving them to a level of complete understanding of navigation in the outdoors, regardless of terrain, time (day or night), or travel (rock, ice, desert, river, open sea, or jungle). ..."

http://www.gregdavenport.com/books.php

Just my $.02 - lots of good stuff out there; I'm not a big fan of "single-source!"

Cheers,
8
 
Thank you so much guys! I will be sure to at least look for these books the next time I visit Powell's Books. Maybe then I can decide which ones to invest in although I'll probably end up getting most of them in the long run...
 
Good advice, guys. Thanks! I need to pick up some of these books. I'm making my list and checking it twice!
 
Books specific for my part of the world are a little bit harder to come across. Most the better ones for Australia's environment seem to have been printed in the 1950's.
The ones put out by Lofty Wiseman have a lot of info in them. I also think it is good you can use the large one to study and take the Collins gem version with you, Smaller than a pack of cigs. I also have the water proof flip card version.
Have read Mors "Bushcraft" and do think that is worth the price just for the axe section.
Outta interest I have started stropping my knives much more and have definetly noticed the difference.
None of it make any difference if you haven't got off the couch and had a go.
Carl
 
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