What is the "must have" survival book (or manual)?

shootist16

shootist16

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Looking for a good book on wilderness survival. Any recommendations?
 
98.6% The Art of Keepng Your Ass Alive by Cody Lundin for SURVIVAL i.e. until rescue.

For WILDERNESS LIVING SKILLS start with Bushcraft by Mors Kochanski..
 
Ill second the SAS Survival book, its probably the most in depth and complete book I have found.
 
shootist16 said:
Looking for a good book on wilderness survival. Any recommendations?
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I had a thought (yes, Kevin, every once in a while :( ). Since there are so many good survival books out there, maybe we should start a thread about bad survival books - books that give incomplete or incorrect information, or books that make a given task look so difficult as to discourage any experimentation.

Where is Kevin, BTW?

Doc
 
Haven't see Kevin, the Kevster, the Kevmeister.
Maybe he's having PC issues? ...or his connection is flaky?

I blame Coldwood who insulted Kevin's home made sheath. :D
I thought it looked good and served as a back-up for tinder.
(what?? it was a compliment). ;)
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Since there are so many good survival books out there, maybe we should start a thread about bad survival books - books that give incomplete or incorrect information, or books that make a given task look so difficult as to discourage any experimentation.Doc
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Like a "Good bad & ugly" kind of thread? I'm in. I'm doing a lot of reading and will gladly provide a short review of materials I'm reading. For instance, the Ranger Handbook is a great read on all kinds of cool small unit tactics, and even a brief perusal will give you greater respect for the men who actually do all this stuff. It's not so much for survival, although the first aid and navigation chapters are excellent, and more in-depth than many survival books. Well-worth download or purchase for various reasons, but not the first "true" survival book I'd recommend.

Hell, just keep posting to this thread :)
 
There are lots of books out there that will teach "How-To" skills, until you do it, you don't own the skills. Some books talk survival kits and gear in general. You can buy stuff and accumulate the parts for a great survival kit. Survival though is come as you are.

You don't get to pick your survival scenario and IMO mindset is key. Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales is a great mindset book.

Another something to consider are the DVDs sold by Ron Hood. They cover all the basics and more in a very good format that's easy to follow and learn from. You see survival topics being covered and explained by a master.
 
ras said:
There are lots of books out there that will teach "How-To" skills, until you do it, you don't own the skills. Some books talk survival kits and gear in general. You can buy stuff and accumulate the parts for a great survival kit. Survival though is come as you are.

You don't get to pick your survival scenario and IMO mindset is key. Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales is a great mindset book.

Another something to consider are the DVDs sold by Ron Hood. They cover all the basics and more in a very good format that's easy to follow and learn from. You see survival topics being covered and explained by a master.
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Except for the Gonzales book, which I haven't read, I agree 100%. One thing I'd add about Hood's videos is that the videos are enjoyable even if you're not too survival oriented. They're just fun-to-watch videos with lots of great ideas.

Doc
 
skammer said:
Hands down the best overall survival book is Paul Tawrell's Camping & Wilderness Survival: The Ultimate Outdoors Book
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I thought that too, but you must weed through the errors and mistakes.

The first that caught my eye was "How to start a fire without matches".

The answer, put a lit candle under some tinder.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :confused: :confused:

There are many more. There was a site that had the list of major issues with that book (of course I found it after I bought 3 copies...2 as gifts..)

But, if you read it, 90% of it is not too bad.

On a positive note, I've found that Greg Davenport's books are very good and thorough, IMHO.
 
I've recently been reading "How to Survive Anything, Anywhere" by Chris McNab and have found it to be quite thorough.
 
Buy em all! I did. :p

Don't forget to buy some camping/outdoor skill books. Chances are you'll never be in a survival situation so your camping skills are what is really needed.
 
2dogs said:
Buy em all! I did. :p

Don't forget to buy some camping/outdoor skill books. Chances are you'll never be in a survival situation so your camping skills are what is really needed.
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i'm with 2-dogs:thumbup: :D buy them all...i have a bunch of different survival realated books.... you can never have too many....they're always good for reference....

i really like john mccanns book, building the perfect survival kit... as well as mors kochanski's bushcraft book:thumbup: :thumbup: both great reads...
 
The SAS pocket sized book is a nice one and will give you something to read after you get lost. :D

"Six-Ways-in-and-Twelve-Ways-Out" is also an excellent book that appears to be out of print right now. If you find a copy, I'd buy it.
 
skammer said:
Hands down the best overall survival book is Paul Tawrell's Camping & Wilderness Survival: The Ultimate Outdoors Book
http://www.amazon.com/Camping-Wilde...ef=sr_1_1/103-3272525-4111046?ie=UTF8&s=books
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I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best, but it is a good one. There is a lot of stuff geared towards kids, which is great, and a LOT of high-quality photos and illustrations. This is especially helpful for the plant and animal ID sections. It's set up much like an encyclopedia, rather than a typical manual. No question, a whole lot of info about every situation you're likely to encounter. (different terrain, climates, etc.)

One thing I'd like to say, any survival book without at least a basic, illustrated chapter on cordage and knots should be automatically disqualified! Mainly because that's a skillset I'm really lacking in, and I'm terrible at memorizing ten different knots... (I just learned to tie my shoes last year, FFS) :thumbup: to Tawrell's book on that count.
 
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