outdoor recreation

Most of the survival books I've read focus on living like an aborigine, which is not what the average backpacker needs. I wanted a book that would tell me what I needed to take in the woods with me to prevent troubles from happening in the first place, and tell me how to get out of trouble if something went wrong. This book is ideal for civlian backpackers and campers who want serious advice about surviving in a real world survival situation.

Anyone who gave this book 5 stars has no idea what a good book on the subject should contain. This is a poor attempt at written survival manual at it's best. The beginning starts out with the author recommending survival knives. What about if you don't have one? then what? Your survival knife will be there where you don't need it(this is from experience of many). While other books teach you how to use natural resources for cutting tools and shelter, this guy recommends the latest high-tech compasses, navigaton equipment and blah blah... Maybe there's some marketing trick in the survival world that I don't know about. Hard to say but whoever ends up in a survival situation without all the fancy modern tools, best luck to ya! I will say though that it has a decent info on building natural shelters but just about every other author has covered it and done way better. Don't expect to learn alot here. Just the basic stuff that you probably already know. This book should be titled "Practical Camping" and should cost half the money too, even then I'd opt for a refund.

I often kayak alone on remote lakes, and before I found Practical Outdoor Survival I was always afraid that I might be forced aground by foul weather in a place that was too far from my truck to reach on foot. This book makes that prospect a lot less frightening. Not only does it contain great information about which emergency items I should pack, it tells me how to pack them, and how to use them effectively. I own a number of good wilderness survival manuals, but this is the one I take with me when my life might depend on the advice I get from a book.