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65 of 70 found the following review helpful:
 Most complete nature/survival book I've ever seen. Aug 06, 2006
By Forester
This is my first book review. I'm trully amazed by what all is contained in this fairly compact book, yet each page contains a massive amount of information. It is quite thick, over 1,000 pages, LOTS of really sharp color photos. Covers so many subjects in addition to survival and camping. It's as though it could be 10 different books in one. I'm really impressed by this book and feel it truly is one of the best books I've ever bought. I'm actually thinking of getting two of them... One to keep in the truck and one to read in my spare time at the house.. SO MUCH information is in this book, it's like a small nature encyclopedia.. It covers all possible terrains, types of plants, animals, cloud formations, many maps showing insect distribution, etc.. climates, etc.. reptiles, most all of the usual survival/camping info.. but SO much more..how to survive practically any imagineable scenario. So many color photos. For nature-lovers and campers this is really a must-have book as well. I've bought several other survival books and this seems to contain just about all that is in the others..shelters, first aid, mental preparedness, kits, backbacks, fish preperation, game hunting, etc.. Although, there are some survival books that are quite unique as well in their own right and may go into much more detail on say, shelter-building for instance, this book shows with pictures, quite easy-to-understand basic construction techniques, for emergency situations. No SINGLE book can have everything, but I must say, this book sure does come close to it! I don't think you will regret this purchase. Just one warning though, because there is so much information on each page, the print is quite small.
78 of 95 found the following review helpful:
 Save your money! Dec 13, 2007
By Outside
It should be noted that this is a self published book which is evident through the lack of editing.
This massive book covers many skills relevant to survival and camping provided you have a tremendous amount of specialized gear and training(log cabin anyone? how about a sod house? Ever tried collecting sod in the wilderness?). A great deal of the book wastes time with things like how to fight a forest fire, or how to conduct a search and rescue operation for avalanche victims (usually a body recovery), he covers all kinds of rock climbing gear and techniques(some of it antiquated, pitons but no mention of cams) as well as meteorology and astronomy...let's face it, you need specialized training for these skills and the weather man/woman with all their computer models still can't get a handle on the forecast and a novice reader can learn it all from a book? Who the heck carries a wooden block and tackle with them and why do I want to read his 20 page description of hurricane Katrina? I do not need to know the schematics of six different telescopes nor do I care how a seahorse swims in the Indian Ocean! (No I'm not lying, it's in there). The science of hydroplaning interests me a little more than why I should buy a $3.96 1950's era survival knife w/survival saw in the handle with the fish hooks. Sharks fins up "..might indicate a reduced possibility of attack", when they're down it ..."might indicate an attack". Where does he get his information?
Bow and drill is mentioned ..."the rotation and pressure of the drill, grinding on the baseboard, heats the wood which ignites..." Get real! His fire saw description is equally pathetic.
The bulk of this book looks like it was lifted from park service brochures, ancient National Geographics and other antiquated sources of outdoor lore and then "individualized". I could go on, but enough...
I had given it more stars initially, but the more I look the book over the more incredulous I become, no responsible publishing company would ever let this book go to press as is, thus the self publishing of it.
Very disappointing!
18 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Simply the most comprehensive survival guide that I have seen. May 06, 2007
By Dennis Swan
"DJS"
I am an avid outdoorsman that loves primitive survival techniques. This book is very enlightening. There is a lot of things that you have not thought of that is in this book. Every survival situation that I can think of is here.(Hurricane, earthquake, avalanche, tsunami,etc;) It also has basic to advanced camping info. Overall, I am very impressed. Massive book, with massive loads of info.
9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Not really a survival book. Jul 31, 2008
By Leo
When I was growing up, I was one of those nerdy kids that liked to read National Geographic, Popular Mechanics, and even had Encarta 97 that I used to look up articles in.
When I got this book, I was expecting a survival book, but instead I got an Encyclopedia to the outdoors. It is not a book you would read from cover to cover, but rather, it is an encyclopedia where you would look up specific articles.
The title and Amazon description is misleading, which is why I only gave it three stars. If I got one of these in my early teen years, I would have though it was pretty cool.
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Best Outdoor Book Hands Down! Mar 01, 2007
By GuitarPlayer
I must say that I've read many outdoor and survival books and I've always tried to find one that really covers almost everything you'd need in a compact handbook that you could take anywhere. Well, it's finally here.
Camping and Wilderness Survival is the best book out there as far as information entirety goes. It has everything from gear, to dangerous plants, animals, reptiles, fish, weather patterns, clouds, to wood craft... The list goes on and on. This is the most complete manual ever written to date in my opinion. If I could recommend only one book on the subject or to keep in your pack this is it!
The book is also just the right size for keeping in your vehicle, pack or just on the bookshelf. I'm so thrilled with it I'm thinking about buying another to keep on the shelf because I can tell that this one is going to get worn out.
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