Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Book Review - "How to Stay alive in the Woods"

Well the full title of the book is:"How to Stay Alive in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter and Self-Preservation Anywhere"

To sum up my thoughts on this book, I would dear say it wouldn't even make good emergency TP. First off, the book is way to large, there are huge margins on the printed page, and if that space was used it would cut down on the size of the book. In it's current size, there is no way I'd take it with me in the woods, it's at least 3 pounds of dead weight! The cover is some weird rubberized material that promptly warped both covers. Although waterproof, it means jack squat since the covers are bowed out 3/4" on all 4 outside corners.

As for the information contained therein, presumably to save your life, I would say a boy scout handbook has the same amount of information. The author's writing is at times hard to understand, and there is a noticeable lack of illustrations. I am no survival expert, but I learned nothing from this book. Perhaps, the book could be used as a deadfall for small game, that way it would be good for something! Some of the most basic survival skills are omitted from this book. Like how to use a map for orienteering, or using heated rocks to warm the bottom of your sleeping bag, or what to do without a sleeping bag. The list of gear to put in a survival kit is missing some very important items, like garbage bags. A survival kit without a garbage bag or 3 or 10 is like getting a massage without a happy ending!

I would say to save your money and buy another book. If the cover hadn't warped so bad I would consider shipping it back to Amazon.com.

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