SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea

SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea | John Lofty Wiseman | Perfect for the closet survivalist

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SAS Survival Handb...

	SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea John Lofty Wiseman Collins, 2004 - 576 pages average customer review:based on 109 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Imperfect but probably the best right now

This is the kind of book that you want to own but hope never to have to use. If you could take only one book with you, this might be the perfect candidate, especially since there is also a pocket-sized, somewhat abridged version available.

That does not mean it is perfect, though. First of all, it is printed on fairly heavy paper and thus a little on the hefty side (thus the convenience of the pocket version). There are also a few errors such as wrong page numbers that give an impression of sloppy editing. And sometimes the text is too succinct on important topics and maddeningly unspecific like some Ancient Greek oracle.

Example: In the "Crossing a River" section it says: "Avoid obstructions in the water. ... Look out for submerged branches." Well, D'oh, who would need a book for that kind of advice? The The Backpacker's Field Manual, Revised and Updated: A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Backcountry Skills goes into far more detail in the corresponding section, for example: "Strainers are submerged branches that will hold a person swept against them -- a potential drowning situation." It also has a nice conceptual map of possible river hazards and mentions that these strainers are typically to be found on outside bends of rivers. Aha, much clearer!

Another example: In the section on drowning, the BFM describes the difference between wet drowning and dry drowning. An important distinction you probably did not know about (and neiter did I), but John Wiseman does not mention this at all in his book. Shame on him! Because the CPR that may work for wet drowning might fail for dry drowning, as the larynx goes into a spasm in that case and has to be massaged first to, uh, un-spasm. I'd call that a fairly vital piece of information!

Maybe John Wiseman and Rick Curtis should get together and write the _truly_ ultimate outdoor book as a team...

The strength of the First Aid section lies in the fact that it does not skip those things that are _not_ really First Aid, but more like desperate emergency procedures, e.g. the famous cut into the trachea with a ballpoint pen. Or childbirth. All these things where conventional First Aid texts like to tell you to "wait for the doctor", which is great as long as the doctor arrives in time. But if not, it is fairly important to have measures of last resort available to you.

The highlight of the book is unquestionably the part that deals with the indigenous flora and fauna in beautiful color illustrations and how to turn said flora and fauna into a nutritious meal for yourself. Gathering plants, recognizing fungi, catching fish, gutting animals, preparing organ meats, various methods of cooking, eating insects -- in culinary terms, the book is hard to beat and probably covers everything there is to know. As if Robinson Crusoe had written a cookbook. Somehow, even the termites sound mouth-watering as described by Wiseman: "termites are nutritious and tasty". Oh well, if he says so...

After reading this book, you will probably never again be able to look at a squirrel without wondering how to kill it, roast it, suck out its bone marrow, use the leftovers for squirrel soup, and, to add insult to injury, turn its fur into a poach, sewed with its sinews, and its skull into a pencil sharpener. The book is really that hardcore! I imagine the squirrels are not amused.

So at least you will not starve to death with this book in hand, provided you can bring yourself to do what it suggests to those poor critters that are unlucky enough to cross your way.

All in all, this is a worthy effort, even if it could be improved upon in some places. But in terms of information density (which is probably the deciding factor if you have to carry around a book in the wilderness) this work is definitely a winner.

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Perfect for the closet survivalist

The thing I like about this book is that you can read it cover to cover -or- you can just pick it up and randomly flip to any page only to find something interesting. Full of useful information, the author does an excellent job at breaking down the concepts in this book into easy to remember principles and steps.

I would suggest buying this for any survivalist/camper/hiker/outdoorsman in your life, it's a great gift.

Great book for campers

I haven't finished but this book is really helpful and interesting. If you like outdoors then definitely get it, it has info on every facet

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Educating and fun to read

This is a very interesting book to read and has lots of great illustrations.

If you enjoy watching Bear Grylls on Man vs. Wild, you'll enjoy this book a great deal (and Bear's book which is sold @ Amazon UK called 'Born Survivor).

Note that this book is not about the SAS, just survival skills and it is well worth reading.

Nice Survival Tips

I like this book because it is a "one stop" reference book. For an overall outlook, the Tom Brown series is stronger. However, this one book should reside in your automobile and keep another copy handy for review. Very concise and easy to understand.

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