1 stars (Too outdated) - Don't waste your time or money. This was an okay book in its day (though it has zero content about altimeters) but that day is long past. The new edition of the Land Navigation Handbook covers the basics equally well and also educates on altimeters, digital mapping, and GPS. 5 stars (Thoughts from a beginner) - I signed up to compete in an all day adventure race with orienteering being the main focus. I had never done orienteering before in my life and had no idea what was involved. Upon advice from other racers I purchased BEWMAC (as those in the "know" call it) and I read this book to my team-mate over the course of a 5 hour drive from Pittsburgh to Detroit. Literally this was my first exposure to orienteering. We were able to successfully navigate through an all day orienteering adventure race using this book. I thought it was easy to understand, came with a sample book and all of the skills were reinforced with simple quizzes at the end of each chapter. I have no doubt that there are more in debt studies, but from a beginners standpoint you can't go wrong. Just get it already. 2 stars (Vastly Overrated and Outdated) - This was the first book I ever bought on the subject of using a map and compass. It was recommended by everyone I knew, as there wasn't a whole lot else out there at the time, and it had been in print since 1955. About the best I can say for Kjellstrom's book is that it is better for beginners than the Sierra Club Handbook (also an old book), but that's about it. Illustrations are few and muddy, and the book has an ancient feel to it, with outdated references and quirky language (it's been in print for nearly 50 years, and the author died nearly 10 years ago when in his nineties). Fully half the book doesn't even deal with real-life wilderness navigation, but is instead devoted to the sport of orienteering (a fine sport, but with little relevance to practical backcountry navigation with its use of special large s... Wiley :: Walking :: hiking :: trekking :: Maps :: charts & atlases :: Crafts & Hobbies & General :: Walking :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Outdoor Skills :: Outdoor Life :: Ori :: Be Expert with Map and Compass
5 stars (Great Book for beginners and advanced users) - Tons of good information to get started with using a GPS, goes beyond the basics. Really a very good starter book. Once you get this book, I would also recomend "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching" and the Owing's "GPS Mapping". With GPS for Dummies and my Garmins 60CS manual, I was able to hit the trail in a few hours. With the other books as complement, I have become very accurate locating waypoints when I do horse riding or 4x4 trips. 2 stars (Dangerous in the wrong hands) - A book that sends you out in the field with a GPS but without the knowledge of how to use a map and compass too. If you reall are a "dummy," you should start with the basics first before relying on an electronic device that can leave you stranded. Better choices would be the Land Navigation Handbook (new edition) and Wilderness Navigation (less detailed). 5 stars (Highly recommended.) - Excellent book. Highly recommend it for all beginner geocachers as well as advanced geocachers. Doc Beamont, Texas Geocacher ... For Dummies :: Sports & Recreation & Outdoor Skills :: Boating :: Technology & Industrial Arts :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Satellite Communication Technology :: Outdoor :: GPS For Dummies
5 stars (A great buy, at that price...) - For what you pay (less than 20 bucks), this book more than satisfies. The sheer breadth of the topics covered is astounding. But it seems that Tawrell went for quantity instead of quality when he wrote this. A lot of the information included in the book is too brief, whetting the reader's interest and then leaving him hanging. This lack of depth hurts Tawrell's credability a bit, but for a book this size, I can understand his need for brevity. The book would have been much better (but more expensive) with photos instead of illustrations. Also, a few reviewers have mentioned the grammatical errors that abound in the book. This bothers me too (I'm an editor), but I can look past it. It almost seems to give the book a sort of old-fashioned charm. The layout of the information is a bit messy sometimes, but again, I'm sure it was done to cram as much information into the book as possible. This is a great source to introduce readers to the wilderness. It almost functions as an encyclopedia of sorts, since it covers such a broad area. You won't be disappointed with this book. It's well worth the cost. Trust me. 4 stars (Survival is to try this) - I bought this book because of the boy scouts and my son and to re-freash my outdoor life.I found the book to be very good and full of good thing and after reading other peoples thoughts of this book is wrong because until you try it out or the tricks of how it works and they do for I tried them or most of them on campouts and a few classes I went through its just you trying it more then once on a few of them others no problem at all.The one that work of you keep them in mine and the ones that don't keep trying them you will find the loop hole as they say.. I would give this book a very good try specally for scouting. 5 stars (A very Good Book) - I also believe that the reviewers are being a bit too critical of the book; it is a guide to outdoor survival. It is not a textbook ... Falcon Distribution :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Safety :: Outdoor Skills :: Camping :: Paul Tawrell :: :: Camping - Wilderness Survival
5 stars (Weapon X) - As a US soldier this is the perfect book to hone up on your survival skills. As a civilian it may have some of the base facts, but some of the military "jargon" might confuse you. AS well as the enviroments depicted in the book. How many civilians are going to get lost in a hostile enviroment in the frist place. I highly recomend it for the military minded and experienced camper/hiker. 5 stars (Awsome Book) - This book is awsome, and although some people dislike the military references (using you gun, hide from the enemy)i thought it was interesting and sometimes a bit humerous. I gave this book 5 stars because it is EXACTLY what a military survival book should be. Now, if it was written SPECIFICALY for civilians i would give a worse score becase of the military reference. The thing i disliked about this book the most was the lack of information about surviving in what i consider a "normal" envirement. It has the desert, arctic, and tropical, but i want to know how to survive in the wilderness where i live (Northern MN). I was also disappointed with the plants. I know that they were having to cover the whole world pretty much but i would have liked it better to have a few more plant descriptions as only about 4 of the plants listed live were i live. I would also have liked to have a better description of how to prepare the plant (the most tastey way possible with little supplys so that you don't end up spitting it out cause it tastes like ****. Overall: Great for the military, entertaining and very informative for civilians but doesn't cover living/surviving in the Deciduous and Coniferous forests very well. I wouldn't recomend this to someone who wants information about edible plants as it has very little. For that i would recomend the Peterson Field Guide To Edible Plants (i own it, its very good, but i have trouble making any of the food taste good). 4 stars (Good except for Jungle/Desert Survival) - The U.S. Army field manual on Survival is... Apple Pie Publishers :: Wilderness survival :: United States :: Survival after airplane accide :: Survival :: Sports & Recreation :: Outdoor Skills :: FM manual 21-76 :: Dept of the Army :: :: US Army Survival Manual- FM 21-76
3 stars (Deep Survival, by Lawrence Gonzalis) - Entertaining, but disappointing book. Survival based more on pure luck than "know how". 4 stars (Useful, Often Fascinating, Sometimes Meandering) - Deep Survival can often be quite an interesting journey, although occasionally, like many of the hikers in the true life stories within, it gets a little lost and goes in circles. Laurence Gonzales has made a nice selection of survival tales and presents them in a very useful and illustrative manner. The author shoehorns himself in a little too much (particularly as humility is supposed to be one of the main virtues possessed by a survivor.) These true tales make a nice balance and counterpoint to much of the fascinating scientific research. The book does ignore anything that does not help its thesis so luck is downplayed as is the fact that non-survivors, who tales cannot be told, may often experience and exhibit the same charateristics as survivors, such as a sense of humour, but time was never on their side. Still, it makes for great reading and, despite the author's final insistence that survivors are born, may offer many useful tips for mental attitude adjustments during a hike or a climb gone wrong. 2 stars (Very slow in getting to the point) - I recommend against this book. It is extremely slow. If I need to fall asleep, I start reading this book again. The book has potential, but never lives up to it. I feel like writing about how the author could've or should've, but why waste my time and yours. Oh, and how old is this guy to keep writing about how great his daddy is. . . . ... W W Norton - Company :: Social :: group or collective psychology :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Special Interest - Adventure :: Outdoor Skills :: General :: Essays :: Laurence Gonzales :: :: Deep Survival- Who Lives- Who Dies- and Why
5 stars (Teaches you how to think) - Although it would be nice to have everything you needed for a survival situation, that isn't always the case. Davenport's book teaches you how to think through a survival situation and promotes the art of improvising when things go wrong. His book is straight forward--helping the reader identify survival needs while showing a myriad of methods in which to meet them. It is a textbook! One I highly recommend! 3 stars (like a textbook, materials not included) - This is aninformative read on how to survive while apart from all of our societal comforts. The diagrams, while somewhat crude, are helpful in identifying exactly what Davenport is talking about in his descriptions. My largest qualm is that what he writes nearly necessitates being prepared for the unforseen via many of the materials needed for your wilderness survival experience. That being the case, make sure you back a flameless lighter, a lightweight and weather ready sleeping bag (or bivy tent), and some flares instead - it's a lot easier that way. A lot of help is provided in food identification and fuel, but if you've any measure of great sense while lost then you just die to your fears and eat the bugs, right? In any case, it's a quasi-interesting read that reminds you to "be prepared" for the unexpected. 5 stars (Useful and informative) - I've read many wilderness outdoors and survival books for different country (mountain, forest, desert), and Wilderness Survival is one of my all-time favorites, along with Mountaineering The Freedom of the Hills by Don Graydon and The Ultimate Desert Handbook by Mark Johnson (both of which I also highly recommend). ... Stackpole Books :: Wilderness survival :: Sports & Recreation :: Reference :: Outdoor Survival Techniques :: Outdoor Skills :: Nature&Ecology :: Handbooks :: manuals :: etc :: Gregory J :: Wilderness Survival
4 stars (Difficult to get lost with this one...) - An excellent book for those starting out on orienteering. Very good conversational wording. Doesn't use too much jargon. The practical exercises are easily understood. The combination of the written word and neat diagrams and pictures make the information easily digestable. 5 stars (Excellent Map and Compass Instruction Book) - The best map and compass handbook I've come across. Excellent photos and illustrations add to simple and straightforward written material to make a great book for use when practicing real-life outdoor navigation. 4 stars (The best resource for beginning or experienced pathfinders) - This book is the best resource on land navigation i've seen. I use it regularly in teaching land navigation in conjunction with search and rescue to area fire departments. The author makes the hard-to-explain easy to understand for beginners and experts alike. ... International Marine-Ragged Mountain Press :: Sports & Recreation & Outdoor Skills :: Wilderness survival :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Physical Education :: Outdoor Skills :: Outdoor Life :: Orientation :: :: The Essential Wilderness Navigator- How to Find Your Way in the Great Outdoors- Second Edition
5 stars (Highly Recommend Reading It) - I liked this book very much. Its a no nonsense approach to a topic that many writers pretend they are experts in. The proof is in the pudding. The author is an excellent teacher. He makes a hard subject easy to grasp and understand, versus the many teachers I have had in various subjects, who make an easy topic hard to understand. . . . 5 stars (It kept my ass alive!) - Prior to embarking on a rugged solo day hike in AZ's Superstition Wilderness, I read this book cover to cover. (I'm a middle-aged, East Coast trail hiker who hasn't hiked recently, so survival was a major consideration.) My desert day hike turned into an overnight stay on a canyon ledge far from the trailhead. Thanks to Cody Lundin's book, I maintained a "party on" attitude, was fully prepared (both with equipment and mentally), and spent a fabulous night watching the stars. The right attitude is everything! Enjoyed the humor and common sense approach of his writing. His examples stick with you when you need them. Great tips on putting together a practical, personal survival kit that will work anywhere. There's now one in my pack and one in my car. Lots of useful information on how to overcome fear and keep your head. 4 stars (It's good) - This is a good book that tells you how to stay alive. It also tells about what your body would do in certain situations, and how to prevent the bad situations from happening. Also, it tells you how to make things. It tells you a little about how to clean animals so you can eat them. So, over all I would get this book if you don't know a lot about how to survive, and you want to learn how. ... G Smith Publisher :: Wilderness survival :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Outdoor Skills :: Handbooks :: manuals :: etc :: Russ Miller :: Cody Lundin :: :: 98 6 Degrees- The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive
