Rating: 
Summary: A great book for the person who wants to survive
Review: This book was a great souce of information including great illistrations on all sorts of important matters ranging from emergency first aid to what to wear and pack. I was humored but greatfull for the section on how to find, and eat insects in a survival situation. Besides being a good book for the camping family, it could be very resourcefull in the event that Y2K problems such as power and water loss occur.
Rating: 
Summary: A good book, but somewhat flawed
Review: This is a very readable and enjoyable book, but I found it lacking in some respects. It presents some very good information. Its organization is readable, though not always as logical as it could be; often the captions repeat information found in the main text. Lack of space prevents the book from having large databases of edible plants, venomous animals, etc., so it only displays photos of a few; this seems rather random and unhelpful, especially since edible plants really should be identified by more than the memory of a single photograph. A better method would be to have smaller, more precise illustrations and descriptions of each plant, focusing on those that are commonest, most easily identifiable, and best sources of bulk food. (By the way, I have reason to believe that the book's description of the mock strawberry, or _Duchesnea_, as a deathly poisonous berry is an incorrect piece of folklore; _Duchesnea_ isn't even the complete species name.) Sometimes the book just wastes space on insignificant topics -- like mushrooms, which are a bit dangerous and not of great nutritional value; how to make a Jell-O dessert out of carrageen seaweed (really!); and various animals and their survival adaptions. Occasionally I disagree with the author's chosen method of doing something, or happen to know that there are other ways he doesn't mention. (He could have included the debris hut in his section on shelter, and shown specifically how to twist fibers into cord.) The photos and illustrations are excellent, but sometimes show more than they need to.I've spent a lot of space complaining about the book's shortcomings, but let me add that when I first got this book, towards the beginning of my interest in survival, I thoroughly enjoyed paging through it and learned quite a bit. It's good for beginners, who will be able to browse the book open-mindedly and learn many survival tips at their leisure.
Rating:
Summary: A good book, but somewhat flawed
Review: This is a very readable and enjoyable book, but I found it lacking in some respects. It presents some very good information. Its organization is readable, though not always as logical as it could be; often the captions repeat information found in the main text. Lack of space prevents the book from having large databases of edible plants, venomous animals, etc., so it only displays photos of a few; this seems rather random and unhelpful, especially since edible plants really should be identified by more than the memory of a single photograph. A better method would be to have smaller, more precise illustrations and descriptions of each plant, focusing on those that are commonest, most easily identifiable, and best sources of bulk food. (By the way, I have reason to believe that the book's description of the mock strawberry, or _Duchesnea_, as a deathly poisonous berry is an incorrect piece of folklore; _Duchesnea_ isn't even the complete species name.) Sometimes the book just wastes space on insignificant topics -- like mushrooms, which are a bit dangerous and not of great nutritional value; how to make a Jell-O dessert out of carrageen seaweed (really!); and various animals and their survival adaptions. Occasionally I disagree with the author's chosen method of doing something, or happen to know that there are other ways he doesn't mention. (He could have included the debris hut in his section on shelter, and shown specifically how to twist fibers into cord.) The photos and illustrations are excellent, but sometimes show more than they need to. I've spent a lot of space complaining about the book's shortcomings, but let me add that when I first got this book, towards the beginning of my interest in survival, I thoroughly enjoyed paging through it and learned quite a bit. It's good for beginners, who will be able to browse the book open-mindedly and learn many survival tips at their leisure.
Rating:
Summary: This IS survival
Review: This is the best survival handbook for quick referance. If you want to take 5 minutes trying to look up one paragragh, The U.S. Army survival handbook is for you. Otherwise, this is an excellent training book. I plan to try to live in the woods for about a couple months. This really helped me prepare. I already tried when I was young. But I came back crying after a week and a half. Now I plan to stay longer, beacause of this.
This book includes all the basics of survival. I'm sure there are more detailed ones, but they don't have the basics. This is not really good for a reading book, but it is good for reaserch, as well as training. If you want a good book to live off of the land,this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: This IS survival
Review: This is the best survival handbook for quick referance. If you want to take 5 minutes trying to look up one paragragh, The U.S. Army survival handbook is for you. Otherwise, this is an excellent training book. I plan to try to live in the woods for about a couple months. This really helped me prepare. I already tried when I was young. But I came back crying after a week and a half. Now I plan to stay longer, beacause of this.
This book includes all the basics of survival. I'm sure there are more detailed ones, but they don't have the basics. This is not really good for a reading book, but it is good for reaserch, as well as training. If you want a good book to live off of the land,this is for you.
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