Rating: 
Summary: Read It BEFORE You Take Off Into The Desert!
Review: "Desert Survival Skills" is a both a great read and a book that might save your life. The author is a naturalist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and he's posted at the Big Bend Ranch State Park. He knows what he's writing about. The Big Bend area contains some remote real estate, which is part of the Chihuahuan Desert. I live in the Mohave Desert, and sometimes work in the Sonoran Desert. They're similar to the Chihuahuan. All of these ares are hot in the summer, cool at night, and downright cold at times in the winter. Rainfall is obviously scant, except the dry spells are sometimes punctuated by rains that cause flash floods, which can get you into trouble FAST. (Given that our deserts have sparse population, drowning in the desert is surprisingly common. Water doesn't soak into the ground as it does in more humid regions.) Deaths occur most frequently when those unfamiliar with the Southwest venture off-road without carrying water, suffer a mechanical breakdown, or get their vehicle stuck. The passengers decide to hoof it out in the middle of the day, become confused because of dehydration, and then perish. For the average American, lack of food isn't usually a problem--most of us can go a month or more without eating--but not having water IS. The author, David Alloway, covers the bases extremely well. He tells you how to survive until help comes, and he even teaches you how to debrief the folk from Search and Rescue so the next poor soul doesn't have to go through what happened to you. I was pleased to see that he disposes of a lot of myths, like the one that all catcti are full of water, and edible, so eat away. They're not, so listen to the man. If you must eat, the author shows you how to do this with the least possible risk. A word to the wise: You don't have to be far from a settlement to get into trouble. I remember several years ago when a man and wife died less than a mile from Pahrump, Nevada. If they had waited until evening, they could have seen the lights from the town, and then walked out. "Desert Suvival Skills" would be a handy thing to keep in your 4WD. However, it would be even better if you read it before you venture out.
Rating:
Summary: Read It BEFORE You Take Off Into The Desert!
Review: "Desert Survival Skills" is a both a great read and a book that might save your life. The author is a naturalist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and he's posted at the Big Bend Ranch State Park. He knows what he's writing about. The Big Bend area contains some remote real estate, which is part of the Chihuahuan Desert. I live in the Mohave Desert, and sometimes work in the Sonoran Desert. They're similar to the Chihuahuan. All of these ares are hot in the summer, cool at night, and downright cold at times in the winter. Rainfall is obviously scant, except the dry spells are sometimes punctuated by rains that cause flash floods, which can get you into trouble FAST. (Given that our deserts have sparse population, drowning in the desert is surprisingly common. Water doesn't soak into the ground as it does in more humid regions.) Deaths occur most frequently when those unfamiliar with the Southwest venture off-road without carrying water, suffer a mechanical breakdown, or get their vehicle stuck. The passengers decide to hoof it out in the middle of the day, become confused because of dehydration, and then perish. For the average American, lack of food isn't usually a problem--most of us can go a month or more without eating--but not having water IS. The author, David Alloway, covers the bases extremely well. He tells you how to survive until help comes, and he even teaches you how to debrief the folk from Search and Rescue so the next poor soul doesn't have to go through what happened to you. I was pleased to see that he disposes of a lot of myths, like the one that all catcti are full of water, and edible, so eat away. They're not, so listen to the man. If you must eat, the author shows you how to do this with the least possible risk. A word to the wise: You don't have to be far from a settlement to get into trouble. I remember several years ago when a man and wife died less than a mile from Pahrump, Nevada. If they had waited until evening, they could have seen the lights from the town, and then walked out. "Desert Suvival Skills" would be a handy thing to keep in your 4WD. However, it would be even better if you read it before you venture out.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: A good combination of practical advice combined with the author's own experiences make this an excellent book on desert survival. As a student from one of David's desert survival courses, I can assure you his advice and teachings not only work but are practical in everyday situations. David's approach of blending with the desert as opposed to trying to beat it should appeal to everyone. These skills are being lost and they shouldn't be.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: A good combination of practical advice combined with the author's own experiences make this an excellent book on desert survival. As a student from one of David's desert survival courses, I can assure you his advice and teachings not only work but are practical in everyday situations. David's approach of blending with the desert as opposed to trying to beat it should appeal to everyone. These skills are being lost and they shouldn't be.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book but limited in scope..
Review: Great Book, great content, well written, well worth the money spend if your a desert traveler. Knowledge can be gained for survival skills that might be needed in most any area of the world from this book. Best of the market.
Jose
Rating:
Summary: Desert Survival Skills
Review: Great Book, great content, well written, well worth the money spend if your a desert traveler. Knowledge can be gained for survival skills that might be needed in most any area of the world from this book. Best of the market.
Jose
Rating:
Summary: A great book on Chihuhuan Desert survival.
Review: I must sat that since I live in the same bioregion that the author does, I was quite glad to see this book about the Chihuhuan desert in particular. I'm also a fan of the beauty of the Chihuhuan desert, but that's nether here nor there. This book is really filled with a lot of practical knowledge. The authors warnings on leaving instructions with others about where you're going and general preparedness (for a variety of situations) are valuble lessons unto themselves. The info on the uses of the plants native to the desert SW and the Chihuhuan desert in particular are, in themselves, lessons with the price of admission. However it really hits it stride when he goes into the actual examples of how knowledge either helped people, or the lack of it was the end of them. Granted, hearing of people dying isn't pretty, but the author is able to go about the "lessons learned" in a professional manner thanks to his SAR (Search and Rescue)experience.
Rating:
Summary: A great book on Chihuhuan Desert survival.
Review: I must sat that since I live in the same bioregion that the author does, I was quite glad to see this book about the Chihuhuan desert in particular. I'm also a fan of the beauty of the Chihuhuan desert, but that's nether here nor there. This book is really filled with a lot of practical knowledge. The authors warnings on leaving instructions with others about where you're going and general preparedness (for a variety of situations) are valuble lessons unto themselves. The info on the uses of the plants native to the desert SW and the Chihuhuan desert in particular are, in themselves, lessons with the price of admission. However it really hits it stride when he goes into the actual examples of how knowledge either helped people, or the lack of it was the end of them. Granted, hearing of people dying isn't pretty, but the author is able to go about the "lessons learned" in a professional manner thanks to his SAR (Search and Rescue)experience.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book
Review: Ok so I might be a bit biased since David Alloway is my brother but this book is a god-send to anyone venturing out into our part of the country. David has been a desert rat for the last 30 some odd years. He knows what he is talking about. His helpful advice comes from years of practical experience. The techniques supplied to you in this book have all been field tested by the author and meet his high standards. It never ceases to amaze me how David has compiled so much knowledge about the Chihuahan desrt into one complete guide.
Rating: 
Summary: From the author, July 28, 2000
Review: Thank you for taking an interest in my book. My motive in writing DESERT SURVIVAL SKILLS was to fill a gap in other texts on the subject. Many general survival books merely brush on the subject, and often give much rehashed information on techniques I find unreliable. Other books that go into detail usually are written for the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, leaving the Chihuahuan Desert as a footnote. Because of my life-long experience in the Chihuahuan Desert (North America's largest and least studied desert) I decided to fill in the information others left out. Many wilderness survival books are a grim list of no-nos, and can actually scare people away from a great outdoor experience. I ask the reader to integrate themself into the desert ecosystem and look upon it as a provider. I also have used a lot of real-life experiences to illustrate my points and some slightly black humor to keep the reader awake. I hope you enjoy the book, but more important, I hope it keeps you out of trouble.
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