Rating: 
Summary: The only book designed to take with you into the backcountry
Review: The Backpacker's Field Manual is a comprehensive guide to backpacking skills and equipment. Advanced and novice backpackers alike will value it for its readability and huge range of information. The book includes over 100 detailed illustrations and dozens of "Tricks of the Trail" sidebar information for backpackers. Chapters include:
Chapter 1 - Trip Planning: setting goals, planning routes, estimating travel times
Chapter 2 - Equipment: not just what to bring, but exactly how it works with illustrated instructions on what to do if it breaks
Chapter 3 - Cooking and Nutrition: recipes and menus for 2- to 10-day trips, plus tips on cooking and cleaning and a list of high energy foods
Chapter 4 - Hygiene & Water Purification: how to keep clean and drink safely
Chapter 5 - Leave No Trace Camping: the latest techniques for how to travel and leave no trace
Chapter 6 - Wilderness Travel: detailed instructions on navigating with a map and compass through all different kinds of country and terrain and backcountry techniques from river crossing to hanging bear bags.
Chapter 7 - Nature & Weather: helpful natural history tips for the trail and detailed information on weather prediction
Chapter 8 - Safety & Emergency Procedures: what to do if you're lost, in severe a storm, or facing a forest fire
Chapter 9 - First Aid: more than 100 pages of in-depth wilderness first aid techniques
The Backpacker's Field Manual is the only book designed specifically to take with you in the backcountry. It is also the only book that's been field-tested for ten years by one of the most respected University outdoor programs in the country. This is an excellent field resource both for individual backpacker's and for outdoor programs and is considered to be the best backpacking field manual available for University outdoor programs in the U.S. For more information you can look at the The Table of Contents and you can see the Map & Compass section of the book online. The Author Rick Curtis has been the Director of the Outdoor Action Program at Princeton University for the past seventeen years. During that time he has trained hundreds of outdoor leaders in Princeton's program and has been a consultant to outdoor programs across the country. Well-known for his work on the Internet.
Rating: 
Summary: Always "don't," never "do."
Review: After I read this book, I felt the wilderness could never be fun again. I was completely wrong, but that's the tone this book has. The entire book tells you what not to do and what could go wrong. That's very important to know, but what is almost as important (and a lot more interesting) are things to do: suggestions about how to make things easier, how to have fun, how to bring the love of the outdoors to other members of your group. The good: There were a couple good ideas in among the mind-numbing numbers of admonitions (damp socks in sleeping bag: genius). Also, the packing lists at the end of the book can be good reminders. As far as I can tell, it's good for a very small class of people: complete beginners who will find all the rules to be new, but are so excited about backpacking that they won't be turned off by the boring, pessimistic book. Personally, I learned just as much from the much shorter section of tips in the beginning of Backpacking California, even though I had not backpacked a whole bunch before reading either.
Rating:
Summary: Always "don't," never "do."
Review: After I read this book, I felt the wilderness could never be fun again. I was completely wrong, but that's the tone this book has. The entire book tells you what not to do and what could go wrong. That's very important to know, but what is almost as important (and a lot more interesting) are things to do: suggestions about how to make things easier, how to have fun, how to bring the love of the outdoors to other members of your group. The good: There were a couple good ideas in among the mind-numbing numbers of admonitions (damp socks in sleeping bag: genius). Also, the packing lists at the end of the book can be good reminders. As far as I can tell, it's good for a very small class of people: complete beginners who will find all the rules to be new, but are so excited about backpacking that they won't be turned off by the boring, pessimistic book. Personally, I learned just as much from the much shorter section of tips in the beginning of Backpacking California, even though I had not backpacked a whole bunch before reading either.
Rating: 
Summary: Phenomenal
Review: Curtis has written a true gem. This book will get any novice on his or her feet within the time it takes to read the book. The book is comprehensive in breadth and is quite detailed without getting too cut-and-dried (or maybe I just find the subject matter too interesting =-P). Clearly, the author knows what to cover and to what extent -- there's something to be said for a man who, as the head of the Princeton Outdoor Action, must get a lot of contact with people new to backpacking. Even somewhat experienced backpackers will be able to gain much useful information from this book, particularly from such unusual topics as reading and predicting the weather. Additionally, Curtis' almost die-hard approach to true leave-no-trace backpacking is quite appealing to me -- it only takes a few careless or reckless people before a previously pristine location is ruined for weeks or even months. All in all, this is *the* must-get guide to backpacking. It's comprehensive, adequately detailed (1/4 to 1/3 of the book is dedicated to first aid!) and, best of all, reasonably cheap! =-)
Rating: 
Summary: excellent outdoor guide
Review: Didn't really need all the stuff on using a camping stove and water filters, and the "dolphin safe tuna" but other than that it is an excellent backcountry guide. Not really a survival guide, see "How To Stay Alive in the Woods" for that.
Rating:
Summary: The Backpackers Best Friend
Review: Filled with tips, tactics, anecdotes and how-tos, "Backpacker's Field Manual" is THE book for the outdoor novice. If you have questions or concerns about being in the wilds, this guide will answer them. The perfect pre-trip study guide and a great take along. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Best backpacking book I have ever read.
Review: Great book that was eazy to read and had a great deal on information. I take it with me everytime I go backpacking or hiking. A must own for anyone that likes hiking or backpacking.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many rules
Review: I agree with a previous poster that said: "Yet Mr. Curtis' unconventional and sometimes bizarre brand of rules quickly begin to irritate even the most patient reader. Most troubling are his one-sided views of camping and how it is supposed to be done. quickly, the book becomes a turn-off to backpacking." My views are that ... This book is a book of rules. Way too many rules. A couple thousand rules it seems.
Not much in the way of original thinking. Decent sections for group leaders.
First Aid and Navigating sections are decent but I prefer separate books
for these issues.
Rating:
Summary: Good points, but goes overboard on environmental issues.
Review: I really liked the thorough coverage of this book, but some of the environmental talk is a bit overdone. Talking of the environmental impact of swimming in a stream is silly. The real environmental problems that I've seen in the forests are the result of people who have no respect for nature's beauty.
Rating:
Summary: Everything you need to know, well explained
Review: I was amazed at the breadth of material in this book. Some things seem a little out of place, like several pages of instructions on specific brands of camp stoves or water filters, but 99% of everything you need to know to prepare for the backcountry is there, with little space wasted.
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