Survival: How to Prevail in Hostile Environments

Rating:
Summary: This is a must read if you are a beginner or expert.
Review: This author seperates fiction from facts about survival. He provides captivating real stories about survival situations in all the arenas of the world. What people did right and what they did wrong. Above or below water, desert or desert island, jungle, mountains, snow and ice, look here for expert advice covering major threats, hostile environments, science and survival. The author is a physician and well known author in his native France, where this book was a bestseller.

Rating:
Summary: I agree with the person above....
Review: This book explains in detail all aspects of survival and helps you to understand with real life anecdotes. One of the books that never seems to end. Highly reccomended....it's a small price to pay...

Rating:
Summary: Mostly accurate
Review: This book is a translation of the classic survival text written in the 1980s by Xavier Maniquet. It is very comprehensive and is especially strong in advising the reader on how to prepare for a survival situation before he/she has encountered one (e.g. this is one of the few texts that recommends acclimation training before a trip to an arctic region). For the most part a great deal of the information provided is extremely accurate and helpful due to the fact it is based on sound scientific principles. Unfortunately there are a few minor issues where Mr. Maniquet makes assumptions that are not valid, (e.g. he states "the organs of sharks are not held in place with ligaments...therefore they are sensitive to impacts.") If you honestly believe you can fight off a great white shark with a simple impact to its midsection because it has no ligaments you have obviously never seen one in person. Overall the bulk of the information provided is very accurate and in a pinch could save your life. I especially loved the chapter how drinking saltwater would not necessary prolong your life, but if done correctly could extend your ability to remain conscious and capable.
The contents includes survival information on the following:
1. Major Threats: Cold, heat, thirst, physical exertion, sharks, snakes, and venomous and poisonous creatures
2. Hostile Environments: Sea and shipwrecks, underwater, desert, jungle, and mountains
3. Science and survival: weather and survival, snow and avalanches, orientation, diet, food gathering motion sickness and sensory aberrations, and medicine without a doctor.

Rating:
Summary: Mostly accurate
Review: This book is a translation of the classic survival text written in the 1980s by Xavier Maniquet. It is very comprehensive and is especially strong in advising the reader on how to prepare for a survival situation before he/she has encountered one (e.g. this is one of the few texts that recommends acclimation training before a trip to an arctic region). For the most part a great deal of the information provided is extremely accurate and helpful due to the fact it is based on sound scientific principles. Unfortunately there are a few minor issues where Mr. Maniquet makes assumptions that are not valid, (e.g. he states "the organs of sharks are not held in place with ligaments...therefore they are sensitive to impacts.") If you honestly believe you can fight off a great white shark with a simple impact to its midsection because it has no ligaments you have obviously never seen one in person. Overall the bulk of the information provided is very accurate and in a pinch could save your life. I especially loved the chapter how drinking saltwater would not necessary prolong your life, but if done correctly could extend your ability to remain conscious and capable.
The contents includes survival information on the following:
1.Major Threats: Cold, heat, thirst, physical exertion, sharks, snakes, and venomous and poisonous creatures
2.Hostile Environments: Sea and shipwrecks, underwater, desert, jungle, and mountains
3.Science and survival: weather and survival, snow and avalanches, orientation, diet, food gathering motion sickness and sensory aberrations, and medicine without a doctor.