Product Description

Based on Mears's BBC2 survival series, this guide explains both to groups and individuals, the everyday skills required to live in and enjoy the natural world without violating it. Topics range from constructing a natural shelter, building a fire and orienteering, to identifying medicinal herbs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4641 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Customer Reviews

Another great book by Ray
Having read most of the survival books on the market ranging from Lofty Wiseman's to Tom Brown I can say that this is very informative. It is although, after reading it aimed, more for the person who is interested in Bush craft and the primitive skills for more prolonged survival situations than those wanting skills for a short term survival situation with the possibilty of a quick rescue.

If you are interested in merely learning survival techniques for short term survival situations then you are probably better looking at Lofty's SAS Survival handbook. However, if you are looking at learning/becoming more in-tune with nature then this is certainly a book to read. The break down into different months of what resources are available I found very useful and the sections on wildlife observation and tracking were also useful.

Although not an exhaustive manuel on survival techniques it is certainly a book to set you on the path to be coming a good bushman.

Essential Outdoor Companion.
Revealing an absolute wealth of knowledge and experience Ray Mears provides clear step-by-step instructions in how to master an abundance of survival methods which can be approached by novices and pros alike.

Ray Mears shows how to construct shelters from the elements suitable for virtually any time of the year and a variety of locations and environments. He approaches how to light a good fire in all types of weathers with the materials readily available in the wild, how to track & identify animals and other essential everyday skills needed to survive in the great outdoors.

Ray also shows how to orienteer and map-read, and the correct way to use a compass. He also demonstrates how to make a variety of tools and equipment from naturally available materials eg., ropes, pots etc..

This is an essential volume for anyone interested in the outdoor life, not just for survival purposes. A basic knowledge would do none of us any harm and this book meets this need and those who require much more. An excellent purchase.

Great for non destructive outdoor survival techniques.
This is a really good book if you are looking for information on out door survival techniques, especially those which let you live more or less in harmony with the environment. However in my opinion the book is not really aimed at those DO or DIE situations. One of the books by John Wiseman is a better bet if you want that sort of info. The book its self is broken down into 4 main sections, which reflect the different seasons, what to look out for, and how to best survive during them. The book is comprehensive, covering the usual topics of fire, water, food and shelter building, whilst also covering topics such as how to make cordage, carvings and how to use resources such as bark. The writing style is easy to follow and the book is well illustrated with an abundance of descriptive pictures, which help the reader to understand and better follow the text.

However BEWARE as this book is identical, bar a few cosmetic differences to the American book, "The Outdoor Survival Handbook" which is also by Raymond Mears.

On the whole this is a great book for general interest reading, but you don't need it if you already have the other edition.