US Army Survival Manual

by U.S. Department of the Army

This Edition: U. S. Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76 is a reprint of the US Army Survival Manual.

Genres: Survival, Nonfiction, Reference, Military Fiction, Self Help, Nature, History

285 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

The Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Army is the Federal Government agency within which the United States Army is organized, and it is led by the Secretary of the Army who has statutory authority 10 U.S.C. § 3013 to conduct its affairs and to prescribe regulations for its government, subject to the limits of the law, and the directions of the Secretary of Defense and the President.

The Secretary of the Army is a civilian official appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The highest-ranking military officer in the department is the Chief of Staff of the Army, who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other senior officials of the Department are the Under Secretary of the Army (principal deputy to the Secretary) and the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (principal deputy to the Chief of Staff.)

The Department of War was originally formed in 1789 as an Executive Department of the United States, and was renamed by the National Security Act of 1947 to the Department of the Army on September 18, 1947. By amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 in 1949, the Department of the Army was transformed to its present-day status.

Reviews

[Bud Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one has it all. It’s got tips on how to cross a raging river: take off your pants and underwear but leave you shoes on; directions on how to tie a rope around a boulder and how to suspend the boulder off a tree branch so you can kill the roadrunner; how to get rid of intestinal parasites — drink some kerosene; how to get past quagmires/quicksand, crawl facedown through it; how to eat a beaver, destroy their dam and then wait for the beaver to come inspect it but then you grab the beaver by the tail and murder it; how to make coffee out of dandelions, or chicory, or juniper; how to survive freezing to death in your igloo with just one candle; how to dig a hole at the beach to get water and how to make it drinkable with just a couple of rocks and a fire; there are also tricks on how to avoid the enemy; how to stop yourself from bleeding to death; how to make soap out of fat ass animals and ash from a forest fire. This manual was great. Action packed. I read something out loud from every page and my wife loved it. We might actually join some war now.

[Clare Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW. (This was a serious purchase, I did not inherit this from someone or win it in a raffle or something. I bought it. Because YOU NEVER KNOW.)

THERE COULD BE ZOMBIES.

[Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as boring as one may think. The content is excellent, in a format that makes it easy to find the information you need, when you need it. The cover is a bit plain, but then again, it wasn't made for the looks. There is comprehensive information on everything from what plants you can eat to how deep underground you have to be to survive nuclear fallout to how to evade enemies in a rice field. Overall more information than you would ever need (hopefully), and that's a good thing. Four stars!

[Weathervane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Among the more notable things I learned are the facts that you can eat the inner white portion of treebark -- though beware, as it's a strong purgative -- you can divine north using a regular wristwatch and the position of the sun; and, if you are hurting for water, you can dig at the base of a hill, near the water table, and collect the ground water that emerges.

The illustrations of edible plants were largely useless, I thought; black-and-white hardly does any species justice (excepting zebras), and I would be constantly fearful that I would mistake one plant for another and poison myself inadvertently -- though I'm surprised to find how few poisonous plants there really are in the world. The section on mushrooms was the most worthless of them all -- there is no way I'm eating any wild mushrooms; I don't care how desperate I am, I'd rather eat leaves or the aforementioned tree bark. The bit about shelters and traps also went overboard; who, in a true survival situation, would have the time, resources, or even inclination to build some of those monstrosities? If I'm fighting for my life, one of my guiding principles will be KISS.

That said, the guide as a whole was pretty informative, especially the bits on survival in the desert, arctic, and jungle.

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love my copy of this. I think I have about 30 different pages bookmarked and dogeared. This would be an essential for any backpacker or anyone who just wants to be prepared for the Zombie holocaust.

[William Schram · Rating 4 out of 5]

The US Army is one of the branches of the United States Armed Forces. It has a long and illustrious history, being founded on 14 June 1775. This book is a printed copy of a Field Manual commissioned by the Department of the Army to train its soldiers in all-terrain, all-climate situations. The book was presumably modified from that version to cater to a civilian audience.

The book is composed of 17 Chapters, 4 Appendices, and an index. There is a slight annoyance with this book in that it doesn’t really have regular page numbers. Instead, each page has the chapter number followed by the page. So for example, the second page in the tenth chapter would be called 10-2. I suppose it makes it easy to go and flip through them, but I think I would have preferred regular page numbers.

The book focuses in on preparation over all else. It is sort of like the Boy Scouts with the Be Prepared motto. It talks about mindset and being familiar with where you are going. Then it goes in order of importance. First aid, making tools on site, procuring water and food, shelter, building a fire, water crossings, direction finding on the field, signaling, survival in different climates, and how to tie knots.

In that it starts with the psychology of survival first, I was reminded of the Green Beret Survival Manual by Myke Hawke. This book goes slightly further by talking about different types of plant and animal life that you might find. It shows pictures of different snakes, edible plants and other really interesting information that I can’t recall the Green Beret version talking about.

I don’t know which one is more practical in a real situation and I hope I never have to find out.

[KYLE CHRISTY · Rating 5 out of 5]

For any survivalist. Highly reccomend

[Doug Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of solid information, as you would expect, but honestly, I thought the USMC Survival Manual was more comprehensive.

[Lyndon Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended book for adventurous people.

[Rey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surviving interrogation techniques are very similar to what’s described in communist POW camps in the novel The Sympathizer

[Rodr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good to keep around for random situations on a trail or in the wild.

[Elizabeth de Moya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I can survive any situation!

The writing is from a time when people actually read. I think they should update some parts. For example they advise you never to steal a natives belongings, especially their women. Also I don’t own a wrist watch or a hankerchief, and nobody does anymore.

Also there are a lot of horrible ways to catch a bird. I am not eating baby birds.

[Cecil Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still have an old, tattered copy of this military field manual that helped me to "survive" my teenage years by helping me to build confidence in myself as an outdoorsperson and devotee of nature.
The manual itself addresses itself to soldiers in the field who, through a variety of circumstances, find themselves lost or cut off from their units and have to make it on their own until they are rescued or make it to safety. They key concepts are Survival, Evasion, and Escape.
There are no doomsday scenarios played out in this little book, just practical advice for staying alive and getting away from captors.
My copy was published in 1969, so there is a not-so-coincidental focus on jungle survival.
A true distillation of outdoor wisdom that doesn't lose its relevance in the age of how-to YouTube videos.

[Andrew Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book Army Survival Manual. It fits into a non-fiction area. The point of the book was to tell the reader how to survive in the environment and in different terrain. Some things that the book talks about are making shelter, setting up traps, food and water procurement, and much more. There were not any characters, but the book was full of useful information. There also was no action. I liked the author's writing style because it was casual, yet still informal. It talked about different things, from fallout to food. I personally liked the book and would recommend it to others.

[Brian Glassanos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although officially meant for the US Army combat survival tactics, the information you will learn from this book will be the only thing keeping you alive when you end up MIA in the middle of the wilderness. Informative read that gives you a new perspective on analyzing the patterns of environments, keeping calm under pressure and working your misfortunes into great advantages. This book has the potential to save your life

[Edwin Whiting · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the current climate of Republican vicissitude and arrogant intransigence, particularly with respect to women and the economy: this is an excellent book to have read and have handy for life's tribulations.

[Ahmed Hussien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! that manual is amazing guide for surviving almost all possible situations in wilderness. The information take my breath away, and details let you dive in imaginary scenarios. It is not only informative and comprehensive, it is also absorbing you into special exciting world.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

so interesting. lost in jungle, faced by sharks, wandering the desert... i think i know what to do in all those situations now, ha ha.

[Ruthie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this quite a while ago, and I just now realized I had not added it. This book is definitely one of the best resources for survival.

[Gary Lindros · Rating 5 out of 5]

In these days of zombie apocalypses and world wide power failures on tv, I'm glad to have a dead tree version of this book available

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

Will be taking for any overseas journeys/overwildnerness in the future. Skimming through, it has some good advice.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent survival field book. A must read, and must practice!

[David Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely practical and insightful. Requires some basic fore knowledge on navigation and logistics. Highly recommended for any and everyone.

[Mazen Alloujami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one for special skills. I recommend it for Boy-scouts also

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you wander around in the wilderness or even drive on little used roads you really need this book.

[Chuck Trimble · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wealth of information! Great to re-read after so many years.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book Everyone needs this

[Canden Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wording on this book can be hard for a younger audience but in the long run it helps i read this book to qualify me to participate as emergency services officer training in Civil air patrol qualifying me to participate in USAF assigned missions this will teach you how to build shelters i have attempted to create one my self given you pay attention in about an hour you can create a basic shelter.