Outdoor Survival Skills

by Larry Dean Olsen, Robert Redford (Foreword by)

Outdoor Survival Skills has taught three generations of wilderness adventurers how to survive in nature without expensive purchased equipment, instead drawing on knowledge of the land and carefully tested techniques, many of them ancient, for finding or creating shelter, fire, tools, water, and plant and animal foods. In this new edition, anecdotes from the author's lifetime of experience provide thrilling examples of the skills and attitudes that ensure survival outdoors.

Genres: Survival, Nonfiction, Nature, Outdoors, Reference, Wilderness, Personal Development

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1966

Reviews

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a bad book and actually may be one of the more useful ones out there in some ways as it assumes you are stuck in a survival situation with no equipment at all. How do you make fire from scratch...how then do you carry a little smoldering fire with you so that you can be on the move without laboring over a drill and bow again tonight. (I live in hope that if I'm ever there I can use a lens from my glasses or something...a drill and bow is no easy thing).

I have an old copy...but it could still be useful.

[K.S.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read this book again, or portions of it rather, last year. I've always been a bit of a nature geek, and as a teenager dreamt of living in the wild for a month. I made my own moccasins once, and I still feel as though I haven't quite lived my life's calling because I haven't made squirrel jerky, like this book describes. :) I used to have this book memorized, and one summer, just before my family left the natural park at Goblin Valley in the remote deserts of Utah, I realized I'd better make a potty stop. My families station wagon had been the only vehicle in the very deserted-looking parking lot. When I came out, there at my feet my family had left my copy of Outdoor Survival Skills. The pea-green country squire was no where to be seen. When I looked around I saw a trail of dust in the distance and realized they were driving away. They came back a few minutes later, hooting and hollering. At the time I was almost disappointed that they'd come back. That could have been my chance. But from what I hear, there aren't any squirrels in Goblin Valley, so just as well.

[Zora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've carried this book in my backpack or car or RV since 1980 or so. It has some useful information. I've -- for the heck of it -- learned a few of these skills, like making my own rope with the instructions here (though never to survive, just to learn it), and his explanations are clear enough to follow. Some of the information is outdated--water gathering techniques taught today say that some of what he suggests is too labor intensive for the return in water, and those cool little coins of compressed towels didn't exist nor the water filters they've used in Haiti that can turn sewage back to potable water--but if these issues ever do come up for you, this book would be far better than no book on the topic. So if the endtime comes and your smart phone can no longer tell you how to make a bow and arrows, and you run across this book while fleeing screaming from the burning urban center with zombies on your tail(:rolleyes), grab it.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 7th edition, which was edited by Christopher Nyerges after Larry Dean Olsen's death; he also added photos not in previous versions. It has been a long time since I read the original book (unedited), so I can't say what was changed, but CN said he edited very little.

I hope to read a copy, again, that was written only by LDO.

There's a lot of good information in the book, but I think one would need an in-person teacher to really learn most of what the book contains.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good information on wilderness survival skills, including making a bow and arrows with just stone tools. Lots of plant information, but just drawings, no photos. Has other B & W photos for arrow making, etc.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Larry Olsen is a wilderness guru!! When it comes to making your way in the great outdoors, he has blazed the trail. This book outlines many of his techniques for living off the land. Brilliant and insightful, I wish I had bought a version that wasn't so outdated. The sepia photos were sometimes difficult to decipher, and the message wasn't always clearly conveyed. Spend the extra cash and get a new and complete edition. It'll be worth it!

[Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed this book though I'm sure there are some newer ones out there. I think I liked that the author is from Utah and his experiences are from this area. I have read this book many times over, it's worn out and needs to be replaced, and I carry it about every day with me as a back up for reading.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry Olsen was the forerunner of survivalist literature. The man is a primitive skills god. Maybe five stars is a little high......think of it more like four stars with an extra star for Robert Redford writing the foreword.

[Bo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful knowledge for anyone. If taken metaphorically the psychological aspects can be applied, with difficulty, to urban survival.

"It's easy to be a holy man on top of a mountain." -The Razor's Edge

[William Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was a teenager. I had lots of woods to play in growing up in New England. Thinking that World War III was imminent, this book and my mail order Rambo knife was to see me through. I'm rereading it now.

[Lou Cadle · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first how-to survival book; I carried it around as a teen, learned to make cordage, tried to start a fire from scratch, tried to make a bow, dug a solar still and had a great deal of fun with it. It was always in my car. Somehow, I still own it.

[Rahadyan]

I first read this about 18 years ago and I periodically re-read it to keep the information fresh in my head. It occupies a permanent place among my survival gear and reference books

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

very informative! although i expect tanning an animal hide is slightly more difficult than it seems from the mere 8 pages of instructions offered in this book.

[Tyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book. Larry Olsen is a pioneer of the survivalist movement.

[Timothy Hrushka · Rating 4 out of 5]

...never did manage to make a fire with just sticks. :/

[Jacob Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing and super informational. The points it goes across through different methods in: fire starting, water collecting, shelter constructing are all very helpful. Then moving on to plant Identification and uses of those plants both for food and for medical use. It helpful to know all of the many plants you can use to make flour, foods you can dry for storage, and the worry of other plants that can be harmful. For those starting to learn the knowledge of survival this is a great book to read. It helps you learn about another of the common knowledge you should know to survive.

[Dante Carlisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinarily informative. As someone who reads and practices a lot of the skills in these books, this definitely stretched the limits of what I already knew and taught me a lot while staying succinct enough to not put me to sleep as so many books like this are prone to do. Definitely recommended for any survival enthusiast.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content of the book is a solid 4/5 but the photos are in dire need of an update. It’s a reassuring overall primer on how to survive out in the wild and it’s inspired me to dig deeper in to the subject.

[Lnsimon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good parts

Everything presented here is useful; however, it’s difficult to weigh what is more important. I read this book on the recommendation of all the masters in this field, but the organization is awful.

[Andy G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book of primitive outdoor skills. Most of the “nature” references are for the western half of the USA, but not at all un-useful to the rest of us. Well worth the time to read and experiment with these skills.
-an old Eagle Scout

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating reading about ancient outdoor skills.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonus points for being found in an AT shelter and being my entertainment for the night

[Jonas Stephan Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

God so good Corking

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fascinated with this book as a kid, mainly for fort-building purposes.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for the basics of outdoor survival.