Complete Survival Manual: Expert Tips From Four World-renowned Organizations Plus Survival Stories of National Geographic Explorers

by Michael S. Sweeney

Book by MICHAEL S. SWEENEY

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

399 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Benjamin B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever been bitten by a snake? Trapped in the Arctic? Lost at sea? Probably not. But you may. That’s why you need to be prepared. That is where this book comes in handy. The purpose of this book is to teach you everything you need to know about how to survive in the wilderness in any situation. It contains everything from what to do when you see a bear, to how to give CPR. This book is not very hard to read because it contains tons of pictures, diagrams, and plenty of tips from expert survival organizations. Also, the book is broken up into many specific chapters, each one based on a different environment. One of the most useful chapters is the appendix. It contains useful information that applies to any and every environment. It tells you about how to tell if a flower is poisonous, how to treat injuries, and gives you a few maps to help you figure out where you are. Also, the appendix contains an index. So whenever you have trouble finding a specific topic in the book, the index is the place to be. But you probably will never need to use the index because the book is organized in a way that allows you to figure out where something is just by the table of contents. I believe it is obvious that this book could not have been created any better then it is now.
There is one problem with the book though. Even though the book is very well written, it is not very interesting. I would not recommend reading this book, unless you are, or are going to be, in one of these situations. But because the writer is an expert on wilderness survival, you should definitely finish the book with a greater knowledge of survival in the wilderness.

[John Opalenik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book as an early release because of a magazine subscription I had. The book is full of useful information arranged according to environment.

The environments covered are temperate forest, tundra, high mountains, on the open water, jungle, desert, and in the home (natural disasters).

The skills covered are generally the equipment you need, how to acquire food/water, how to create shelter, etc. There are also environment specific survival skills.

This book is a great manual. If I had to buy one survival manual, this would be the one I'd choose.

The only thing that I wish they covered in a more in depth way was the guide to edible plants. They have a small section of tiny pictures and names that could not be used in the field at all. I understand why they left that out though, it would've added significantly to the length of the book and food is not a top priority in a survival situation (at least at first).

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het boek begint in het eerste hoofdstuk al goed met een referentie naar het Transgalactisch Lifterhandboek van Douglas Adam. Met als voorkant van dit boek " don't panic". Het boek gaat over overleven en daarbij behorende vaardigheden. Tot en met blz. 28 ben ik hier al volledig mee eens. Dit belooft wat.

[Word Owl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book! I've read it multiple times, internalizing the information more deeply each time. It's well laid out, fascinating and comprehensive. You can read my entire review here .