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Bushcraft Survival
In BUSHCRAFT SURVIVAL Ray Mears travels to some of the most remote and beautiful wildernesses in the world, and experiences first hand the survival techniques of different indigenous cultures. From the Hudson Bay in Canada, via Tanzania and the jungles of Venezuela, to the moors and highlands of Britain, BUSHCRAFT SURVIVAL explores a range of locations and techniques from indigenous peoples. Drawing on centuries of knowledge as well as his own experience, Ray demonstrates how our enjoyment of the wilderness comes through respect for our surroundings and the people, plants and animals that live there.
- GenresNonfictionTravelSurvival
256 pages, Paperback, Sewn Binding
First published April 11, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 25, 2019
As with everything Ray seems to be associated with an excellent and informative book.
December 13, 2024
Started off quite dry then improved and picked up quite a canter as we went along, accelerating from 0*s to a well-deserved 4*. Good savoir-faire if I should find myself naked & afraid in the wilderness.
Takeaways:
-> roots of the celadine plant: 'as simple and delicious as a bowl of chips'
-> Tanzania during WWI: Lettow Vorbeck & 11,000 Askari troops successful contra the Britishers
-> Ricin (poison used by the Soviets) produced from the castor bean plant (otherwise known as ricinus communis)
-> "Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred miles on a bicycle and you remain basically bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature" - Canadian PM, Pierre Elliott Trudeau
-> 'canoeing burns calories' [brilliant.]
-> 'collecting firewood makes you warm three times - when you cut it, when you carry it back, and when you burn it'
-> Wyoming is the 'Cowboy State': least populated
-> Grizzlies can run at 35mph
-> 'a colourful 90yr old who has been trapping beaver since he was 7' [brilliant.]
{*Scandi stuff}
-> Edible wild berry: lingonberry/cowberry
-> Torv Kata huts have roofs of turf for greater insulation
-> Sami put grass in their boots as insulation
{*GBR stuff}
-> 'beech trees have a tendency to drop huge branches with no warning': as such, it would be wise to avoid camping underneath them
-> Light fire on bare earth. When done, douse ash with water and scatter it around the site
-> 'sorrel leaves, which look a bit like clover, have a delicious taste like apple peel'
-> sap from silver birch was used to make beer and wine
-> salami is a good emergency food: lots of fat & protein
-> Fuel: dead oak branches burn very hot and very slowly like coal; sweet chestnut is not good as it 'spits furiously'
-> Red deer in the Cairngorms: no predators; annual rut around October
-> Highlands: if have to make a fire (better to use a wood-burning stove that leaves no scar on the ground), make it on gravel by a river where it can easily be extinguished
Takeaways:
-> roots of the celadine plant: 'as simple and delicious as a bowl of chips'
-> Tanzania during WWI: Lettow Vorbeck & 11,000 Askari troops successful contra the Britishers
-> Ricin (poison used by the Soviets) produced from the castor bean plant (otherwise known as ricinus communis)
-> "Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred miles on a bicycle and you remain basically bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature" - Canadian PM, Pierre Elliott Trudeau
-> 'canoeing burns calories' [brilliant.]
-> 'collecting firewood makes you warm three times - when you cut it, when you carry it back, and when you burn it'
-> Wyoming is the 'Cowboy State': least populated
-> Grizzlies can run at 35mph
-> 'a colourful 90yr old who has been trapping beaver since he was 7' [brilliant.]
{*Scandi stuff}
-> Edible wild berry: lingonberry/cowberry
-> Torv Kata huts have roofs of turf for greater insulation
-> Sami put grass in their boots as insulation
{*GBR stuff}
-> 'beech trees have a tendency to drop huge branches with no warning': as such, it would be wise to avoid camping underneath them
-> Light fire on bare earth. When done, douse ash with water and scatter it around the site
-> 'sorrel leaves, which look a bit like clover, have a delicious taste like apple peel'
-> sap from silver birch was used to make beer and wine
-> salami is a good emergency food: lots of fat & protein
-> Fuel: dead oak branches burn very hot and very slowly like coal; sweet chestnut is not good as it 'spits furiously'
-> Red deer in the Cairngorms: no predators; annual rut around October
-> Highlands: if have to make a fire (better to use a wood-burning stove that leaves no scar on the ground), make it on gravel by a river where it can easily be extinguished
June 21, 2019
Compared to some of his other work, this one is a little sparse. I think it suffers a little from being the companion to a TV series.
The photography is beautiful though, and it still managed to make me want to get out into nature, so... Job done!
The photography is beautiful though, and it still managed to make me want to get out into nature, so... Job done!
July 18, 2018
enjoyable
August 2, 2024
Pointless book if you haven't watched the tv show, and if you have unclear what this would add.
March 3, 2017
As much as I love Ray. This book is not really a bushcraft book. It's more a complimentary book to his series.
It is still an easy read with great pictures and tips.
Enjoy.
It is still an easy read with great pictures and tips.
Enjoy.
January 3, 2011
The books seem to be a bit lacking in substance - but then I'm always comparing Mors Kochanski's Bushcraft to everything. That's a bit unreasonable of me...
August 19, 2012
Full of useful facts and photos
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews