Survival Tips: 150 Ways to Survive Emergency Situations

by Clive Johnson

150 vital survival tips to get you out of every survival situation, wherever you are in the world- from the driest desert to the coldest ice cap.Clearly illustrated with more than 100 black-and-white illustrations.Includes a comprehensive appendix containing valuable travel information for more than 100 countries worldwide

Genres: Survival, Nonfiction, Nature

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer]

This was an interesting read and the author clearly knows a lot about the subject. It's not the only book you'll need in this kind of situation, especially related to wild foods (it's not an ID book and it's completely lacking here) and with medical information to a lesser extent. Johnson has experience in totally different situations than I do and I enjoyed reading his perspective. It's better suited for a world traveler than a prepper, if that makes sense (I am neither, but I tend to have more of the knowledge of the prepper crowd). This is more along the lines of how to get to civilization to get a doctor and such. There's still some good advice for a variety of situations like how not to get caught in a rip tide and what to do in an avalanche.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Stef]

This book is incredibly thorough! It contains a wealth of knowledge and information for any type of emergency that may arise. Clive Johnson has this book broken into sections that are very easy to navigate, such as by region, by disaster type and by first aid injuries. This is a good book to read through and then keep as a reference in a bug out bag or something of that nature. I am prior military so a few of the first aid items I had a minor familiarity to, but not enough to remember in an actual emergency. I recommend this book for those who live in areas that natural diseases occurs, military, those who camp, boy and girl scouts and the like, and anyone who maybe lives more isolated and may not have help easily and readily available in an emergency.

[AcademicEditor]

This is a book that you hope you never need, but sooner or later you probably will--I found it useful to review the first aid techniques as well as the emergency preparation lists and recommended equipment. Natural disasters are an increasingly common occurrence and a little preparation can make a huge difference. The author is also realistic about the psychological aspects of survival.

All in all, a handy book indeed. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC.

[Kylie Abecca]

When I decided to ‘leave the nest’ in style and travel around Australia with nothin but a dog and a backpack, my uncle gifted me a copy of this book. He wrote in the cover ‘Anything that can go wrong WILL! When it does REGAIN CONTROL! A book for your travels.
That was a little over 18 years ago now and this book still remains by my side. It’s a little worse for wear. It was caught in a flood and had to be sun dried page but page. It still has spots of charcoal and even black mould on the dust jacket (which I just can’t bring myself to remove).
This book saved my life! During my travels I got a lift with a so-called friend, who left me and my dog on the side of a deserted road in the middle of nowhere. All I knew was that I was somewhere in Queensland. I set up camp in the dense Bush and wound up staying there for 8 months. Yes, there were cars that came along the road, but by the time one finally came almost 3 days after I arrived, I’d already settled in.
I was born with a degenerative genetic condition that meant I would eventually lose the ability to walk (among other things), which is why I chose to make use of my body as much as possible before my health declined. I am still up and about 8 years past the supposed deadline, though I often need a walker to keep me balanced. I look back on my time in the bush as the hardest, yet most rewarding time in my life. I often say ‘I never want to do it again, but I don’t regret doing it for a minute!’
From something as basic as digging a fire pit, to building structures, getting fresh water, finding food and maintaining sustenance, this book has it all. It was the only thing I had to keep me alive and it did the job expertly. Even though I doubt I’ll ever find myself in that situation again, I still keep this book close… just in case. Coz, you know - anything that can go wrong…..

[Debbie]

"Survival Tips" provides a series of brief tips about how to stay safe in a variety of landscapes (desert, snow, jungle, etc.) and how to deal with different emergency situations. This book is not comprehensive, not really survival training, and wasn't necessarily about unexpected emergency situations. For example, it started off with advice about what to carry in your survival kit when going hiking. The water survival tips assumed that you had been on a yacht equipped with a survival raft, so you can grab canned goods, a can opener, and water before getting into the raft. The author did have an illustration showing how to lash a raft together from wood, but a YouTube video showing these techniques in action would be more helpful and comprehensive.

The tips were generally only a few sentences long. He'd tell you how to find water, what animals and plants are edible, and what animals and plants are dangerous. However, you already have to know how to identify these plants and animals for this information to be useful. He also gave commonsense advice and advice that you probably would be given by instructors if you were going hiking in a snowy, mountainous area or visiting a desert area. He also gave some information about first aid, but much of this ended with evacuating the person to a hospital as fast as possible. Even if you had this book on hand in a survival situation, I didn't feel like the information was complete enough to help you survive. Since I learned how to do first aid, use maps, make fires, etc., in Girl Scouts and from my parents, I didn't really find much of this information useful.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher (Amber Books) through NetGalley.

[Annie]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Survival Tips 150 Essential Life-saving Skills is a tutorial guide by Clive Johnson. Originally published in 2002 this reformatted second edition released 14th April 2020 from Amber Books is 322 pages and available in paperback format (1st edition available in other formats).

The book contains a collection of survival tips arranged thematically by terrain: mountains, desert, polar climate, sea, tropics, natural disasters. The author has also provided some ancillary information about situations and psychological stress factors which can affect the reader's chances of survival (anxiety, depression, hopelessness, etc and how to minimize their effects).

The introductory chapters include useful equipment and preparation lists as well as some general first aid and signaling and navigation to increase the chances for rescue.

The book is illustrated with black and white line drawings which support and supplement the text very well.

It should be noted that the book is written with non-American terminology and spellings (torch, flannel, colour, etc). It is not confusing or unclear in any way from context, and shouldn't detract at all from the usefulness of the volume for Americans. This isn't a book which will lend itself to being read cover to cover, but for short interludes or as a reference, it's useful.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[kepz_lovesreading]

I have mixed thoughts on this book and was confused at what the book was aiming for at times whilst looking at it. To begin with the book is marketed as 150 survival tips but in the contents it numbers over 300 (not sure what they count as a tip though as it stops being numbered) . The book is divided into chapter based on the environment you're travelling to and how to survive off the land if need be. Many situations could have been left out as they would be highly unlikely to happen like being followed by a Polar Bear.
It's not as comprehensive or as straight forward as it could be as some sections explained why something was useful without showing what it was or for example with plants and fungus it would explain types you can and can't eat but with only a few pictures so it's completely useless as you would need a separate ID book or you could poison yourself. To me it is really a book for preparing rather than worst case scenario and what to do at that moment. And I did definitely find some useful information that is relevant for the average outdoorsy person.
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Amber Books Ltd for this complimentary eARC copy of I assume an updated edition.

[John]

This book has the appearance of something that you should pack when you think you may experience an emergency situation. In an actual emergency--unless you went into it knowing exactly nothing-- I think this book would be of only marginal benefit. It somehow manages to provide too little information and, at the same time, too much. There are needless background facts about various things with too little practical, applied knowledge. A book of this sort also screams for tons more illustrations, step-by-step instructions, and larger print. I hope I'll find a better survival guide before the zombie apocalypse.

[PermaPrepper]

This is a good list of tips for survival and it's a handy refresher on many survival skills. This is not for absolute beginners - this is primarily for people who already have some survival skills and want to make sure they're covering every angle. I would recommend using this in conjunction with a good foraging book for identification of food as there are not complete pictures to aid with identification.

[OjoAusana]

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Great book to read and have on hand, covers a lot of tips, terrains and just really great important survival and emergency info. Would love to own a copy for sure.

[Juliana]

I needed more photos/illustrations.

[Chase Danger]

I'm quite conflicted about this book. It's very clearly well researched and has a lot of useful information. I just cannot get over one thing.

If you are giving advice about specific fungi that are safe to eat and others that are deadly, you MUST HAVE PICTURES OF THE CAP, STALK, AND GILLS

This is not negotiable. Without this people will die. That is all.

[L.G. Estrella]

Naturally, there is no true substitute for actual survival training and experience in the field. This handbook is unlikely to turn you from a panicking survivor to a cool, controlled expert. However, it does offer a number of useful tips explained in simple language.

What I truly enjoy about this book is that it makes excellent casual reading. The format makes it ideal for whiling away a few spare minutes. It can't hurt to know a little more about how to survive in a swamp or desert, and this book offers a few tips, one page at a time.

Definitely a fun read.

[Tukang Kueh Keren]

Buku survival lain yang ada di lemari ayahtio :D Tapi yang ini lebih lengkapan dikit dari yang sebelumnya