Will to Live: Dispatches from the Edge of Survival – Examining Real-Life Stories of Endurance and Human Perseverance

by Les Stroud

In Will to Live, Les Stroud, host of “Survivorman” and Discovery Channel’s “Les Stroud Beyond Survival,” examines the greatest true stories of endurance and perseverance. By examining real-life survival tales—like the inspiring story of the soccer team stranded in the Andes and immortalized in the bestselling book Alive by Piers Paul Reid—and his own remarkable experiences in the treacherous wild, Stroud demonstrate how seemingly insurmountable obstacles can be overcome by making use of the four critical elements of survival.

Genres: Nonfiction, Survival, Outdoors, Adventure, Travel, Canada, Biography

228 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2010

Reviews

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Survivorman show, and I have read an awful lot of survival stories – particularly about Arctic and Antarctic explorers. So I thought I would read this and see how it was.

Couple of things.

This was written with the help of a ghostwriter – it would have been MUCH better if they just let Les write it like a series of blog entries or essays. A lot of what makes Survivorman interesting to watch is his personality, and this book did not really have much of that in it. It was nice to have well known survival scenarios compared with his personal experiences as a guide and in filming the show – but the writing style was completely different from how he speaks on the show or how he writes in other places on the internet. It wasn’t BAD, just sort of obvious. At least the ghostwriter is acknowledged at the end.

Also – in the sections where the actions of other survivors were summarized – there have been whole books written about each scenario that are SO much better and more comprehensive. These are mentioned in the book & further reading section, and I would definitely recommend reading them. If someone wasn’t familiar with the survival stories included in this already this book had excellent summaries.

100% my favorite part of this book was the part that differentiated it from many other survival books - what Les Stroud thought about each scenario. I also appreciated that he included his own personal survival scenarios in which he did not do everything correctly or made stupid mistakes. But it was apparent that he was able to empathize with the people in each story.

The thing that I wish most about this book is that it was longer and more personal.

I really wish the story of Lost in the Amazon: The True Story of Five Men and Their Desperate Battle for Survival by Stephen Kirkpatrick (cowritten with his wife Marlo) was covered instead of or in addition to Yossi Ghinsberg because I would love to know what Les thought about that one. They sound like SUCH similar guys – photographers/filmmakers – I would have loved a section on filmmaking & art in survival scenarios, which is something Les Stroud has a LOT of experience with.

At one point, in an interview, Les Stroud suggested that since the Survivorman show was over, he could do another show where he followed in the footsteps of famous explorers. PLEASE DO THIS. And then write a book about it.

*****
Some of these are mentioned in the Further Reading section at the back of this book, but I would recommend reading:

About Yossi Ghinsberg
Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Survival by Yossi Ghinsberg – who has used this story to jumpstart his career as a corporate motivational speaker (!)

About Nando Parrado:
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read

About the Robertson Family
Survive The Savage Sea by Dougal Robertson – this guy sounds like a tool and a terrible leader, he would have gotten along well with Charles Wilkes of the US Ex. Ex.

Some other good lost at sea stories, not involving the Robertson family, but involving similar circumstances:
Capsized by James Nalepka
And/or
Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea by Steve Callahan

About Chris McCandless
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Movie about the Stolpa family in which Jim Stolpa is played by Neil Patrick Harris:
Snowbound

About the Karluk:
Karluk by William Laird McKinlay
And/or
The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk by Jennifer Niven
(also by Jennifer Niven, about the Wrangel Island expedition, which is not mentioned in this book (it occurs later than the Karluk) but also involves Vilhjalmur Stefansson, who is mentioned: Ada BlackJack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic)

About Douglas Mawson:
Mawson's Will: The Greatest Polar Survival Story Ever Written by Lennard Bickel

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

No one likes a good tale of daring-do better than I do, so this compilation of stories about individuals caught in life and death survival situations appealed to me, especially since most (but not all) of them prevailed against the odds and lived. The author, a survival expert and producer of many "reality" survival-type television shows (I did not know this when I picked up the book), analyzes the particulars of each story and attempts to determine which decisions (both good and bad) led to the final outcome (either good or bad). He also offers tips for preparedness if the reader should someday find himself in similar unfortunate circumstances. And though I don't plan to be mushing in the arctic or sailing solo across the Pacific, I did copy one list of recommended supplies: the "Car Survival Kit" for long distance winter driving. Becoming snowbound during a blizzard was the one circumstance that I could reasonably foresee might happen to me, and if it ever does, I will now and forever after be prepared!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really, really wanted to rate this book higher. I loved the stories and got caught up in how the people managed to survive. Unfortunately, I really hated Les Stroud and couldn't stand his attitude towards the survivors.

Ultimately, I would give the stories themselves 5/5 and Les Stroud's commentary on the stories 1/5. Stroud comes off as an arrogant asshole and I just couldn't stand it.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Will To Live: Dispatches From the Edge of Survival
Les Stroud
Read it in Paperback at about 228 pages, large print, pictures, and lists.

So behind on these damn things, especially those non-fiction picks, but in any event, this was the December and final pick for OTC Book Club 2013 slaying season. BoozyCoug once again got the pick and had selected Will to Live: Dispatches From the Edge of Survival by Les Stroude.

A short little book formulated with extreme stories of survival, each amazing and increasingly bleak, laced with Les's opinion of the situation that the survivors got themselves into, what he might have done, and a checklist for surviving the situation at hand. In-between, we have recaps of Les surviving as captured in the show, retold with words.

While I was initially very excited about this selection since Les is such an interesting individual in the survival community, it was demonstrated that he should stick to the digital medium instead of the written one. Personally, I had seen the show (most of it) so the recap was boring and didn't add much that wasn't already covered in each of the applicable episodes. These gaps between the dispatches dragged, even as a fan of the show. Most of the dispatches were not really covered all that well. To me, Les covered it at the 10 thousand foot level without diving into a lot of history, backstory, or comparison for the dispatches. While I was hoping for a Les prospective and more information on the individuals and their situation, I felt I got no more information than if I had watched a quick news broadcast and Les's input wasn't all that…helpful or insightful. I guess at least I have the tips to surviving some very extreme events…?

While I know most fans will disagree with me, I am a fan, and this book seemed padded for sales instead of what it should have been. By my opinion aside, how did OTC take this?

On a scale of 1 to 10 with a 1 being a candidate for stuffing a corpse and a 10 ordained to wrap it:
Th3ee: 3
Dust: 5
Hylen: 6
G$$: 4
SS: 5
BoozyCoug: 6
Shely-the-Don: 3

So we only had seven people finish and pulled an average reader score of 4.5. Ouch Les.

I am going to skip a lot of our conversation details on this one since they are all pretty pointed towards the survival situations in the book.

[Carolyn Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will to Live: Dispatches from the Edge of Survival","Les Stroud",
"Les Stroud is best known as a survivor expert on the Discovery channel for such series as Survivorman and Beyond Survival. He gets himself stranded in some of the most hazardous locations on earth. He does his own camera work and describes how to get out of the dangers he encounters. He also teachers courses in outdoors survival. In this book he describes and summarizes some of the most famous survival stories of the 20th century, and some cases where the people did not survive. Readers may already be familiar with these feats of endurance in greater detail from full length books and documentaries. Here Stroud describes smart choices these people made, or their mistakes, and what would be best to do in their dangerous, life-threatening situations. He also inserts chapters of his own wilderness adventures, which are not as compelling as watching his TV shows."

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually finished this book on the flight home from Munich. Perfect for reading on an airplane while passing over the frozen tundra of Canada and imagining possible survival scenerios if the aircraft crashed into the snow and ice.

[Saje · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first ebook I went through the effort to return. I started it right after finishing Into Thin Air by Jon Kraukauer so the standards for journalistic integrity were pre-established.

First, the writing is god awful. One of the first paragraphs starts, "One day,..." Seriously? My daughter started her stories like that when she was six.

Second, the author is writing non-fiction but doesn't bother to build trust with his readers. How does he know these stories? Did he conduct interviews? There is no hint that he understands his interpretations could be incorrect. Excuse me, but your hubris is showing.

Third, he constantly interjects into the story and brings it back around to him. He notes things he would have done differently or similar experiences he had. This would be alright, if it was well-told but it's condescending and judgemental. It's very jarring for the reader and impossible to get invested in the story when there is no groundwork for the story and then you keep getting pulled out of it.

So it's been returned and I hope to read about those stories some day, but it won't be from Les.

[Austin Faulkner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally thought that the book was overall good. I found myself unable to put it down as I read through each survival story. Others have said that Les was harsh on some of the stories, but you have to see from his point of view. Les is first a survivalist and secondly, a teacher. Survival is no joke, so of course Les is going to be a critic when it comes to the elements of the stories he found to be unwise decisions. I felt as though his "extreme criticism" as some have called it was emphasized so that readers would not make the same mistakes in their own survival situation. I would have liked to have had a little more background on each story, but I understand Les had a tight schedule at the time (the explanation of a the ghost writer). Also, I know I could further learn the background on the stories by reading the books recommendations.

[SpicySenor]

In this book Les Stroud covers real survival stories. The real-life accounts are nightmarish and intriguing but they are also condensed and I wish they each had more detail. Mawson's two-year experience in Antarctica especially captivated me. These tales alone are worth reading but the icing on top is to have Stroud's analysis throughout. He makes it clear early on that he has never been in the situation these survivors were so he can't say he would have made better decisions. Nonetheless, tips like how to prevent muscle atrophy in a survival situation and to come up with more than one solution to a problem before acting make it a learning experience.

[Devin Gaumont]

A great survival book. Les reviews many real-life survival situations and provides insight based on his own knowledge and experience. He is careful not to judge the situations too harshly as he admits he has not had that specific experience. Still, he lends his own opinion on what worked and didnt work for each situation and how other factors, like sheer-dumb-luck played into the survival (or lack thereof) of the individual(s).

[Chris Devine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually really like these true survival books, but this one just doesn't go deep enough into each story, each chapter is just an overview of a survival situation with Les bragging about how he would do it if he was in the same situation. I liked survivorman, but he just comes off as a dick in writing.

[Adam Cormier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Les Stroud, aka Survivorman recounts several survival stories of others and offers some of his own. He offers his own survival insights throughout the book. A quick, light read about the influencing factors that impacts someone's 'will to live". Highly recommend to those who enjoy nature or adventuring type reads.

[wayword_witch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found that I kept putting the book down. The stories are intriguing enough and they’re probably ones you’ve heard about before but I didn’t connect with the style of writing like I had hoped. I was quite disappointed to read in the Acknowledgements that it was written pretty much by a ghostwriter. I’m still a Survivorman fan, just not so much of this book.

[Bookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't finish. read up to about PG 143. would probably give it a 7.5/10.
the stories were interesting and it was written well but just not interested in survivalist literature at the moment. Sometimes he gave his opinion too much while retelling the stories which prevented you from enjoying it as much.
decent book, maybe now's not the time for me to read it.

[Colin Dionne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Stories and Lessons

I may be a bit biased as I love Les Stroud's work, but the lessons learned in this book really stuck with me. This is not a survival manual. It is a collection of stories used as cautionary tales to learn from.

[Derek Falkowsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read and some great insight into survival situations!

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Sarca · Rating 3 out of 5]

My only real critique about this book is that I wish Les Stroud shared more of his experiences surviving in the wild. The survival stories he told were interesting, however.

[Kelly]

Skimmed this one: interesting-ish but the overall tone was critical when analyzing the survivors' stories which came across arrogant.

[Peggy Ranburger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing stories of survival. Love that it's also information in case you find yourself in the same situation. Will to Live is Les Stroud. It truly reads as he talks so you can feel like he is with you reading the book. Well done...

[Michael Murdoch · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Will to Live, Les Stroud, host of “Survivorman” and Discovery Channel’s “Les Stroud Beyond Survival,” examines the greatest true stories of endurance and perseverance. By examining real-life survival tales—like the inspiring story of the soccer team stranded in the Andes and immortalized in the bestselling book Alive by Piers Paul Reid—and his own remarkable experiences in the treacherous wild, Stroud demonstrate how seemingly insurmountable obstacles can be overcome by making use of the four critical elements of survival.

**

From Booklist

The creator of TV's Survivorman looks at some real-life survival situations and offers his perspective on them. Some will be familiar to many: the 1972 Andes crash of an airplane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team (chronicled in the book and movie, Alive); Chris McCandless' solo hike into the Alaskan wilderness (subject of the book and movie, Into the Wild). Others less familiar are no less fascinating, such as the plight of the Karluk, a ship that, during the 1913 Canadian Arctic Expedition, was trapped several months in an ice pack. Stroud approaches the stories practically: here's what these people did, here's what they should have done, here's what you should think about doing if you're ever in a similar situation. He offers intelligent tips'if you're traveling somewhere remote, tell people where you're going, take a well-stocked survival kit, and keep a cool head if you get lost'and he does an excellent job of putting readers into the situations he's discussing, making us feel the cold or the panic or the sheer desperation. --David Pitt

From the Back Cover

In a survival situation, a wrong decision could spell the difference between life and death.

No one knows this better than Les Stroud, who has survived everywhere from the sun-scorched sands of the Kalahari to the snake-infested jungles of the Amazon. In Will to Live, Les examines many incredible true life survival stories—explaining what happened and why, and offering valuable perspectives on what went right, what went wrong, and what could have been done differently. The tales in Will to Live include:

Chris McCandless—the subject of the book and movie Into the Wild.Yossi Ghinsberg—who survived alone in the Amazon for twenty-one days.

Douglas Mawson—the Antarctic "superman" who survived three hellish months at the bottom of the planet.

Nando Parrado—who was trapped for two months high in the Andes after a plane crash killed his friends and family.

Plus . . . stories from Les's own experiences, along with practical sidebars with tips on how to escape quicksand, butcher a moose, cross a snow-covered crevasse, and more.

Provocative and entertaining, Will to Live is a compilation of history's most intriguing survival stories from one of the world's foremost experts.

[Nikko Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why I read this book?

I've been a fan of Les Stroud's Survivorman and Beyond Survival television shows. There are lots of twists on the televised survival story. Stroud's is that he goes it relatively alone. He is his own camera crew and, aside from the rescue crew a radio call away, he's only go himself to count on unless it comes to life of death. Despite his penchant for being dramatic, I really enjoy his survival knowledge. I've had a couple of his books Survive and The Will to Live on my Amazon wishlist for some time now.

My one sentence summary:

More often than not, the only thing that determines whether a person makes it out of a survival situation is luck and their will to survive.

Kudos:

I'll admit that I am a survival junky so I love reading about the real life survival stories Les Stroud recounts in The Will to Live. The chapters interweave some well-known and perhaps less well-known survival stories with both positive (they lived) and negative (they died) outcomes along with his own experiences before and after he became Survivorman. Stroud also throws in his opinion as a survivalist about what other survivors (or not) could have down with the resources at hand or how he would have wanted to handle the situation.

Quibbles:

Stroud's writing is much like his narration on his TV shows. He likes to be dramatic. Of course when you are reading about life and death survival stories there is no shortage of drama. At times it felt like Stroud was playing arm chair survivalist, except that his credentials make his input more akin to expert opinion.

Final Verdict:

High recommend for anyone who is interested in quick rundowns on some amazing stories of survival. If you like Survivorman, you'll love reading about the behind the scenes of Stroud's TV programs and the tidbits of his personal life that are thrown in.

[Hailee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hailee Christman
Stroud, L., & Vlessides, M. (2011). Will to live: Dispatches from the edge of survival. New York: Harper.
Informational
Selection process: Reviewed in Booklist, February 1, 2011, retrieved from www.booklistonline.com

Television's Survivorman, Les Stroud compiles an engaging and fascinating collection of twelve stories of survival from around the world. Some well known, such as Chris McCandless, who's story inspired the book and subsequent movie Into the Wild and the plane crash of the Uruguay rugby team which left them stranded in the Andes for two months, resorting to cannibalism to survive. Some stories may be lesser known, including stories of Stroud's own experiences, but all are as entertaining and fantastic as the next. While Stroud takes on a very methodical telling of these stories, highlighting not only what happened but what the victims could have done to survive, the writing is still engaging. The book is littered with sidebars full of informative tips on how to survive certain situations, like how to escape quicksand, and each story includes information on what a well stocked survival kit might include for that particular climate or situation.. A well researched, well written and fascinating book that readers will not be able to put down.

Highly recommended.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Les Stroud and I love his TV show Survivorman, so I was very interested to read this book. Les tells the stories of a few famous cases of survival. I already knew 3 of the stories, but in each one I learned things I didn't know before. With each story Les tells the story of survival and also comments on things that the people either did right or wrong and how it impacted them. Of course in the moment and with no survival training all these people did the best they could and hindsight is 20/20, but I still appreciated his comments and critiques of each situation. The chapters alternated between the famous survival stories and some of Les's personal survival stories - some, but not all related to his Survivorman show. Overall, it was a very quick and very interesting read. I hope I'm never in any similar survival situations, but it's always good to try to think about what you would do and maybe some of Les Stroud's tip would come to mind. If you're a fan of Survivorman or the TV show I Shouldn't be Alive then you will really enjoy this book!

[David Beynon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered Les Stroud while channel surfing years ago. He was huddled under the snow heavy boughs of an evergreen in Northern Ontario talking about how important it was that he didn't sweat because if he began to sweat, he'd probably die. Needless to say, I put the remote down.

I loved the Survivourman series because here was a guy showing you the real dangers of being alone and trying to survive long enough to get rescued. It was a welcome relief from the reckless antics of Bear Grylls.

Will to Live takes several real life stories- most of them quite famous - of survival situations. Les analyses how the people reacted to their situations, points out what, in his opinion, they did right and what they did wrong. It's a fascinating insight into what happens to people when they are thrown into the worst situations possible.

The stories are peppered with Les' own experiences. His writing style, like the television show, depict a very serious attitude toward what keeps you alive tempered with an injection of humour to make such horrible situations bearable.

I very much recommend this book.

[Tinkerpuppet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the stories told in this book. Amazed at what some people have managed to survive. Enjoyed some of Les Strouds commentary and tips, but thought often he was arrogant and forgot that not everyone has his instinct, intuition and knowledge. The Stolpas story is the one I most closely associated with my own personal risk, and was looking forward to some insight and tips into how if faced with the same situation the outcome could be different. I was quite shocked at his reaction to this story and how he scorned everything they did. Out of all the stories told, I felt they were the most realistic example of an average person finding themselves in a survival situation. No instinct, no knowledge, no kit, which probably explains a vast majority of people. I also didn't really enjoy the random chapters of his own adventures. I love his shows, love his personal stories, but this book wasn't supposed to be about his Discovery Channel shark dive.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Will to Live' is fulled with chilling, true tales of survival in many places and many times. I love how as Les tells a little bit of the story he also lets the reader know what he would do if he were in that situitation and how that certain person went wrong. I also love the way the novel is set up. For example; at the end of each story Les has a little box giving the man or women a mark on surivival and his or her, "Will to Live". After all he is the king of surivival! Les should know best!

A few of the stories made me cry a bit... Its so sad thinking these things have actually happened to real people somewhere in the world. It kind of gives you a knew out look on life...

[Steve Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was considering reading this book, I wished that Les would have chosen to write about his own stories instead. Well, the book contains a few of his as well as some that aren't, and the latter are way more exciting than the former.

The book successfully places you in the shoes of individuals put into brutally challenging survival situations, in many cases totally unprepared. It's truly amazing to see the ingenuity and strength of will that the characters display in some of the stories, especially the final story about Douglas Mawson.

I flew through this book and absolutely loved every minute. More please !

[Owen Nugent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will To Live: Dispatches From The Edge Of Survival

Will To Live was a great book and a real page turner. I would highly suggested this book to young adult readers that love action packed survival stories. The author Les Stroud writes about 6 survival stories that he himself endured, and 6 that others went through. this book was a real page turner and always kept you on the edge of your seat wanting to read more. Les also writes about six other real life survival stories and breaks down and annalyzes them and allaberates on what the did and didn't do right. Overall, i really enjoyed this book and loved the display of leadership, courage, and most importantly their will to live.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting compilation of survival stories with insightful analysis from Les. Some I had read about in other books, some I had not. Even as a former wilderness survival instructor, there were lessons to be learned both from the stories and the authors input. I have not read his other book yet, however, based on this one, I plan to read it as well. Would recommend it to anyone interested in learning some basics as well as about the survivors in the stories.