Departmen of Defense - US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76

This is the newer version of the Army survival book, that concentrates on the straightforward survival material a civilian going camping may need to know. It is writen in vary accessible easy to understand language, and you do not need to be an expert. The material includes information on Navigation and compass use. Health & Hygiene in the outdoors to prevent sickness, including first aid. Hazards in the wild to watch out for.

Foods and where to find them including harvesting and identifying native plants and vegetables. How to fish and tons of unusual different ways to catch them with local materials that actually work; other food from fresh water sources. Trapping mammals, rodents, reptiles, insects, catching birds, and more including how to dress and prepare these. Cooking, preserving food in the wild. Vital information on the many methods of fire making including without matches or lighter.

One of the most important chapters tells you how to find the most important element you need to survive. Water from Plants, digging for water, purifying found water, and building a solar water still. Other chapters include Climate and Weather, Travel, finding or building Shelter, Clothing, Health, Survival at Sea, Poisonous Snakes, signaling for help, what to do if you are lost, and much more …

An extremely useful book for the camper to keep in their supplies. One very nice treat… the version sold here differs from the real surplus military version in that it offers color photos of the plants (original military version was black and white), and it is very comprehensive. While there are books available on edible and poisonous plants that are more specialized, the material here is very adequate for inclusion in this manual. All in all, one of the best books on the survival subject, well rounded and very detailed. I have a library of books on camping and camping emergencies. While one reviewer thought this book had too much info and wanted a simpler book, I would say that if you had it with you in an emergency you would be glad of its many topics. You may even want to keep a copy in the trunk of your car with your roadside tools, since you never know when you might need some help making a fire or finding water.
http://www.amazon.com/US-Army-Survival-Manual-21-76/dp/0967512395


Teaches you how to…
Overcome the desire for comfort
Recognize the onset of a dangerous passive outlook
Tolerate pain
Use the word "survival" as a pnemonic device
Plan ahead for survival
Administer the Heimlich Hug
Treat insect and snake bites
Make wooden and stone knives
Make a rabbit stick
Start a fire with a bow and drill
Procure water in nearly any environment
Construct a solar water still
Make polluted water potable
Conduct the Universal Plant Edibility Test
Improvise containers for boiling food
Catch and eat insects
Make fishhooks and fishing line
Build a stakeout for fishing secretly
Make spear points
Capture amphibians and reptile
Catch birds in a net
Make an Ojibwa bird snare
Make a squirrel pole
Make a trip-string deadfall trap
Clean a snake
Skin and butcher small and large game
Build a parachute tepee
Construct a swamp bed
Build a shelter in the desert sand
Make a Dakota fire hole
Cross a swift stream
Make an Australian poncho raft
Find direction using the sun and stars
Signal to aircraft with your body

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