Survive!: Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere - Alive [Paperback]

 

 

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I'm amazed at all the glowing reviews to Les Stroud's new book... frankly I found it extremely disappointing on many levels.
Before Les' armchair fan-boys try to jump down my throat for insulting their hero, allow me to establish some points: 1) I'm another Canadian & the same age as Les. 2) I mentored my survival training since the early 1980's under Mors Kochanski, a recognized world-wide expert on boreal survival. 3) I've taught survival courses in the foothills & forests of Alberta for 20 years. 4)I completed the BOSS 28 day Field Course in '89 & instructed on their Winter Skills course in '90, after which I introduced their director to Kochanski (beginning a long relationship between those two survival icons). So, I've got my time in & done my homework (yes, I've actually previously done most of the survival skills that Les mentions) that allows me to be an intelligently critical consumer of survival literature & gear (TY to Mors for developing that vital conceptual paradigm in my approach).

So, I would likely love to spend time w/ Les & would no doubt find him a fascinating, like-minded person. I don't watch TV much, but what I've seen of Survivorman is well done - I think Les' 7 day solo approach is great & a breath of fresh air in the 'schlock-tastic' glut of 'reality' TV. However, I'm just not thrilled w/ his book. Of course, authors often don't get to write the book they really wanted to due to publisher concepts, budgets, etc. But many of my criticisms are w/in the control of the author.

Can I say anything good about the book... absolutely. Survive does provide & repeat many great adages of survival that everyone should learn about prior to heading off into the wilderness. Les tosses in several (more or less) original ideas to get people thinking about maximizing their equipment & creating expedients. Although in many of those situations, Les willfully destroys his equipment such as car seats & hot air balloon because he knows what he's embarking on... he's already planned for a 7 day stint where 'anything goes.' I believe it's highly unlikely that average folks confronted by a wilderness emergency will immediately accept that it's life or death - so they won't cut the seats out of their car immediately since they're likely to believe (erroneously perhaps) they are only walking a few km to help. So you can find lots of good, solid information (but some I'll contest below)... I just say it wasn't done as well as it could be.

On the style & layout: Not Les' fault most likely, but using matte paper w/ only 2 colors of ink & B & W photos really diminished the potential value of the book. The B&W photos in particular are often unclear or indistinct - color w/ glossy paper would have added greatly to the learning value. The overall layout seems also indistinct. In a book of this nature, I would prefer to see many more headings & bold (clearer) type to easily guide the reader to finding pertinent information quickly & memorably. I also found many of his quaint expressions distracting & counter-productive... like 'creepy crawlies'...'bugs' or 'insects' work.

Let's establish what the book purports to be: the subtitle is "Essential Skills & Tactics To Get You Out of Anywhere - Alive." So, we can expect a well-organized, clearly descriptive book emphasizing many skills & techniques for anyone to use in practical, outdoor emergencies. Writing a survival manual that encompasses enough info to properly address survival anywhere on the planet is a daunting task indeed & rarely successful. The venerable SAS Survival Skills by Wiseman attempts to do this but suffers from it's own problems. Instead, we seem to get a hodge-podge of miscellaneous stuff tossed together with many, frequent anecdotes of Les' recent global adventures.

I'm stunned that people said the book was 'well-written?' Even given that he used a ghost writer, I found the book to be inconsistent, rambling & repetitive. He jumps around from region to region with various concepts then (sometimes) attempts to tie it all together at the end of the chapter. For example, in the section 'Water' he mentions squeezing water from rotting birch wood (in the boreal forest), then immediately in the next sentence mentions banana & plantain trees (tropical). These were both in a section on water from plants, but still the organizational concept of the whole book seems to be that you could be dropped in ANY region of the earth at ANY time... which is likely illogical & confusing for readers who are typically going to be North American, European & possibly Australian. In the later chapters, he virtually repeats entire sections in Dangers & Hazards and Weather stating such things as "blizzards are bad for you." Organize the specialized info (i.e. Arctic, Tropics, etc.) into regions once & leave it there.

Also, Les constantly refers to "consult a local expert beforehand" (to learn useful/dangerous plants, terrain, weather, etc. or in other words, everything this book is NOT teaching you)... which seems another discordant tone on the providing 'essential skills to keep the reader alive anywhere' idea. Perhaps because Les' recent adventures have all been pre-planned, he's had the foresight & luxury to consult local experts. Realistically, I doubt most readers are neither going to the remote adventure locales like the high Arctic, Amazon jungle or Kalahari desert NOR are they likely to consult experts in what they consider their own back-yard region doing the activities they've always done. Overall, I find the "consult a local expert beforehand" a dereliction of duty on the author's part.

On Shelters: he advocates the A frame w/ a small interior fire but poo-poo's the classic open lean-to. But then he even goes on to ironically describe the gross inefficiency of the small interior fire inside the A frame in that he has to keep waking every 20 min to add a few sticks & has an awful sleep. One of the very few paramount needs in typical survival scenarios is to be warm enough to get 6-8 hours of sleep in each 24 hour period (that & enough water). Perhaps he needs to learn how to make a proper body-length, parallel fire in front of a correctly built (almost vertical roof) lean-to. And in the lean-to he does show, lose the ridiculous reflector wall with pounded stakes that was inspired by every bad army/air force survival guide - pile up your firewood logs instead as a massive reflector wall) so that you can sleep about 1.5 hrs at a time in winter before adding more wood.

On fire: he mentions he made fire from combining potassium permanganate & sugar & he devotes a whole page of photos to lighting fire w/ potassium permanganate & glycerin on rhino dung. Unfortunately... he doesn't in any way explain how to actually DO this innovative technique (but does reassure us that rhino dung - like most herbivores' - doesn't smell bad) nor does he suggest why one might be carrying potassium permanganate in the first place (added to water it's a handy antiseptic, anti-fungal solution).
FYI, buy the potassium permanganate at a drugstore or swimming supply shop.
To make fire w/ sugar: equal amounts of potassium permanganate & sugar on a flat, dry stone; grind in a twisting, circular way w/ another flat rock - sparking, popping noises are followed shortly by flame - add tinder, then fuel, then marshmallows. With potassium permanganate & glycerin (also bought at the pharmacy), you MUST first re-grind the PP to a fine dust (it's usual consistency is similar to white sugar) before sprinkling a few pinches onto a quarter-sized dollop of glycerin and waiting for bubbling to be followed by flames - experiment beforehand to better understand the ratios & times.
Why bother mentioning this if he doesn't explain how to do it fully? This sort of off-handed dropping of an idea occurs constantly throughout the book on many skills. I doubt most people will master the Figure 4 dead fall trigger w/ the few blurry photos. Line drawings work much better for showing the detail cut angles needed. Rafts for floating yourself or gear across water are best built with a diagonal cross piece to prevent them from skewing out of shape. Essential Skills includes knots tied w/ no learning sequence which most cordage novices will not understand (trust me, I've taught 7 knots to 100's of students - it's not an easy skill for some). FYI, his bowline is incorrect - it's referred to as a Left Handed Bowline & considered by sailors for centuries to be inherently less secure - put the running end INSIDE the main part).

One reviewer mentioned the book gave a good overview of flora & fauna, yet I can't find ANY descriptive text/illustrations of any animals or plants to support that comment (he mentions some animal hazards like bears & bull moose - might help to know that white tailed deer DOES w/ fawn injure far more people in Yosemite park than any other animal - and there's a lot more of female deer than bull moose or bears). The back of the book claims to name the top 3 edibles in any environment... which is blandly reduced in the text to imprecise common name labels only (little info on how to prepare each item) with no illustrations or descriptions to properly ID such 'top edibles'. We can pretty much assume that 'rodents' are recognizable by most people, but bull kelp is just another form of seaweed (or brown algae if you want to get technical, yet he lists them separately). He also mentions "wild teas" as one of the 'top 3 edibles' in more than one environment. Yet again he fails to specifically describe what plants make useful teas (oh yes...see: "consult a local expert before you travel there") & realistically, teas contain virtually no caloric value, so they hardly qualify as a 'top edible' in my view. Knowing that the fairly toxic Bog Rosemary looks much like & grows in the same regions as the... Read more ›

This is one of the better books out there not because it's most comprehensive or the most accurate (I'd quibble about some of his animal facts- especially on his show!), but because it's arguably from one of the most well-versed survival experts out there. Don't get me wrong, it's packed full of great information and will be in my pack anytime I go for more than a short hike in the local forest (where if I can't survive without it, I'm in bad shape!). Les' style is simple and down-to-earth, and his advice is easy to read and understand. I'd give this book a four out of five for two reasons:

1- There aren't enough practical examples for some techniques (e.g., tying knots). I presume that Les assumes you will know this information, and that's not a bad idea for anyone interested in wilderness adventure. But if everyone was that well prepared anyhow, books like this wouldn't be so helpful!

2- I was, in retrospect, a little disappointed that Les didn't spend more than a chapter on the most important factor in survival- mental. He admits it is the most important, and gives frequent examples, but it's a rare opportunity to hear from someone who has spent weeks alone in a dozen different places around the globe, who could potentially offer a ton of tips and tricks for how to mentally deal with isolation, injury, difficulty, fear, loneliness, etc.

But those are two relatively minor criticisms. This is an excellent book for all levels of readers, and it makes a fabulous gift to any outdoors enthusiast (it was for me!).

From outdoor adventurer and "Survivorman" himself, Les Stroud.
This book addresses the basic needs of surviving in the outdoors. Much like Stroud's television series, the book attempts to educate the reader on how to react to an emergency situation resulting in being lost or stranded in the wilderness. He covers topics on preparedness and planning, before delving into short-term and long-term solutions should you find yourself needing to keep safe and alive while waiting for rescue.
Shelter, Fire, Water, Food, Emergency First Aid and more, all presented in a straight-forward easy to understand manner.
Fan's of Les Stroud's adventure episodes from the frozen tundra of the Arctic to the plains of Africa and Amazon jungle and all points in between will enjoy this.
He not only debunks some popular survival techniques, but presents his honest opinions of what works and what has failed in the past.
Stroud refers to specific techniques that have been successfully used during the filming of his week-long survival episodes, quotes the teachers he's learned from along the way, and presents real-life case study scenarios to present the reader with usable options to plan their own survival.
There is even a section on how to survive at home or in your vehicle should disaster strike.
Checklists to create your own survival kits for various situations are included, as are blank pages that can be used as firestarting tinder !
Les Stroud's style is instructional and conversational, and the book is a great read. Survival, like First-Aid can be a dry topic, but Survive! makes a great introduction to the subject.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Delivers a good product
Read numerous survival books and this does compare as being one of the better ones. Mr Stroud does deliver a sound product. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Chris J. Collins

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference
I found the survival kit section useful, but as Mr. Driscoll says the small black and white photo of his survival kit made it difficult to ascertain what was in it. Read more

Published on Dec 30 2009 by Hookpunch

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!
The book arrived extremely fast. Took me a few day's to read and over-all this is a amazing book! Ever go hiking or camping? Take this with you. Trust me. You'll need it.

Published on Aug 15 2009 by Kyle Broussard

5.0 out of 5 stars Wilderness Survival
A must read for anyone spending time in the wildnerness. Lots of tips, strategies and approaches to staying well in a difficult wilderness situation.

Published on Mar 10 2009 by DMCycler

4.0 out of 5 stars good resource
Good to flip thru... we've watched all of the Survivor episodes so it was repetitive. But it's still a great book to study for survival ideas.
Love Les Stroud! Read more

Published on Feb 17 2009 by Monique Gagnon

5.0 out of 5 stars Confidence Building, Helpful Directions for Recovering from Being Lost or Injured with No Help in Sight
If you like extreme adventures (particularly by yourself) or just want to feel safer when you drive out into lonely, untraveled areas, Survive! Read more

Published on Jan 26 2009 by Donald Mitchell

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