With Man vs. Wild season two in full swing (and kicking just as much ass as season one!), I thought it appropriate to review a book I finished a short while ago. SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea
Like Bear, the author, John ”˜Lofty’ Wiseman, “served for 26 years in the British Special Air Service (SAS) and was their Chief Survival Instructor.” That’s good enough for me.
The Handbook is not necessarily a book that you can pick up and read like a novel, cover-to-cover. It’s the kind that you refer to for info on specific locales to which you plan to travel and then throw it in your pack to look back on later. It’s roughly 20% prose – inspirational words on the mindset of travel and how best to be prepared from a very general perspective. The remainder is more of a reference guide that covers every conceivable facet of survival.
It’s an extremely simple read with all explanations written in plain English. Concise graphics accompany skill-building demonstrations where appropriate. For example: how to build a brush tent; how to start a fire; what mushrooms are edible (the vast majority are not by the way); how to gut and prepare a fish/rabbit/bear (bear?!?), etc.
Were you ever stranded on a desert island, The SAS Survival Handbook is the one book you’d want in your pack. It’s like having a bona fide survival expert on call to kick your desk jockey ass into survival mode. (Or at least mine anyway)