|
Movies •Books •Music •Food •Tv Shows •Technology •Politics •Video Games •Parenting •Fashion •Green Living •more >

Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » The U.S. Army Survival Manual: Department of the Army Field Manual 21-76 » User review

The U.S. Army Survival Manual: Department of the
The U.S. Army Survival Manual: Department of th...

A book by Department of the Army Headquarters

< read all 1 reviews

Increasing your odds of "getting back alive" just went up dramatically...

  • Oct 17, 2009
Rating:
+3
After reading this book, I almost want to go out and get lost somewhere... The U.S. Army Survival Manual: Department of the Army Field Manual 21-76. Ulysses Press has reprinted the US Army Survival Manual and made it available to those of us who didn't decide to give up at least four years of their lives to visit other countries. With some prior study and this book in hand, I think your odds of surviving out in the wild would go up dramatically. Of course, you'll have to get over the thing about eating bugs and various plants, however...

Contents:
Introduction: General; Individual and Group Survival; Health and First Aid
Orientation and Traveling: Navigation; Selecting Your Route on the Ground
Water: General Considerations; Finding Water
Food: General Considerations; Vegetable Foods; Animal Foods
Firemaking and Cooking: Firemaking; Cooking Wild Food
Survival in Special Areaa: General Considerations; Cold Weather Areas; In Jungle and Tropical Areas; In Desert Areas; At Sea
Hazards to Survival
References
Index

Overall, this book is pretty complete, which is what I'd expect from an Army survival guide. It's not meant to be a complete course in survival, assuming absolutely no skills to start with. Instead, there's a basic assumption of certain skills already possessed, such as map and compass reading, camouflage, sanitation, and other general military skills. In addition, the goal in all the survival information is to "make it back." Therefore, it's not as if you're expected to set up camp and maintain a presence for days or weeks. Instead, the material is focused on being able to do what is necessary to survive long enough to make it back to safety.

I think what surprised me most is how much plant life is edible when found and prepared properly. Plants I'd normally pass by, such as seaweed, bamboo, or cattails, can actually make for decent food and nutrition when it comes right down to it. And if that frog in the back yard is keeping you awake at night? Well, he *could* end up as a midnight snack if you're so inclined. But more seriously, I'd probably want to spend time *before* getting lost using this book and at least one other resource to fully understand some of the plant choices. Since the illustrations are all black and white sketches, it's not necessarily a simple matter to match up the plant you're looking at with the picture you're viewing. I believe you'd have more success if you read this book, and then spent time online looking for color illustrations of the particular plants. Between that and perhaps jotting some notes in the margins, you'll be able to pick out the food sources more quickly (and most importantly, more *accurately*) when it really matters.

The U.S. Army Survival Manual may not be one of those books you look at every day, but if you pack it (or memorize it) when you head out to the wilderness, your odds of "making it back" if things go wrong will increase dramatically.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publicist
Payment: Free

What did you think of this review?

Helpful
0
Thought-Provoking
0
Fun to Read
0
Well-Organized
0
Post a Comment
About the reviewer
Thomas Duff ()
Ranked #48
Thomas Duff, aka "Duffbert", is a long-time member of the Lotus community. He's primarily focused on the development side of the Notes/Domino environment, currently working for a large insurance … more
Consider the Source

Use Trust Points to see how much you can rely on this review.

You
duffbert
Your ratings:
Big Jack
Big Jack
Secret Portland, Oregon 2010: The Unique Guidebook
Secret Portland, Oregon 2 …
Don't Just Roll The Dice - A usefully short guide
Don't Just Roll The Dice …
Emotional Bailout! : Nine Principles for Rising
Emotional Bailout! : Nine …
rate more to improve this
Recent reviews by duffbert
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — but Some Don't
Confident predictions are not the same as accurate …
a review of The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many ...
Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection
Lesson learned: moderation in all things...
a review of Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble ...
What I've Learned... So Far Part III: Banjos, Boats & Butt Dialing
I'll be going back to read Part I and Part II...
a review of What I've Learned... So Far Part III: ...
see more reviews
About this book

Wiki

From trekking across the desert and bushwhacking through the jungle to conserving body heat in the Arctic and rappelling down a mountain cliff,The U.S. Army Survival Manualpresents the field-tested techniques that have proven effective in times of imminent danger and extreme distress.

Perfect for Army grunts and weekend outdoorsmen alike, this book teaches the survival skills every camper, hiker and hunter should master before heading into the wild:

  • Erecting shelter
  • Gathering edible plants
  • Fishing, hunting and trapping game
  • Locating and collecting fresh water
  • Starting fires and cooking food
  • Navigating and orientating
view wiki

Tags

Books
see all

Details

ISBN-10: 1569757038
ISBN-13: 978-1569757031
Author: Department of the Army Headquarters
Publisher: Ulysses Press

First to Review

"Increasing your odds of "getting back alive" just went up dramatically..."
© 2013 Lunch.com, LLC All Rights Reserved
Lunch.com - Relevant reviews by real people.
()
This is you!
Ranked #
Last login
Member since
reviews
comments
ratings
questions
compliments
lists