From the sun-scorched sands of the Kalahari to the snake-infested jungles of the Amazon, Les Stroud has made a life of surviving in the harshest—and most remote—regions on Earth. Now, the creator, producer, and host of the hit television program Survivorman transfers his decades of knowledge and experience to the pages of Survive!, a practical guide that gives everyday readers a no-nonsense look at the real world of survival. Stroud offers readers the essential skills and tactics necess
$ 11.33
The best survival book to come along in years!,
I have to say that I’ve liked Les Stroud from the beginning when I got a hold of a copy of his first movie, “Snowshoes & Solitude” which documented his yearlong stay, along with his wife, in the boreal forest of Canada.
His TV series has revealed what a talented woodsman and teacher he is who doesn’t fabricate his storylines and film shots, unlike other hosts of “survival” shows. Les Stroud comes across as a guy who is the real deal- just the type of competent woodsman you want to tune into each week. I say this having been a fulltime survival instructor for years and having seen much of the nonsense on both TV and in the written literature that has been perpetuated in the industry. In my own fieldcourses, the conversation always arises with my students around the evening campfire, as to who is the best survival educator on TV today and, almost unanimously, everyone agrees on Mr. Stroud! No surprise.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to obtain a copy of this new book- probably the best book written on the subject of survival in years! Not only does it show practical skills but it has many helpful sidebars and tips for the reader. I was most impressed by the fact that the author gave credit, both in photos and writing, to his mentors and teachers along the way. Again, this shows what a class-act the man is and how he doesn’t claim to be the sole repository of all wilderness knowledge like many other survival authorities.
Whether you are new to the outdoors or an experienced woodsman or woodswoman, I’d highly recommend this book.
Tony Nester
Ancient Pathways, LLC
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|Not nearly as good as it should have been.,
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 (and he is genuinely likable), 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 (a ‘Thank You’ to my survival mentor Mors for developing that vital conceptual paradigm).
So, I would likely love to spend time with 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 with 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, I believe, within 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 real gems 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 readily cut the seats out of their car because they still hold to a mistaken belief that they’re walking just a few easy 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 with 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 with 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…
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|very good,
Survival is Les Stroud’s business. Long before he started making movies and doing Survivorman he was working as a professsional wilderness guide. He knows what he’s talking about. Reading his book left me feeling a little horrified at how many times I’ve ventured into the woods with nothing but hiking shoes. Even if you aren’t an outdoorsy person you’ll enjoy reading the well written book and you’ll benefit by getting everything on his survival list for your car. Accidents do happen and the prepared survive.
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