Recommendations

Recommended: Survive! Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere Alive

WildrMan Bryan February 28th, 2009

Survive! Essential Skills and Tactics to Get You Out of Anywhere Alive

Most of you know that I’m a huge fan of Les Stroud, creator of the Discovery Channel TV series Surviorman. Many of you don’t know that Les has passionately pursued the art and science of survival for years. When he and his wife were first married, they lived off the land in a primitive bush shelter for a year. Recently they built up a small compound in Ontario where all electricity is generated on site (he documented that experience in Off the Grid, worth the 1.5 hour watch). And now, Les has written THE quintessential guide to survival.

Les covers survival topics on survival kits and being prepared, setting priorities, finding water and food, starting firing, building shelters, signaling, navigation, and home bound survival and does so with simple, common sense suggestions. For example:

You sweat, you die
Eat snow if you’re out moving around and creating lots of body heat. It’ll help hydrate you and lower your core temperature.
If its between drinking contaminated water and nothing at all, drink the contaminated water. Parasites may take weeks to affect you, but dehydration can kill you in as little as 3 days.

Best of all, Les has DONE it for years. I consider myself blessed to study at the feet of this real survivor, even if through video and books. If I’m ever lost and in survival mode, I hope to remember the lessons I’ve learned from reading Survive! and watching Surviorman. Or at least have a few pages of Survive! with me. Thanks again Les!

Tags: Books, les stroud, surviorman, Survival

Recommended: See You in a Hundred Years

WildrMan Bryan August 11th, 2008

See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America

Logan Ward, his wife Heather, and son Luther had had it. Living in New York City, jet setting around the world, hours in commuting time lost everyday, they weren’t living. They were merely existing. They chucked it all.

They uprooted their family from NYC and settled on a farm in the Shenandoah Valley. Typical spawlers you say? Not really. They’re growing all their own food. Did I mention neither of them has ever farmed before? Oh, and they’ve decided to shun all the advancements of the 20th century. No TV, no car, no tractor, no electricity, a phone only for safety. They assumed they’d be going it all alone, but they discovered that rural life then was heavily dependent on community. They found it near Swoope, Virgina.

WildrLog highly recommends this Bill Bryson-like look at 19th century country living through the eyes of Generation X. And it might just inspire you to plant a garden.

Tags: country living, rural living