The SAS Survival Handbook

This is the full size, original edition of the SAS Survival Guide, since republished in other forms including the handy pocket sized version and (better still) a set of waterproof cards. It's a complete survival reference, attractively laid out and clearly written, but it suffers from its comprehensiveness.

As a survival manual, it could be better organized. You can't flip it open to page 1 and find a list of priorities. The essentials are buried, and information is presented in an illogical order: for example, food (lowest priority) before shelter (among the highest). Signalling for help, which should be among your highest priorities, gets just a few pages at the back of the book, but you get page after page of diagrams showing how to show more set various lethal animal traps, which in a real emergency you'll never get around to doing. In a real emergency, you want to get rescued within 24 hrs. (This is why you have a cell phone/sat phone/personal locator beacon, right?)

From the standpoint of practical outdoor survival, then, this book isn't particularly helpful. If a member of your party gets hurt, if you lose a canoe and some kit, if you're cold and wet and lost and need to improvise so you can stay warm and get help, this book isn't going to guide you.

And some of the information is a bit suspect. For example, Wiseman suggests using a rock to drive your knife through a log to split it, which is asking for a broken knife; use a stout stick instead, and keep your blade intact. Errors like this are inevitable in a book this exhaustive, and this is a problem: you need to use other sources.

But ... this book is full of information on primitive skills, improvised shelters, fire-lighting methods, and so on. It's worth reading, and dipping into again, for anyone interested in the topic. show less

This small but complete survival guide can fit in the pocket of your pack (in a baggie, because it's not waterproof), and at the very least it'll provide hours of happy camp reading.

This is mostly a reference book; as a survival manual, it could be better organized. You can't flip it open to page 1 and find a list of priorities. The essentials are buried, and information is presented in an illogical order: for example, food (lowest priority) before shelter (among the highest). Signalling for help, which should be among your highest priorities, gets just a few pages at the back of the book, but you get page after page of diagrams showing how to set various lethal animal traps, which in a real emergency you'll never get around to doing. show more In a real emergency, you want to get rescued within 24 hrs. (This is why you have a cell phone/sat phone/personal locator beacon, right?)

From the standpoint of practical outdoor survival, then, this book isn't particularly helpful. If a member of your party gets hurt, if you lose a canoe and some kit, if you're cold and wet and lost and need to improvise so you can stay warm and get help, this book isn't going to guide you.

And some of the information is a bit suspect. For example, Wiseman suggests using a rock to drive your knife through a log to split it, which is asking for a broken knife; use a stout stick instead, and keep your blade intact. Errors like this are inevitable in a book this exhaustive, and this is a problem: you need to use other sources.

But ... this book is full of information on primitive skills, improvised shelters, fire-lighting methods, and so on. It's worth reading, and dipping into again, for anyone interested in the topic. show less

In book memes, there is invariably a question about which book you would want to take along with you on a deserted island. Most people answer something like the Bible or the complete works of Shakespeare. I always answer this book. It covers everything from urban survivalism (don't get too attached to pets; you may have to eat them) to how to survive a plane crash into the ocean. Of course, you have to read the book before you need it, but it would be good to add to any backpack before a trip. The added couple of pounds could come in very handy.

本書收錄多年來無數心理學家所進行的有趣實驗。作者將其分門別類，前後連貫，使本書能夠具有完整的結構，但主體仍然是各個實驗，作者並未強力的將各實驗結果統整為統一的論述。唯翻譯有一些問題，尤其是在幽默心理學一章，許多笑話沒有附上原文，無法令人感受其樂趣。

Pretty freakin good, I can take a big game animal down if I need to now, hopefully it won't come to that as I am vegetarian :)
But in all seriousness you need to practice these skills if you want to be able to really survive if put in a bad situation.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in survivalism.

"The SAS Survival Handbook" is the Special Air Service's complete course in being prepared for any type of emergency. John 'Lofty' Wiseman presents real strategies for surviving in any type of situation, from accidents and escape procedures, including chemical and nuclear to successfully adapting to various climates (polar, tropical, desert), to identifying edible plants and creating fire. The book is extremely practical and is illustrated throughout with easy-to-understand line art and diagrams.

Quite useful as a "textbook" to supplement the survival courses which I have done over the years.