SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea Reviews

• Survive- anywhere.

  
  By AFXUBDDWXBUZE on 2008-01-17
  No need for a long review here. This book was written by a professional soldier who was in the SAS, or the Special Air Service. For those not in the know, that's an elite unit of the British Army trained to carry out operations in ALL parts of the world. Eventually, the author became a survival instructor to the SAS, so you can be sure that this guy knows his stuff.
  
  The book covers all you'd ever want to know about the essentials of surviving in climates such as: the polar region, mountains, seashores, islands, tropical regions, or even at sea. Here's few of the many topics the book covers:
  
  -food, what you can and can't eat
  -animal tracking with numerous pics
  -color pics of edible plants
  -pictures of traps and how to trap things
  -how to handle animals you've killed for food
  -how to make a camp and various shelters
  -knot tying pics
  -first aid
  -color pics of medicinal plants
  -picures of dangerous/poisonous critters
  -things to have in a survival kit
  
  A very handy resource for anybody who enjoys outdoor/wilderness activities, it's just a darn good thing to have around in case of emergencies- or even just to look at the pictures! Also recommend Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff if you have a shoulder problem that is interfering with your outdoor activities.
  
  
  
  

• Comprehensive, "must have" book

  
  By A1T6PXM2M3N84A on 2003-06-14
  The "SAS Survival Handbook" is the most comprehensive survival handbook I have ever seen. Most books have some basic advice (the importance of the correct mental attitude, finding water and shelter, etc.), a handful of edible plants, and a couple of ways to start a fire. While this book covers all those areas, it also has sections on camp craft, determining directions, rescue signals, dealing with different climates and terrains, reading clouds for weather prediction, and many others. A good example of the thoroughness of the coverage would be the food section. It covers your energy needs and how they are met from various foods, testing unknown plants in desperate situations, plants to avoid, identification of plants, using animals for food, extensive and detailed trapping mechanisms, fishing, gutting and cleaning, and other advice. The number, types, and detail on the various traps are amazing. I've never seen so many different designs. It includes several that I have not seen anywhere else before. I would consider this the authoritative text on survival skills in the wild and give it the highest recommendation for anyone interested in survival techniques.
  
  

• Complete and Understandable

  
  By A2UK1GDGJA148F on 2000-05-07
  This is truly an important book for everyone to read at least once in their life. Given, most people will never end up in a situation where skills described in the SAS Survival Book will be required, but don't be cocky...learn the skills from this book and rest easy knowing that you have the background knowledge to make it in the outdoors without modern conveniences. This book covers it all -forest, desert, ocean, island, artic/arctic, mountain, tropical, temperate- you name it, this book will get through the hard times with no problem. This book HAS saved lives in the past, but many have also died in unexpected situations where the knowledge found in these pages could have saved them. I don't think anyone wants to end up classified in the latter. Get the SAS Survival Guide and read up. Someday you may look back at purchasing this book and realize it was the most important decision you ever made in your life!
  
  

• An overview on Survival

  
  By A1FN97WSM3TR1J on 2007-09-02
  No book this size can even come close to delivering what the title claims. There are indeed some good illustrations and pointers to go along with them, but a survival manual this is not. Great for a bar on a slow night or as a coffee table book.
  Why one star??-------->
  Two examples of shoddy research and/or lack of experience: The section on bow making is only twenty seven lines (it has a thirteen line introduction with a seven line description on how to actually make a bow. This is matched by seven more lines on how to fit the string to your new hunting weapon). Look at the Bowyers Bible, a set of three books on bow making by some of the best in the business.
  The "Spear Thrower" section is flat wrong, illustrating that the author not only never made/used one before, but never saw one in use or otherwise. There are other shortfalls, but I'll keep the description to two. Don't believe me? Make one as described in the book or do a google search on "Spear throwers" or "Atlatl".
  There are some things he describes well and clearly has experience with, perhaps the publisher urged him to include things beyond his experience, but that does not excuse the inclusion of manufactured "facts" especially when the reader may be staking their life on that erroneous information.
  All in all good for the survival book collection with a few good bits, but lacks too many details.
  Remember when reading these reviews that it is often a case of the blind leading the blind as owners of newly purchased copies are not qualified to recognize if a skill is thoroughly covered. Just because the table of contents lists a skill does not necessarily translate to the reader being able to accomplish the skill. Ask a survival school or instructor with real experience which book they would recommend. Any way you slice it, the skills must be practiced regardless of the book you buy, don't wait until you need a shelter to build one or a fire lit to attempt lighting it.
  
  

• Thorough and Easy to Use

  
  By A8DJ9EU2QP2JM on 2006-03-27
  I'll probably never be trapped behind enemy lives and dependent upon catching small mammals and selecting local edible plants for survival, but its nice to have a nifty, easy-to-carry guide just in case.
  
  Wiseman's SAS Survival handbook is an excellent companion for hikers, campers and into-the-wilderness junkies. This book is extremely well written with easy to understand illustrations and excellent organization. There are color plates for easy identification of plants and animals to eat/avoid/use-as-medicine. This book has it all, or at least all I can think of. There are sections on camping, hiking, supplies, compass skills, shelter making, first aid, transport, catching and preparing animals and locating local edible foods, tool making, fishing, hunting, knot tying, general survival in different climates and environments and more.
  
  The best part of this book is by far its terrific approachability. It is written for the layman and is very easy to understand. Either as an outdoor accomplice or a handy at home preparedness guide, this is a book to get and know.
  
  
  
• a very informative survival book
  By on 2001-01-08
  this book explains everything! after reading it there is nothing i don't know how to do. it covers shelter,food,clothing, tools,ropes and knots and tons of other stuff one need to know to survive.i reccomend it to anyone who likes the outdoors.
  
  
• What about cabin avalanche?
  By A2D3EVPR5KMLY1 on 2007-09-19
  I found this book to thoroughly take me through the fundamentals of survival, however, I am always thinking of some very particular situations that I could find myself in that weren't addressed.
  
  For instance, what about the "trapped in a cabin by avalance" that we're all fearful of? I play it over and over in my head. Most likely it would be 3 or 4 of us on a weekend ski trip. I've always felt that it would be best to go ahead and turn on the others very early on in the event of an avalance instead of waiting for starvation to decimate the group.
  
  For one, each day trapped in that cabin means that everyone will be burning calories, making themselves thinner and thinner, not leaving much of a meal if natural course is left to do the dirty work of finishing them off. Not to mention, you might be too weak for a death match days later.
  
  Also, turning on them early will almost assuredly be unexpected, since ditching ethical behavior at first opportunity is not the norm and especially with so much food still in the fridge. You're going to need that element of surprise, b/c let's face it, when you start helicoptering that timber axe over your head, the line will clearly be drawn in the sand and its 1 versus 3 at that point. You'll need to mow them all down very quickly. Don't worry that you aren't hungry yet, as there should be plenty of snow at the windows that can be used to keep the bodies from spoiling.
  
  But I definitely liked the informative chapter on which leaves are ok to eat and which are poisonous.
  
  
• A book everyone should have!
  By A20L9STWX3ABGH on 2002-12-17
  This survival book is rivaled by few others. It covers basically everything you would need to know should you find yourself out in the wilds without help from civilization. The color illustrations are a great reference and the book also includes some useful information on coping with domestic survival situations. The main drawback to the book is that for Americans (like me) it is written in British style English using many vocabulary words which most folks who learned American English would have a hard time with. Of course, this is understandable given that the author is British and served with Britian's SAS. There are certain areas which could use some more thorough explaining, atlhough for its length, this book is pretty detailed. All in all, it is worth every penny, baht or pound you would spend on it and should be read by anybody who ventures outdoors. Not only is it informative, but it's also entertaining as the author does throw in some humor of his own. My hat is off to to the author! A great book!
  
  
• Good for some environments, but not all of them...
  By A3V8800RFAIWPV on 2003-10-31
  It may be impossible to write a survival book that is accurate and authoritative on all environments and all areas of the world, and this is something to keep in mind when purchasing a general survival book like the SAS Survival Handbook. For the most part, it's quite good and gives excellent information on outdoors survival in most temperate climates. HOWEVER, one place the book does fall down is in areas such as desert survival. There is little specialized information for deserts here, which differ greatly even between each other in plant life, temperature range, and terrain. Deserts also require additional survival training on navigation, GPS, map & compass (please don't try the watch-hand method in remote desert!), water collection, heat illnesses, sun protection. Animal/plant hazard information is also very different. What there is in this book on desert survival is often too optimistic (i.e., desert survival still and transpiration bag) or too general and vague to be of much use (one example: the information on drinking the juice of the barrel cactus won't suffice: I'll just say here, one variety has drinkable sap, one will make you somewhat sick, one can kill you - better know how to identify them).
  
  For those interested in desert survival I would definitely recommend other specialized books like The Ultimate Desert Handbook by Mark Johnson, which do a much, much better job at covering survival in the various deserts of the world.
  
  
  
  
  
• Good but kinda stupid...
  By A27MP79VLP5MLB on 2006-08-11
  I bought this book with an interest in outdoor survival and picking this one out at the book store. Started off with bood points and it's bad points. Good points were the pictures of everything from edible plants to animal tracks. Some of the bad stuff was going against common sense. Like saying you should have a survival kit on your person while in an airplane in case of a crash. 2 of the most important things for survival would be a blade and a source of fire such as a lighter or matches, neither of which you can take on board an airplane. And when talking about polar travel and survival in talks about polar bears. It says respect them not don't go near them. It also says don't eat their liver...now if I just went through something that put me in the situation to be around polar bears in the artic regions, I don't think I would have anything I would challenge a polar bear. And if I killed one, the first thing I would say would surely be "I can't wait to get that liver!!!"
  
  
• Great info and a fun read
  By A21L6NDZC6GW6V on 2006-08-17
  My 7 year old son loves the idea of being a survival expert. Most of his "survival" involves spending the afternoon in the year eating sandwiches in his tent. I purchased the "SAS Survival Handbook" as a something fun to read with him.
  
  We both love the book! It's packed with info that is both handy to know and fun for kids to learn.
  
  
• Useful survival guide for everyone
  By on 2000-04-02
  For most people living in urban area, you may not have any chance to practice the survival skills described in this guide. However, the knowledge (e.g. how to prepare your trip, how to look for water/food in the wild, how to find shelter) may save your live in adverse situation.

  Thus, I recommend this book to everyone, especially frequent travellers.
  
  

• Learn How to Survive!
  By AIO247KHD2O40 on 2004-12-06
  This is an excellent book which teaches you how to survive if you are unfortunate enough to crash somewhere, get shipwrecked, be in the middle of a natural/terrorist disaster or are lost in the wilderness. Whilst I doubt you would be able to remember all this info if ever in trouble, if you take this book with you if going on multiple days hikes, or have it ready in the vehicle in case of road block by fire, someone getting bitten by a spider/snake or terrorist attack with a chemical agent the you'll be in better shape. This book is excellent to help you prepare for natural disasters but I think you would have to have it with you when deciding which plants are good to eat, animals poisonous and so on if lost in the outback or forest. The handy colour sketches are good but I doubt you'd remember them without the book. The SAS Survival Handbook is a great guide which would be helpful to everyone for future survival as well as being an interesting read.
  
  
  
• a reliable standard, along with US gov't pubs
  By ARJ5GF8NPENAS on 2001-11-17
  Pretty fair, illustrations good, maybe a little more expansive on first aid, snares and improvised equipment than FM 21-76, some stuff on vehicle operation that is sketchy but useful and often not in these books, I would put Wiseman on a par with FM 21-76 (Army) overall, though I almost agree with the reviewer that found 21-76 better; I also would add that AFR 64-4 (Air Force)is great as well, though not very portable. Scanning the books on my shelves, I see these three are falling apart while the others of this sort look hardly used.
  
  
• Probably the best overall book on the subject available
  By A3GN0GBBU46BEN on 2006-07-25
  I just finished writing a review of "The Complete Wilderness Training Book" and had recommended Lofty Wiseman's book, but then I realized that I hadn't reviewed that book. Since it is one of my favorite books on the subject, let me now correct that oversight.
  I just counted the outdoor skills books in my personal library-138. About half deal with survival. Lofty Wiseman's book is the best general survival book I've found. Being the survival instructor for the SAS is serious cred. SpecOps soldiers, along with military pilots and professional explorers, are right at the top of the list of people who are very likely to need advanced survival skills. This book is extremely down to earth and realistic. A broad range of subjects covered here, and plenty of detail on each subject. If I had to go and live off the land with only 5 minutes' notice, this is the book I'd grab if I had to choose just one.
  
  
• Imperfect but probably the best right now
  By A2EW69GOMN3EA9 on 2007-07-25
  This is the kind of book that you want to own but hope never to have to use. If you could take only one book with you, this might be the perfect candidate, especially since there is also a pocket-sized, somewhat abridged version available.
  
  That does not mean it is perfect, though. First of all, it is printed on fairly heavy paper and thus a little on the hefty side (thus the convenience of the pocket version). There are also a few errors such as wrong page numbers that give an impression of sloppy editing. And sometimes the text is too succinct on important topics and maddeningly unspecific like some Ancient Greek oracle.
  
  Example: In the "Crossing a River" section it says: "Avoid obstructions in the water. ... Look out for submerged branches." Well, D'oh, who would need a book for that kind of advice? The The Backpacker's Field Manual, Revised and Updated: A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Backcountry Skills goes into far more detail in the corresponding section, for example: "Strainers are submerged branches that will hold a person swept against them -- a potential drowning situation." It also has a nice conceptual map of possible river hazards and mentions that these strainers are typically to be found on outside bends of rivers. Aha, much clearer!
  
  Another example: In the section on drowning, the BFM describes the difference between wet drowning and dry drowning. An important distinction you probably did not know about (and neiter did I), but John Wiseman does not mention this at all in his book. Shame on him! Because the CPR that may work for wet drowning might fail for dry drowning, as the larynx goes into a spasm in that case and has to be massaged first to, uh, un-spasm. I'd call that a fairly vital piece of information!
  
  Maybe John Wiseman and Rick Curtis should get together and write the _truly_ ultimate outdoor book as a team...
  
  The strength of the First Aid section lies in the fact that it does not skip those things that are _not_ really First Aid, but more like desperate emergency procedures, e.g. the famous cut into the trachea with a ballpoint pen. Or childbirth. All these things where conventional First Aid texts like to tell you to "wait for the doctor", which is great as long as the doctor arrives in time. But if not, it is fairly important to have measures of last resort available to you.
  
  The highlight of the book is unquestionably the part that deals with the indigenous flora and fauna in beautiful color illustrations and how to turn said flora and fauna into a nutritious meal for yourself. Gathering plants, recognizing fungi, catching fish, gutting animals, preparing organ meats, various methods of cooking, eating insects -- in culinary terms, the book is hard to beat and probably covers everything there is to know. As if Robinson Crusoe had written a cookbook. Somehow, even the termites sound mouth-watering as described by Wiseman: "termites are nutritious and tasty". Oh well, if he says so...
  
  After reading this book, you will probably never again be able to look at a squirrel without wondering how to kill it, roast it, suck out its bone marrow, use the leftovers for squirrel soup, and, to add insult to injury, turn its fur into a poach, sewed with its sinews, and its skull into a pencil sharpener. The book is really that hardcore! I imagine the squirrels are not amused.
  
  So at least you will not starve to death with this book in hand, provided you can bring yourself to do what it suggests to those poor critters that are unlucky enough to cross your way.
  
  All in all, this is a worthy effort, even if it could be improved upon in some places. But in terms of information density (which is probably the deciding factor if you have to carry around a book in the wilderness) this work is definitely a winner.
  
  
• Most complete survival book I've found
  By A3T0FC4T34SK4U on 2005-09-26
  I've bought a number of books in this category and this one is the best by far. It covers every topic related to survival in significant depth. The writing is clear and the images are great. Highly recommended.
  
  
• If I had to choose one book as a survival tool, this would be it.
  By A3CJBYR9PSXORU on 2005-12-05
  This book is by far and away the best survival manual I have seen.
  From having a basic survival kit, through to survival in different climates and conditions, through to creating camps, tools and traps, it is a wealth of information.
  With many illustrations, including colour illustrations of plants and wildlife from different regions, the book is accessible and easy to read.
  Like the SAS themselves, there is much knowledge contained within this book that could applied to many different situations, and so it is a very enjoyable book to read, too.
  With even a section on disaster management, both man-made and natural, this would have to stand as one of the most practical books that anyone could own for preparedness.
  If you are a camper, a hiker or just a long-distance traveller or backpacker, it could also have a multitude of uses.
  When it comes down to it, I think this book could easily make the difference to whether you live or die in a survival situation and it could give you a fighting chance when all hope seems lost.
  
  
  
• Excellent
  By AOYYISX028UHJ on 2006-02-26
  I purchased this book to go into my family's emergency preparedness kit. This is a reference book to have when you consider the fact that the earth is now 9 degrees off its normal axis, recent climate change, and other natural disasters. Let's not forget the man maid disasters as well.
  I am also planning a camping trip. After reading ths book, I am now more confident that I can take survive in the wilderness alone.
  This book covers 1st aid, shelter, fire starting, food and water needs also. This book reminds me of a 1950's Boy Scout Handbook I once owned.Good Stuff
  
  
• If you like the outdoors
  By A1SA0RU0R45U6V on 2007-03-28
  There are two main reaons to get this book:
  
  1. If you do any serious outdoor activity which places you far from civilization (hiking, cycling, kayaking, etc.) then from a saftey standpoint this is a must. It comprehensively covers navigation, first aid, how to find food and water, shelter building, and much more. Also, it covers other situations which might strand you in the middle of nowhere like if your car runs out of gas or you are in a plane crash.
  
  2. The second reason is that if you like being out in the wilderness, it is a very pleasurable read. this book tells you how to do so much cool stuff that I still find myself reading over the interesting parts again (I now know how to make smoked rabbit jerky in the middle of the woods).
  
  All in all a well written and informative book.
  
  
• Good if you are not in a megalopolis
  By A1TSTDVNLBI03S on 2007-10-12
  I think this book is very good for certain situations, but I feel that it does not meet the needs of most average folks in case of major catastrophy.
  
  I would recommend Ron Foster's practical guide for all scenarios. Since he works in the field of emergency response, he has the most up to date and useful methods of urban and rural survival.
  
  If you seriously want to learn more than "how to live off the land" short term, I would highly recommend Mr. Foster's publication, "The Rural Ranger: A Suburban Manual & Field Guide of Traps and Snares for Food and Survival".
  
  I know how to live off the land if one can even get to such a ideal location, but hunger, thirst and the elements will wear out the millions of people trying to vacate their huge cities all at once.
  
  This book gives one a fighting chance no matter what your skills are or where you live.
  
  Seriously,
  David Highum
  
  
• great, but not perfect
  By A1MGID9EC3QLBT on 2002-03-28
  This book was the first survival book that I got. It didn't leave my side for weeks, until I had read it cover to cover. Now that I'm a little older, wiser, and more critical, I have noticed some faults. There are millions of feral cats in australia, there are about half a dozen different types of deer in australia and a tiger snake doesn't look like the illustration provided. That makes me wonder what else isn't correct, but I still think that its a great book though. Packed full of useful information, and fairly detailed instruction for a lot of things you can do in your own shed or varandah. It'll keep you entertained for ages.
  
  
• Good Book, but there are better
  By on 2001-10-05
  This is a good book, but the best by far is the U.S. Army Survival Manual.
  
  
• If/When I'd Need A Survival Reference, It's In Here
  By ADUVVOA82QUS8 on 2006-01-06
  Really a thorough guide; learned a lot about biological, geological and directional referencing. The ONLY way this book could be improved would be to include climatological and cultural aspects of needing to survive (but then, that'd have to become a different volume altogether). Takes the edge off of the worry while adventuring since it helps prepare you better for your next excursion.
  
  
• EXCELLENT READ FOR ALL!!!
  By AYLG72UM74PDE on 2007-07-15
  After seeing this book on Amazon I went to my neighborhood big book store to check it out in the flesh. Just for fun I thought of a few extreme situation and then looked them up in the guide and almost magically they were in there, after a little bit of searching. As a big fan of the "survivor" shows on Discovery Channel, such as Survivorman and Man Vs. Wild, I was hoked on this book from beginning to end. Every bit of information is written in an interesting way that kept me wanting more and more. Since I bought the book I have read it through about three times and each time it seems that I catch something that I did not notice the last time. I have also gone to the Sierra Nevada mountain range once so far during the Spring and tried out a couple of the survival techniques near the cabin I was staying at. If your a buying this book it must mean that you have an interest in survival in the wild, therefore I would recommend that you get some Swedish FireSteel, a type of fire starter commonly used on Man Vs. Wild and a good knife, Gerber, Cold Steel, Buck, or if your really serious SOG or Ka-Bar. My personal favorite is the Gerber LMF II, it is seriously strong as hell and easy on the hands. Regardless if you buy the other stuff this book is the most important because it contains all the helpful information a guy starving for information could ever dream of. A+
  
  
• A lot of everything in this book...
  By on 2002-01-17
  This book is great! It tells you (and shows you)how to make shelters, catch food, tie knots, what different plants and animals are good, bad, deadly, and edible(through color pictures). The book goes into detail about basic wilderness first aid and it also talks about everything from ocean to desert survival and even to nuclear fallout! It has detailed pictures and descriptions on just about everything. Buy this one...you won't be sorry.
  
  
• I love this book!!! .
  By on 2003-01-13
  I couldn't put it down. This book is filled with all sorts of useful information. This is a must have for anyone. What i liked best about it was it had alot of information you could actually use, most survival books have situations your average joe will never find himself in. Not the case with this one. The first aid chapter alone is worth the price if the whole book. I highly reccomend it to anyone interested.
  
  
• Filled with practical and impractical solutions...
  By A3PB8FH2S35O8X on 2005-04-24
  You know, reading this book, one might get the impression that it was developed by and for crazy war vets who are completely paranoid about getting stranded on a desert island and left for dead. Which is a good thing, because it is filled with invaluable knowledge about making shelter, fire, food, first aid, how to make deadly traps for animals or angry cannabilizing natives, well, actually I kind of adlibbed that one but you could definitely manufacture a trap deadly enough to kill one or even many people. kind of scary, actually but I think this should be mandatory reading for all US citizens just because it teaches us preparedness for the most harsh of all unexpected circumstances.
  
  
• Great, general survival text
  By A32HJLXDBT12XF on 2006-08-23
  This book does a great job of covering a variety of survival topics and techniques without seeming disorganized. Sections are divided well, and wording is direct and uncomplicated. This is a good book for serious outdoorsmen in addition to those just looking to brush up their knowledge "just in case".
  
  
• The Greatest Book Ever
  By A13UR7LY8C8OF9 on 2007-03-09
  I just got this book and I followed the instructions and I caught a rabbit within an hour of starting. Of Course I let the little thing go because I had already eaten. I would recomend this book for anyone. You might want a person to help you go through this because its a little difficult to follow.
  
  sincerely,
  a fellow woodsman
  
  

• US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76
• Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Complete Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival
• SAS Survival Guide Handbook (Collins Gem)
• Swedish Firesteel- Army Model
• Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places