Book Review: Wildwood Wisdom

Wildwood Wisdom is a timeless reference to Bushcraft skills and one of my favorite survival books I’ve ever read – and I’ve read many.  Written by Ellsworth Jaeger and published in 1992, It’s a rewrite from 1945, based on life in the 1800s and the Bushcraft skills that came from that time period.  What’s interesting is that in more than 200 years, very little has changed. 

The single best element in these 520 pages is the emphasis on basic, fundamental technique.  Nothing fancy, no smoke and mirrors, just real, solid techniques for doing things like chopping down trees and buidling wimple watercraft to move from one place to another.  I find it reassuring to leaf through the chapter on fire making only to discover the same theory and methods we use today in modern survival schools.  Being a former US Marine, we were always taught to make do with what we had.  ”Adapt, Improvise and Overcome” were the words we lived by in the field and Wildwood Wisdom’s got improvision by the pound.

Try as I may, I can’t find anything I don’t like about this book.  I require neatly organized chapters that aren’t overstuffed in order to stay tuned in and this book has 20 of them.  I particularly enjoyed chapter 12 – “Edible, Poisonous and Useful Plants and Trees.  This area shows just how much food Mother Nature has on her menu, and I’m willing to bet that after you’ve read through, you’ll begin to recognize all sorts of plants on the forest floor that you previously never knew could be eaten.

If you’re into “the old way” of doing things, I think you’re going to really enjoy how this book was written.  Sure, some of the information is deprecated at this point but the main concepts are just as useful as they were back then.  This is an easy read, so pick it up and grab a seat!

–About Me

I’m Mike – I’m a former US Marine, avid survivalist and full time father and husband.  I love the outdoors and practicing primitive techniques such as firestarting using the bow & drill method.  When I’m not in the woods or spending time with my amazing family, I can be found blogging at Military Backpack Guide and Beyond – where you can find loads of articles on backpacks and other tactical gear, not to mention book reviews and videos – come check it out!