Book Reviews: The 5 Best Survival Books of 2019

Every outdoor adventurist knows that the best survival books are essential fountains that can be tapped into in order to gain more knowledge about useful outdoor survival tricks and tactics. Nowadays, there are many survival books in the market that focus on the different aspects of outdoor survival. Some books are focused on the various ways of building a fire, finding food and water and making shelter, while other survival books cover everything an outdoor adventurist must know about first aid as well as wilderness medicines.

This means there are a lot of available resources to choose from. Here are our top 5 picks for the best survival books that cater to the basic needs of the survivalist.

1. Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival

If you want the ultimate resource of backcountry experience, then this 256-page book is perfect for you.

Written by survivalist expert Dave Canterbury, Bushcraft 101 is based on the 5C’s of Survivability: combustion devices, containers, cutting tools, covering, and cordages. Bushcraft 101 will also offer its readers valuable guidelines on how to craft resources found in your surroundings. This book also offers detailed information on:

• Collecting and cooking food.
• Manufacturing needed tools and supplies.
• Choosing the right items for your kit.
• Protecting yourself from the elements.

So is this book a must have?

Short answer is: yes. Whether you are experienced or a beginner, you need to have this book in your arsenal. This book is well written and it provides the reader a lot of information. The guidelines written on this book can also get a beginner on the right path. While it is true that no book can replace actual hands on experience, this book can still serve as a great reference.

The guidelines written by Canterbury on this book is the perfect way to learn on how to use the art of bushcraft to reconnect with Mother Nature in ways you’ve never imagined.

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2. Survival Hacks: Over 200 Ways to Use Everyday Items for Wilderness Survival

Everything can be turned into survival necessities! This is according to this survival book written by outdoor survival expert Creek Stewart. In this book, Stewart guides you on how you can transform everyday items into life saving valuable survival gear that can be used in any situation.

This 256-page survival book covers everything from small-scale D.I.Y. hacks like purifying dirty water by just using a plastic bottle and the sun, to big-scale stuffs like building a one-person emergency shelter using trash bags. This book will also teach you some cool tips and tricks on how you can make you very own everyday carry survival pocket sized kits that you can use in case you are stuck in an emergency.

For most outdoor enthusiasts, this book is not considered as a must have. But be that as it may, the Survival Hacks is still a great read and a good book to have around most especially during a rainy afternoon in camp.

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3. Primitive Skills and Crafts

If you are looking for the best family-friendly outdoor adventure survival book that focuses on the outdoorsman’s guide to shelters, weapons, tools, tracking, survival, and many more, then Richard and Linda Jamisons’s Primitive Skills and Crafts is what you should have.Plus, this book also contains great insights from well known and accomplished archaeologists, primitive practitioners, anthropologists, artisans, and craftsmen.

Other survival topics discussed in this book include fire making, camp cooking, basket weaving, pottery making, animal tracking, and many more.

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4. The SAS Survival Guide

Written by John ‘Lofty’ Wiseman (former Chief Survival Instructor for the Special Air Service or SAS for 26 years), The SAS Survival Guide is one of the most popular survival books of all time. It provides details on how to survive in the wild, weather on land or at sea.

The SAS Survival Guide also talks about the techniques on how to survive in every climate imaginable as well as on how to be successful in handling urban dangers. Finally, this book also covers navigation, preparation, urban safety and security, food and health, and disaster survival.

This book has 672 pages and weighs approximately 2.2 lbs or 1kg. It has very simple black and white illustrations in almost every page of the book accompanying the rough descriptions.

The only downside to this great book is that it contains an incredibly large amount of content in a super condensed form that at times it makes you wonder if the author have actually done some of the techniques written in the book.

But overall, The SAS Survival Guide Handbook is a great book to give you an introduction into what wilderness survival is all about.

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5. The Survival Medicine Handbook

This detailed Survival Medicine Handbook by Joseph Alton, M.D.,(practiced as a board certified Obstetrician and Pelvic Surgeon for more than 25 years)  is a 550-page 2-pound medicine handbook guide that can help you stay prepared for any medical emergency situation most especially when medical help isn’t available.

The Survival Medicine Handbook covers principles of medical preparedness, modern medicine vs. survival medicine, spirituality and survival, how to sterilize medical supplies, and many more. And while this book is somewhat incredibly comprehensive, make no mistake: it won’t’ turn you into an M.D. overnight.

The best part of this book is its no-nonsense, realistic, and down-to-earth introduction. After the introduction, the basic principles of medical preparedness as well as a very solid section on the skills and supplies you’d want to acquire before you’re forced to approximate the role of a medical professional is also thoroughly discussed.

The Survival Medicine Handbook is a great survival handbook to own. It is easy to understand and is also filled with a lot of information. It covers more than 100 medical issues, making it a must have item if you are really serious about disaster preparedness. In short, this book could easily become one of your most important survival assets.

According to Alton, this book is part of his mission “to put a medically prepared person in every family for any disaster.”

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