Book Description
The Ultimate Desert Handbook is the first truly comprehensive handbook on desert travel and exploration, presenting the desert not as an alien environment to be overcome or endured, but rather as a fascinating opportunity for anyone eager to learn about and enjoy a different kind of outdoors experience. Assuming no prior desert know-how, this detailed guide is intended for hikers, backpackers, campers, and 4WD vehicle travelers, along with a wide range of other adventure enthusiasts pursuing their chosen activities into the desert - rock climbers, birding enthusiasts, pilots, nature lovers, and wildlife/landscape photographers. Even dayhikers and occasional visitors to desert destinations will find the book easy to understand and extremely useful. The Ultimate Desert Handbook is packed with information and includes descriptions and histories of deserts around the world, a complete survey of the North American deserts, their indigenous peoples, plants, and wildlife; expert advice, including historical background and the latest technical developments in desert hiking, backpacking, camping, equipment, footwear, and clothing. Also included are chapters on desert mountain biking, first aid, wildlife observation & photography (including tips on film cameras, digicams, and night optics), desert hazards and survival, finding & treating water from all manner of desert sources, as well as preparing and using desert vehicles and animal transport. Last but not least is the most thorough section on desert navigation ever published - from using the stars to map, compass, sextant, and the Global Positioning System - and easy-to-follow advice on everything from selecting a low-impact campsite to signaling and rescue communications. * A Ragged Mountain Press Outdoors Paperback * 5½ × 8½ * 291pp * 80 photos and illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Read it and be prepared!.......2006-08-17
Awesome book! We bought this book as a guide to prepare for a backpacking trip to the West Texas deserts of Big Bend and the Devil's River earlier this year and its advice came in handy on more than a few occasions, especially the section on camping advice, equipment, and clothing. The book's use of real-life excerpts of news stories (from those who didn't take the desert seriously enough) was effective at getting the book's message across on to anyone preparing to hike the desert, as well as the drive back. In fact we ran into a couple who didn't bring enough water and when they got back to the trailhead, their truck had blown a radiator hose. They were hurting. As the Scout motto says, read this and be prepared before you go.
It's the best desert hiking and survival book.........2006-07-21
The Ultimate Desert Handbook is the best book on desert hiking and survival I have found, and I have read them all. That's not just my opinion, but also that of all my friends who like to backpack and hike in the desert. Unlike other books that claim to cover the subject of desert hiking and survival, this one actually does so. Water, acclimatizing the body, clothing and equipment, navigation, backpacks and gear, information on different deserts of the world - nothing is left out.
Johnson's book is actually both well-written and very well organized, with the most important aspects, such as finding water, trip planning, etc. in the first chapters, progressing in order. The criticism of the book as somehow biased towards vehicle travel is completely off-base, and makes me wonder how carefully the critic read the material. It has a single solitary chapter on desert vehicles and preparing them for desert conditions (makes sense, because unlike other places, you may have to drive for miles through remote, waterless areas just to get to the trailhead!). In fact, the book is primarily oriented towards hikers and backpackers - probably 250 of the book's 296 pages are devoted to the subject - especially those preparing for treks in remote desert. The book actually covers a wide range of subjects - adapting to different desert conditions, trip planning, backpacking and camping gear, desert first aid, snakes and other hazards, and it has the best chapter on pathfinding and navigation (read: staying alive) in the desert I've found to date.
As to gear and equipment, the author does take space to provide suggestions on advantages and disadvantages of many items, including the newer methods of water purification, ultralight equipment, GPS receivers, water storage, Camelbaks, and so on. But rather than the usual generic discussion, the information is nicely geared to desert hiking: in the case of drinking tube systems, right down to the need to insulate one's drinking tube and choose light-reflecting colors, a tip omitted by other books. I personally found all of this very useful information, and I can't see how it possible how learning something about one's gear for such a different environment as a desert could be either impractical or frivolous. The author did probably assume the reader is intelligent enough to realize that you can't possibly bring everything along, and to make one's own choices regarding total pack weight. Suggestions are just that, not everyone will agree with them, but such is life. For myself, I'd certainly want to know the practical applications and limitations of various types of gear and clothing, especially as they apply to desert hiking. If you don't like it, you can skip the chapter - doh! I find it very strange that anyone could condemn a desert travel book with a single-star rating because it allegedly reviews 'too much' equipment, then criticize it yet again with the trivial complaint that the book left out the manufacturer's address for one's preferred brand of compass. Bizarre.
I found the Ultimate Desert Handbook to be the first desert hiking book I've read that acknowledges the differences between the major U.S. desert regions AND provides information throughout the book useful to each desert region, not to mention other deserts of the world. This material is provided throughout the book, and is NOT limited to the brief descriptions in the introductory chapter. This is significant, as many hiking books that purport to deal with desert travel or survival base a lot of their material on experiences gained from one particular desert, guidance that isn't always applicable to others.
There's a lot of material here I've never found in other desert survival books (or nature 'walking' guides for that matter), and that includes the U.S. Army and Air Force survival manuals. For instance, I've always read that barrel cactus may be used for water in an emergency - but was surprised to learn that there are several look-alike subspecies with pulp that are poisonous or sickening, something the Native Americans knew but apparently the Air Force doesn't, so this book tells how to identify them, just in case. Many books tell you about the solar survival still and transpiration bag, but the author takes care to point out their fatal flaws. You can find information in this book I've never seen in any other hiking book that could only be of value to someone walking long distances in the desert: how to work primitive, wind, or solar-powered windmills, find directions from winds and eroded rocks, siphon water out of a covered aqueduct, hide a water cache, hike lava fields or sand dunes, find directions from desert tracks and trails, treat desert blindness, or perform first aid for arterial bleeding. Again, not something you're likely to find in the Audubon guides. Although the book isn't strictly a desert survival text, it's no surprise to see that it's very popular with park rangers, thru-hikers, desert expedition members, and those familiar with extreme desert travel.
Now, there are some things the book isn't, which is obvious to anyone who bothers to look over the chapter titles. It isn't a nature guide to desert flora and fauna - beyond telling you which plants, animals, and insects can hurt or help you, which is the point of the book. For example, we get extensive advice on avoiding potential injury from rattlesnakes (individualized to species where necessary), while learning there's no need to stomp on the local tarantula that comes close to your campfire. The book does takes care to demonstrate the fragility of the desert environment where indicated and provides advice on low-impact hiking and camping. This duality may bother some people used to strict genres such as 'hiking book', 'survival book', etc., but not to fear - it's all seamlessly integrated into a comprehensive guide to desert hiking, survival and travel. And since the book deals with BOTH desert hiking and desert survival, it teaches not only what to do in case of disaster, but how to prevent disasters in the first place through preparation, acquisition of expertise, and development of one's hiking and pathfinding skills. The book also isn't a long, novelistic narrative of one man's voyage of discovery and personal growth, so it could hardly be criticized for not including such material (how anyone could mistake it for such a book is baffling to me). The author is more concerned with providing objective information (as he should be in this type of book) to the reader rather than an homage to Ed Abbey, great a novelist as he was.
So, if you're a big-city dweller just looking for a good winter read, or the Latin scientific appellation for the local deer mouse, you'll need to go somewhere else. But if you need the best desert hiking and survival guide, this is it.
Overrated-Oversized-Inadequate-Superficial.......2006-07-14
Although it may be of some use as an introduction to persons who have never walked on a desert trail or been to the American southwest, and though the book constitutes a useful primer on equipment, navigation, & survival techniques, the book is poorly organized and edited with much less information than one might expect from a book of its physical size. It is not handy enough to throw into a knapsack nor is it well designed or beautiful enough to qualify as a coffee table book. The author appears to have done just enough research to cover the subject and satisfy his editors. There are no first hand descriptions of desert hiking or any first hand descriptions at all to suggest the author has any experience whatsoever. Less than one page is devoted to animal transport, ten pages to bicycle transport, and 32 pages to motor vehicles. One may thus conclude that the author has probably never walked more than a few hundred yards from a motor vehicle. The extremely modest effort made to be inclusive (to justify the title) by tackling all the world's deserts results in a text that suffers exceedingly with regard to specific characteristics of North American desert regions namely the Great Basin, Mohave, Sonoran, & Chiricahua. The few paragraphs dedicated to each of these is utterly insufficient in doing more than indicating their geographic location. The list of plants, animals, and insects for all is inexplicably conjoined and superficial (only 43 species of flora and fauna including reptiles and insects) and inadequately illstrated. Albeit a number of new species are introduced in the chapters on hazards and survival but these are not illustrated or very well described as to habits, distribution, & frequency. So much more is available from any decent nature guide (Peterson's, Audubon, etc.) Indeed the Golden Guides offer better coverage of Southwestern desert life & local culture despite their diminutive size. The author includes many lists of recommended supplies but little explication as to the rationale for their inclusion or their practical use. The author simply cribbed official sources including military manuals for much of this information. The assumption seems to be that you can carry all this stuff in a motor vehicle or helicopter. Though poor in describing North American desert regions and their ecology the book is nevertheless a decent introduction to certain technical aspects of desert hiking such as navigation and survival strategies. However all this information is readily available in other more thorough and entertaining hiking, camping, and survival guides. The skimpy two page bibliography inexplicably omits anything specific to the ecology of American deserts or to any of the well known, extremely useful, and entertaining works by Colin Fletcher ('The Man Who Walked Through Time', and 'The Complete Walker') or those by Edward Abbey ('Desert Solitaire') nor does it contain any comments on the usefulness or entertainment value of what is listed (How useful or entertaining is the ca. 1325 travel description by Abu Ibn Battuta?) The 'Resources' appendix is likewise superficial and omits a source for an important orienting product discussed and illustrated in the text (Suunto). In short, the book appears to be an editorial commission that though workmanlike as a piece of technical writing it utterly lacks any flavor or sense of what is purported to be described. The most useful chapter in the book is probably 'Water Supplies' with the paragraph on hyponatremia being the most important but there is no discussion as to how to make your own remedy for sodium deficiency until six chapters later when an inset describes the internationally accepted re-hydration formula.
Almost a necessity for desert backpacking .......2006-03-05
This is without doubt a really useful book on desert backpacking and general camping and hiking. It's not a trail book, but really a general and in-depth training guide on exploring deserts and planning/preparation for such places. Unlike a lot of these types of books, this one is written in an absorbing manner. The chapters flow naturally, one to the other, and have plenty of illustrations (all black/white, though).
I picked up this book on a whim before heading out to Arizona and Utah and was surprised at how well it covered the subjects you might expected to need when hiking the desert. For example, in the desert navigation chapter, you aren't just told to 'carry a map and compass and look for landmarks'. The book leads you step-by-step through reading and understanding a map, different kinds of desert (rock, dune desert, etc.), likely desert landmarks and common mistakes in desert navigating, how to choose the right compass and GPS receiver, the weak points of these instruments, how to recognize trail 'signs' or traffic, and on and on.
Desert planning and equipment is also a great chapter. What boot soles work well on desert rock, what shoes to wear in loose sand, how to plan water loads, desert camping tips, how desert heat and different terrain will affect your mileage, etc. The author illustrates nearly every point with real-life news accounts of desert survivors (and victims) who experienced the issues encountered in desert situations.
By the time you reach the end of the book you know how to plan a desert hike, buy the right hiking and camping equipment and clothing, employ first aid for desert illnesses or heat exposure, avoid plant/animal dangers, survive if you get into trouble, and get your truck (or mountain bike!) desert-ready. Not bad.
In conclusions, this is the best outdoors guide I've read in a long time. Definitely check this book out if you are planning a desert trip.
Highly recommended.......2006-01-24
I found Mark Johnon's book both interesting and highly informative. He thoroughly covers all the areas you would expect in a book on desert survival (shelter, water, navigation, plants & animals, first aid, etc.) then adds useful information on desert transportation and photography. He manages to cover all these topics in sufficient depth without droning on forever and boring you.
The author's warnings regarding suspicious people and unexploded ordinance are sound and valuable advice. I was surprised to see that one reviewer considered this hysterics. I grew up in the South and remember reading a newspaper account of someone injured by an old shell from guns silent since 1865. I suspect unexploded bombs from WWII could be at least as dangerous. The same reviewer also appeared to think map care and being properly equipped were unnecessary as well, so I guess we'll just have to disagree.
Average customer rating:
- Short and Sketchy
- Easy to Read, Practical Survival Manual
- Not just for the desert!
- A Must Have Book!
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Desert Survival Handbook : How to Prevent and Handle Emergency Situations
Charles A. Lehman
Manufacturer: Primer Publishers
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Similar Items:
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The Ultimate Desert Handbook : A Manual for Desert Hikers, Campers and Travelers
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Desert Survival Skills
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Desert Hiking Tips: Expert Advice on Desert Hiking and Driving
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Surviving the Desert (Davenport, Gregory J. Books for the Wilderness.)
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Wilderness Survival
ASIN: 093581065X |
Book Description
This easy-to-read handbook provides the reader with the basic survival skills necessary to deal with emergencies in the desert. The author uses a variety of scenarios to illustrate survival techniques. Lehman also stresses the importance of considering "what if" to prepare for potential emergency situations.
Customer Reviews:
Short and Sketchy.......2005-06-30
This book was one of the earlier books I found on the subject of desert survival. As a quick guide to survival issues in North American deserts, this book is alright, but is somewhat outdated and being so short, is also very short on specifics, being more of a list of 'tips' than a complete guide to surviving in the desert. Information on such things as venomous reptiles, heat illnesses, finding water supplies, is very sketchy. The other issue is how to avoid getting into a 'desert survival' situation in the first place, which this book doesn't cover in much detail. If you have any intention of taking any serious desert trips that involve travel away from populated areas, I would instead recommend reading the Ultimate Desert Handbook by Mark Johnson or Desert Survival Skills by David Alloway.
Easy to Read, Practical Survival Manual .......2005-05-26
I bought the DESERT SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Charles Lehman while I was in the Mojave Desert, just for the heck of it, and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of practical, life-saving information in it. I even read aloud some parts to various family members, including the tidbit that eating actually dehydrates you (I had no idea). This was a short, easy-to-read, handy little book that you should definitely take with you on a trip to the great outdoors. It's a great gift for that guy/gal who loves camping or hiking, or for anyone you know who drives through long stretches of desert. For better mileage, I'd stick this book in your bathroom as the "bathroom book," especially if you have a big household or get a lot of guests. You never know who might need info like this one day to survive. Plus, it's interesting!
Not just for the desert!.......2001-01-04
This book is a basic necessity regardless of where you live. It contains practical ways of dealing with and preparing for critical situations, and makes you realize just how easy it would be to find yourself in those situations. If you are going to leave your house, have it in your car. If you are going to go to the park, have it in your lunch bag. And, for goodness sake, if you are going to venture out more than a few minutes from the general population - car, foot or bike - have it close at hand.
A Must Have Book!.......2000-02-01
This is it, the original desert survival book, written by the man who did all the field research himself. Buy it, read it, and keep a copy in your car. It's full of useful information which may save your life.
Book Description
In this taut, intensely dramatic narrativethe record of a perilous excursion into a remote and unmappable labyrinth of canyons in the American Southwesttwo men confront immutable forces of nature and the limits of their own sanity. As a chronicle of adventure, as emotionally charged human drama, as confessional memoir, THE WAY OUT is a transcendent booka work destined to earn a lasting place in the literature of extremes.
Customer Reviews:
An Incredible Journey.......2007-05-14
The Way Out is a book you'll want to read over and over again. It's just too powerful to fully absorb in one reading. As with "The Secret Knowledge of Water", Mr. Childs leads you into the very psyche of Living Land. He bears his soul and humbles himself before a chasm of rock. An absolute master of imagery and metaphor, Mr. Childs doesn't just take you into the majesty of a canyon or the solitude of the desert, he empties you out there so that you might fill again. "The Way Out" is his best work yet.
Susan Haley, Author
RAINY DAY PEOPLE
A hard-hitting account of discovery.......2006-06-21
A two-weep trip through the American Southwest with a good friends turns into a challenge which will test friendship and survival skills in THE WAY OUT: A TRUE STORY OF RUIN AND SURVIVAL. Any with a special affection for the Southwest will find vivid descriptions of its terrain and desolation as they enjoy this memoir of survival, a hit in hardcover and newly available in paperback to provide a hard-hitting account of discovery.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
·Techniques for traversing desert terrain-by vehicle, by mountain bike, or on foot
·Strategies for comfort, safety, and survival in extreme conditions
·Selecting gear and equipment for this special environment
Like any desert aficionado, Bruce Grubbs is obsessed with water: how much to bring, how to carry it, how to conserve it, and how to find it in the backcountry. But desert exploration involves much more. Grubbs provides the knowledge and skills you need to move through this landscape with confidence.
In addition to techniques for hiking and mountain biking special to desert conditions, Grubbs tells how to prepare your vehicle for remote desert roads and how to avoid getting stuck in sand or busting a tire. He discusses navigating in the desert, "dry camping" skills, and techniques for minimum impact on this starkly beautiful but fragile environment. There are tips for dealing with desert heat-and cold-and other challenges (sharp spiny plants and venomous snakes are easy to avoid with a little preparation and know-how). But just in case, Grubbs troubleshoots the worst-case scenarios. Throughout, he gives an understanding of desert climate and seasons, and the unique plants and creatures at home in it.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointed.......2006-05-11
This book promises to instruct anyone on how to hike and bike the desert safely. As a generalized overview to some (not all) desert travel it is sufficient for that purpose, but I found it lacking in many subjects crucial to remote desert hikers. Trip/water planning, gear prep, finding water from natural sources, trip navigation (map and GPS), first aid for desert and heat sicknesses, etc. could have all used a lot more material. Coverage of some deserts and specialized advice was lacking. The book emphasizes coverage of 'high' deserts like the Great Basin, unfortunately, at the expense of others. And forget anything outside the U.S., as it's not covered here. I probably would have liked this book better had I not read the Ultimate Desert Handbook, which covers the same subjects a lot more thoroughly, not to mention the diversity of many more deserts in North America and around the world.
Required reading for desert trips.......2006-03-23
This book should be required reading for anyone remotely thinking about desert exploring of any type. I have done a fair amount of desert trips and have read and reread this book a number of times. It is packed full of important, potentially life saving information that will help you navigate safely in the desert. Everything from techniques for hiking,mountain biking, and 4x4 trips including vehicle preparation is included. There is an interesting section on troubleshooting worst-case scenarios and even a section on selecting the proper gear and equipment for desert conditions. When considering desert trips it is well to remember the admonishment of famed desert rat and author Edward Abbey:"...Enter at your own risk. Carry water. Avoid the noonday sun. Try to ignore the Vultures. Pray frequently." I would add "read and study this book" or perhaps "Don't leave home without it." Highly recommended.
Product Description
Greg Davenport's Books for the WildernessThe techniques and equipment necessary for surviving in the desert are made more challenging by the intense sunlight, wide temperature range, sparse vegetation, and sandstorms, but Greg Davenport shares how to deal with the toughest conditions. Learn how to avoid insects and snakes. Photos and drawings illustrate gear and techniques necessary for survival in the rough and dangerous terrain.About the Author:Greg Davenport is the author of Surviving Coastal and Open Water (0-8117-2815-3), Surviving Cold Weather (0-8117-2635-5), Wilderness Survival (0-8117-2985-0), and Wilderness Living (0-8117-2993-1). He is a certified USAF survival instructor and owns and operates Simply Survival in Stevenson, Washington. Travel safely through extreme environments Find water, dress for the environment, create a campsite, signal, and navigate in the desert Series author Greg Davenport has appeared on ABC's Primetime Thursday and CBS's 48 Hours
Customer Reviews:
Learn to use your survival mind!!!.......2007-03-04
Surviving the Desert looks at a survivor's five survival essentials and how they apply in a myriad of desert settings. This approach keeps the reader focused on what his/her needs are and promotes a survivor mind for all the various desert terrains one might enjoy. And that is the key -- learning to use your survival mind.
Since all situations are different, you will never find a book on survival that gives a step by step approach to returning alive. Finding a book that teaches you how to use your survival mind, however, is like finding gold. This is what sets Davenport's books above the others (books that teach desert travel but don't develop a readers survival mind).
Davenport's 'Surviving the desert' is a gold nugget. If you travel into the desert (or in any outdoor environment) isn't it time you learn to use that survival mind!
Desert Lite.......2005-01-21
Surviving the Desert is one of a series of books by Greg Davenport, in which the author attempts to provide survival advice on every single kind of outdoors environment - forest wilderness, oceans, the arctic, etc. This time, it's the deserts of the world. I think Davenport's other books on forest and mountain survival are pretty good, but this desert version doesn't live up to his previous work.
To me it would seem nearly impossible to write a survival guide or to acquire vast experience of all types of environments, especially deserts, unless one has traveled them for years and acquired knowledge and expertise from both personal discovery and the local inhabitants. First of all, most deserts aren't at all alike, yet most desert survival books treat them identically. They vary tremendously in weather patterns, terrain, plant and animal life - and any survival book, to be truly useful, must note how these differences affect how to obtain shelter, what navigation methods to employ, how to find water (and which methods are realistic versus only hopeful), how to avoid dangerous creatures, how to negotiate dune sands versus lava rock, etc, etc. Not to mention appropriate hiking gear, clothing, expedition vehicle modifications, health concerns, etc. Davenport's book doesn't cut it, and most of the advice is fairly generic. If you really plan to backpack the desert or to explore in a vehicle away from immediate aid, and want the best book on the subject, try The Ultimate Desert Handbook by Mark Johnson.
Book Description
Remote desert locations, including the Chihuahuan Desert of northern Mexico, southern Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, draw adventurers of all kinds, from the highly skilled and well prepared to urban cowboys who couldn't lead themselves (much less a horse!) to water. David Alloway's goal in this book is to help all of them survive when circumstances beyond their control strand them in the desert environment. In simple, friendly language, enlivened with humor and stories from his own extensive experience, Alloway here offers a practical, comprehensive handbook for both short-term and long-term survival in the Chihuahuan and other North American deserts.
Customer Reviews:
For Urban Cowboy Venturing into the Desert.......2007-07-04
This is not a "downed in an airplane into remote wilderness book/ living off the land temporarily".
This book is for city people who get stuck in the desert with a vehicle.
It has very bad suggestions. For example, it talks about setting your tires on fire to make a signal fire (anyone hear of the Rodeo-Chedeski fire in 2002? The girl set off a signal fire in tinder dry forests & burned over 716 square MILES of forest!). This is a bad idea in the desert southwest! Use a (automobile)mirror to signal news helicopters flying overhead:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodeo-Chediski_fire
It also talks about eating your children's crayons for food, etc.
If you are a city person who is ill prepared to go in the desert, well this is the book for you.
I hate to say it, but this book seemed to be for complete bimbos heading out into the desert.
Don't be starting ANY fire in the southwest for ANY reason!
Great book for Texas and New Mexico Desert Travelers.......2006-02-01
"Desert Survival Skills" is enjoyable to read and very informative. While written specifically about the Chihuahan desert (mainly Texas, New Mexico and Mexico), much of the information is applicable to other US deserts. The section on navigation is limited, but then the topic is desert survival, not land navigation. He provides a great deal of excellent instruction regarding plants (for food and medicine) and animals. You will also gain a good understanding about things you should not do (assuming you don't enjoy snake bites). In addition, he provides sound guidance on selection of survival equipment and how to help Search and Rescue teams locate you. Also of interest are true-life stories of others who have found themselves in desert survival situations. Some of these ended well - many did not. These (very brief) accounts are sprinkled throughout the book and help illustrate his points. I found the book easy to read and well worth the money.
Desert Survival, or Plan Ahead?.......2004-12-03
This is strictly a desert survival book, not a desert hiking book; i.e. it is mostly about surviving until rescue once things have gone very wrong. But don't look for a lot of information on how to plan a desert hike, learning to navigate, recognizing and avoiding all types of poisonous snakes, or checking out groundwater sources so as to avoid having to use those survival skills. Desert Survival Skills is written by the late David Alloway, who learned his desert skills at at Big Bend National Park. It is a good resource for survival skills in that part of the country, though it is true that some of his book doesn't translate to other deserts of North America and the world. I give it three out of five stars.
Good book but limited in scope.........2003-11-03
This is a good book on desert survival, though it is a little uneven. It is at its best in describing survival in the Chihuahuan Desert (Texas, New Mexico) of North America. Its usefulness in other desert areas is limited; in particular the sections on finding water and food, or plant and animal dangers, are really targeted to that particular bioregion.
Desert Survival Skills.......2003-06-13
Great Book, great content, well written, well worth the money spend if your a desert traveler. Knowledge can be gained for survival skills that might be needed in most any area of the world from this book. Best of the market.
Jose
Book Description
The most up-to-date book on Desert Survival available. Contains field-tested skills and tips from the authors 18+ years of teaching survival skills. Includes: How to cope with heat stress and methods for acclimating your body to extreme heat, Locating water in seemingly arid regions, Current information on scorpion stings and snakebites along with current treatments, Equipping your vehicle for offroad travel and leading causes of breakdowns in the heat, Desert shelters for heat and cold, and Improvised signaling devices. Contains over 30 detailed photos and informative sidebars. This book is the second in the Practical Survival series.
Customer Reviews:
Great little book!!.......2004-02-19
I thoroughly enjoyed and gleaned new insights after reading this book. It is by far the most in-depth book I have read on water needs and dehydration concerns as well as covering an often overlooked malady of hyponatremia or sodium deficiency. The author, when not speaking from his own vast experience, draws upon prominent researchers in heat-related studies, toxicology of venomous creatures, and search and rescue personnel. I especially liked the section on Desert Survival Myths which debunks useless methods like the solar still and explains what really works in a survival situation which other books over the years have failed to cover.
Good for what it is, but far from complete.......2003-11-14
Desert Survival Tips, Tricks, & Skills is a very short, 80-page booklet containing tips on staying safe in the North American desert. In that respect, is very similar to Charles Lehman's book on desert survival and Bruce Grubb's book on Desert Hiking and Driving Tips. Intended for North American deserts only, they mostly treat all desert regions as the same in terms of survival response, though deserts vary widely even in North America in terms of temperature, hazards, weather, water availability, etc. Because they are so short, they tend to feature short pieces of advice, such as "learn to use a map and compass", "carry enough water", "watch out for venomous snakes". But, how do you learn to navigate the desert? How much water is 'enough'? How do you recognize the habits of venomous reptiles so you don't step on one, and employ the proper first aid response if you do? And, perhaps most important, how can you plan your desert vacation or backpacking trip so that you don't end up having to 'survive' in the first place? This takes a lot more information than most of these books can really provide.
As a brief guide to survival in a North American desert, this book is as good as Lehman's or Grubb's books. But there is no way the material in this book is adequate for someone interested in a long desert hiking or backpacking trip, mountain bike ride, or travel by four-wheel-drive, especially if you are going to remote deserts or deserts outside the United States. For example, there is not much here on snake and reptile hazards, water purification and collection (including the problems with so-called 'solutions' like solar stills), desert clothing and sun protection equipment, proper footwear, body conditioning, vehicle preparation, repair, and driving techiques(important in remote desert areas) and little or no information on learning to navigate using map, compass, the stars, or GPS equipment to stay out of trouble (vital in the desert).
My choice for best desert survival book would be either Desert Survival Skills by David Alloway (especially for the deserts of Texas and New Mexico), or The Ultimate Desert Handbook by Mark Johnson (covers both North American and world deserts. These are much larger and more complete books that go far beyond the booklet size publications in covering the subject of desert survival. They contain enough information so that a person can begin to actually understand and coexist in a desert environment. This includes planning and preparing to travel the desert safely, so that your risk of having to 'survive' is minimized.
Outstanding addition to the literature!.......2003-11-07
I was really pleased with this book. Very well-written and researched and the author really gets to the heart of the matter without a lot of chatter. Nester has done his homework and clearly delved into the latest research on snakebites, solar stills, water needs, and heat-related injuries while doing so in a way that doesn't insult the reader. Next to Alloway's book on the subject, I'd have to say that this is the best book on desert survival written in years. The section on how to adapt to heat-stress was worth the price alone for this old desert wanderer.
Average customer rating:
- I wasn't impressed
- OK, but not the best desert survival book
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Sas Desert Survival (SAS Survival)
Barry Davies
Manufacturer: Lewis International Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Instructional
| Hiking & Camping
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1930983115 |
Customer Reviews:
I wasn't impressed.......2006-05-11
SAS Desert Survival. The title has a definite attraction, but after reading it, I have to say that I was less than impressed. Water collection is one of the most essential concerns of any desert survivor, yet there isn't much here at all on the subject of locating ground water sources or planning water consumption in desert survival conditions. What there was included the usual over-optimistic advice on things like solar stills and transpiration bags, with certain curious 'tips' such as getting drinkable water from the sap of birch trees (in the desert?).
The section on map navigation isn't detailed enough to be of any real use to anyone (nor does it contain much on using compass or GPS in desert terrain). Nor is there much about common desert dangers such as sandstorms, snakes, heat illness, hypo-natremia, etc. What there is includes a lot of regurgitated advice from other SAS books on animal traps and fishing, not very applicable to arid desert. I can't recommend this book for anyone attempting an education in desert survival skills.
OK, but not the best desert survival book.......2004-01-24
I bought this book awhile back along with others in the SAS survival series. As a desert survival book it's merely OK; there are a lot better books on desert survival out there. The SAS book has little or no first aid information, and the sections on navigation and desert hazards like sandstorms, snakes, etc. aren't detailed enough to be of much use. A much better book on this subject would be something like The Ultimate Desert Handbook by Mark Johnson which is much more comprehensive and detailed, with more useful illustrations.
Average customer rating:
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Survival! in the Desert (An Avon Camelot Book)
Susan Landsman
Manufacturer: Camelot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Health
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Safety & First Aid
| Health, Mind & Body
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0380766019 |
Customer Reviews:
Author's objection!.......2000-12-06
This book is most certainly NOT about hundreds of soldiers in the desert who struggle to rejoin a battle, as your editor's synopsis says! I wrote the book, so I ought to know. This book is part of a survival series written for older elementary school children, about how one might survive in different ecosystems, if s/he were stranded. Each book opens with a short version of a real-life survival story, but that's merely a "warm-up" to the material, and only the first chapter. Where did you ever get that synopsis from?!
Book Description
Many of our long-held beliefs about living in desert climates have been made obsolete in recent years. Recent scientific studies on water and heat exchanged in the human body make the old desert theories about thirst and ancient ideas on desert travel as out of date today as a Model T Ford or a World War I Jenny aircraft. Afoot in the Desert is written to bring men in the Air Force up to date on desert living conditions. It is intended to provide basic information for escape and evasion in desert regions. It makes available the most recent, reliable information concerning survival needs of the human body in the deserts of the world. There are numerous survival hints for you and me in the way desert plants and desert animals have adapted themselves to dry climate living. Afoot in the Desert shows you some of the lessons taught by plants and animals which have adjusted to life in dry climates. It gives you some idea of what to expect if you are forced down in these areas and find it necessary to live there until you can make it back to home and sweetheart. Unfortunately the space available does not permit descriptions of the beauty, the fascination, and the charm of the world's great deserts. Neither does it allow for details about the interesting peoples who live in deserts. However, the information presented will make it easier for you to land, to live, and travel afoot in the desert. At the time of original publication Alonzo W. Pond was Chief of the Desert Branch of the Arctic, Desert, Tropic Information Center at the Air University.
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