Complete Wilderness

I've just read The Complete Wilderness Training Book by Hugh McManners. I cannot recommend this book enough - it is so good. I can't predict what conditions I'll be in after a pole shift, and this book discusses how to survive in a variety of conditions. McManners was a survival instructor in the British army. It would not do justice to the book to just present the highlights here, but I'll do that anyway. I do recommend buying this book. (Trust me, I have no stake in the matter.) The graphics and photos are some of the best I've ever seen, and they make the text so much more understandable. It is published by Dorling Kindersley (London & New York, 1994). I picked up a hard-cover at the library that retailed at $29.95. Maybe they have a less-expensive paperback now. The publisher's U.S. address is 95 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. The book didn't give a London address.

Important points and highlights in the book:

• The importance of layering clothing - even gloves. Even tents.
• The importance of gaiters for keeping your feet dry -- even while crossing a stream.
• The need for jungle boots if the conditions require them.
• A wire saw takes up little space, and it may survive a PS. If you keep it covered with a film of grease it will last longer.
• A strong pocketknife is second only in importance to your teeth.
• When you sharpen a knife, wet the stone first.
• Dome tents are ideal for extreme conditions.
• An igloo must have at least one airhole so carbon monoxide doesn't build up.
• Tree fungus has a waterproof outer skin. The inside can be used as tinder.
• Many pine needles are rich in vitamins A & C and can be used to make nutritious tea.
• Insects have a higher dietary value than vegetables, but don't eat spiders, wasps, or brightly-colored insects.
• It is easier to gather insects than to catch fish, and it requires less energy.
• Insects provide the best nutrition if eaten raw, but can be made more palatable by being boiled or roasted.
• Keep snails and slugs alive for 24 hours, on a diet of green leaves, before boiling them.
• Slugs are better when roasted.
• Insects may be ground between two stones and added to stews.
• Soak worms in salty water for 24 hours, then squeeze out their guts before adding them to stews or drying them.
• Don't eat fish unless you caught it yourself. They are breeding grounds for bacteria.
• Fishing depends less upon good equipment than upon knowledge of the prey.
• If you don't have a compass you can magnetize a needle, then lay it on a blade of grass in a bowl of water.
• If you run away from wild animals, you can trigger their instinctive chase response.

Offered by Mike.