Shelter and Self-Preservation Anywhere - A Complete Guide to Food

Awesome. Came in a timely matter. The hardcover is way worth the buy, even if it's a bit roughed up, because this book should last a life time if taken care of properly. Though that's not to say that you can't take it outdoors, because this book is definitely meant for it.

Although there is a good deal of information to be gained from this book, some of the information is a tad outdated. I have read through several similar books and in my opinion the US Army Survival manual as well as Wilderness Survival by Gregory Davenport does a much better job in helping a camper/hiker feel comfortable in knowing how to take care of themselves or others should the situation arise.
The initial copyright on the book is 1956; the writing style and information show their age... The discussion of wool being the best bet for cold weather seems a bit outdated. The writing style is unique and not the easiest to read. I wouldn't be comfortable if the only survival information I had were Angiers instructions and illustrations. I found that many of the other "survival" books do a much better job in explaining how to do a given task with step by step information. The illustrations leave much to be desired as I couldn't tell most of the edible plant illustrations from the poisonous ones, and I doubt I could match an illustration to an actual plant if my life depended on it...
In my opinion your best bet would be the two other books I mentioned before you considered this one...

There is really nothing in here that I learned. I read all the Foxfire books when I was young. If you want some real good info, buy the full color wild plant identification charts/books. Those were much more informative. I stopped reading 2/3s through.

...and again, reading does nothing until you put it into practice to drive the information home.

First chapter, food. Really? If one is facing harsh climates I'm gonna be concerned about the menu?! The rest of the book has good info & perspective but just the way it started irked me. Its always good, I think to read as many books on any topic to get a sense of your own perspective. That being said, I'm putting up a yurt, with a trough a fire pit and a nice comfy sleeping spot, before I yell for a waiter

Partner this book with Kephart, Canterbury and Kochanski, and you will be well on your way to learning wilderness survival skills. Angier doesn't miss anything with this text. There are several pictures in the section on edible plants, a great help for identifying plants to eat. Good book, great buy

Almost too (hard to explain) Philosophical.. was looking for something with more detail and specific as opposed to a broad mention of possibilities. But there are many good ideas and points in any case.

Not the best writing, but had some good ideas inside. I wouldn't go by everything it says though, I'd research it first. The way they explained how to set the traps wasn't easy to follow either, just poorly written.

This bookstore Anyone who treks into deep forests, hunts, or may need to separate from all society for awhile. WELL beyond simple survival tips/techniques, this book shows the wealth experience many people used regularly to live well with minimal or no in,teraction outside the deep wooded regions they inhabit. Evey aspect of daily life and all human expectations addressed and answers described which may face someone lost or banished to living away from society. I grew up hunting & trekkimg Wyomings primitive areas taught by native american warrior cast in woodsmanship. I felt I was as good and.knowledgeable as many, better than most in skills of a woodsman. This book had more information than I thought possible. PORING over Evey page to find all those amazing skills and how to apply each bit of knowledge to bettering my quality of life when most would have been helpless in every way. I believe this book to be the best " Survival " book I've read. And that is outof a whole lot of books! If you can not buy it get a copy thru library, borrow from a friend or relative, but do read this book! I bought 2 copies from the store! We should all know the books contents

This book is written in a much more literate style than any of the other wilderness survival guides. With some exceptions, it reads well and is interesting and entertaining. If this were a work of fiction, I would probably give it four stars.

However, there are parts of the book that are rife with incorrect information. A verbatim example:
"Being able to identify Polaris, a.k.a the North Star, is of crucial importance in the wilderness. It is typically the brightest star visible to the human eye and can be located after discerning in the solar system the location on an easily recognizable constellation: the Big Dipper"

Passing over the less important fact that no part of the Big Dipper is in the solar system, Polaris is NOT the brightest star. Not even close. It is of middling, unimpressive brightness (and was actually slightly DIMMER in 1956 when this was first written). The falsehood of the statement in the book can be determined by anyone with normal vision who goes outside on a clear night in the Northern Hemisphere. For it to have survived in various printings and editions over the past 50+ years is egregious.

Another example: "The constellation Cassiopeia is better known to most as Orion" This absurd untruth is then compounded by an illustration of "Cassiopeia" that is distorted in shape so that it resembles Orion!!!

This makes me wonder just how many nights the author has spent out under the stars. (Perhaps I should give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he is very nearsighted? Naaah..). If someone follows the "brightest star", that is pointed to by Orion in the manner shown in the illustration, they will be following Sirius, and very definitely not going North (in the Northern Hemisphere, in any case). This horrible misinformation could get people LOST and subsequently DEAD.

Given these easy to disprove examples, I would feel safer taking up flaming chainsaw juggling than trusting that the edible plant information included is better than the celestial navigation chapter.

Pretty general in nature and not specific enough to be of any value. Any Boy Scout learns more about survival in his early years than is told in this book. As far as I am concerned this is a waste of time in reading. It has just enough information to make a person dangerous to themselves in any life threatening situation.

We were passing this book around in the days following Christmas when we noticed that the inner back binding was torn. There is no flexure in the spine of the book. My son went home with book that was falling apart.

The other comments regarding the outdated writing are right on the money. Nevertheless, I am going to try and find a paperback version if one exists.

This book is awful. You spend more time trying to figure out what the author is trying to say, than learning about staying alive in the woods...which IS the intention of this publication, right?

If Bradford Angier were to express to you what I just wrote, he would say:

The papers with which herein expose the truths of the matter are not endearing. The time and energy exerted to decipher the author's lack of straightforwardness is not less than the calories expended to educate yourself of the tools and means to stay alive in the woods...which isn't the fiction of this piece of work, is that so? The label on the cover insinuates all of my previous comments, which cannot be denied.

The basics, very well done. Binding is super strong and pages are heavy and appropriate for uncivilized places that you might find yourself in. Not only good for survival but for enjoying yourself. The manner of instruction is just the level a normal person would need. This is not for your profession guide. It's for the common person who frequents the woods and could find themselves lost. In far fewer words the author conveys enough of the knowledge needed. If you are a backpacker who goes into the mountains or other environments, you may want additional material, but for it's stated purpose I am very pleased. After reading it, I keep in my 4x4 so that when I am enjoying the wilds I can practice some of the skills, and it's there for a reference should I actually need it in an emergency. So many of the more current guides have skills that require a subset of skills. Or, go into so much detail that the book is a tome. The author obviously has used the skills he teaches and conveys just the right depth. The plants area may not be applicable to all regions of the US, but that is true of almost any similar book, depending on where you might need to use the knowledge.

This book, published in1956, was written for a different kind of person than todays armchair critics. It is written for those who spent their childhood outside and knew basic outdoor skills, learned from parents, grand parents, and the older scouting programs and such. This book is not the idiot's guide to survival, full of color photos and step by step instructions on how to pick up a stick. It is a guide to help you think, to keep trying when all seems against you. If you lack the education to understand the contents of the book or lack the motivation to practice ideas from this book, stay indoors and watch survival TV.

This book was originally published in 1956 under the title Living Off the Country: How to Stay Alive in the Woods. The copy my review is based upon was printed in 1969.

The author's intention is to explain how to survive in the wilderness under dire circumstances. Game laws and cultural or personal taboos might need be to be set aside. You eat what you can to survive. You start a fire and build a shelter from the materials at hand.

The book is divided into four parts: sustenance, warmth, orientation, and safety. The most enduringly useful section is, I believe, part three, on orientation. The first two chapters of safety precautions in part four are also good. In the final two chapters of the book, the author discusses the value and contents of a "survival kit", which, although motivated by somewhat different concerns, is very similar to the current notion of the "bug out bag" (BOB) widely discussed in various online forums.

If you enjoy older books in this genre, as I do, this is probably a classic of its kind. But if you're looking for comprehensive or current advise and instruction on wilderness survival or primitive living skills, this book is not a good choice.

Like most people who have read this book, I received it as a gift. Perhaps some innate mountain man spirit or boy scout tendencies of mine made somebody think this was an appropriate present to give me around the holidays. Anyways, I appreciated the gift and have only recently gotten around to reading and reviewing it. In this edition of the book the cover is bound in olive drab, grip rubber, not unlike a basketball. This unique cover material makes the book a handsome and manly looking piece of literature if there ever was one.
So what about the content? Well, as a former soldier, I found much of the material consistent with standard military survival manuals, particularly when it comes to woodland survival. The language of the writing is classic 1950's American English, not too removed from those elitist publications put out by the East Coast gentry who cranked out books on every subject following the war. It is, however, not pretentious or condescending, Bradford Angier genuinely has written a book he hopes will assist the stranded, starvation-bound "Average Joe American (or Canadian)."
A fun and attractive book to read with at least a little insight into roughing it, either deliberately or not.
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS, READERS AND PUBLISHERS DESERVE YOUR HONEST OPINIONS.

First off, it's important for the potential buyer to realize that this book was written in the 1950's.

This is a handy book - if you already have some experience with the out-of-doors. The author assumes some familiarity with roughing it on the part of the reader, and does not give in-depth instructions on some survival skills such as procuring food - making this book less than ideal for the rank beginner. However, there are plenty of valuable tips and skills outlined in this book that it would be good for the beginner to learn - and this book can serve as a starting point for figuring out which skills you need to learn more about! This book is not nearly as in-depth as the U.S. Army Survival Manual - it's not designed for anything like the same purpose, however. The author stresses preparedness, common sense, and choosing the proper gear to carry with you while trekking in the wilderness. This book is more of an overview of important things to consider for your survival, not an instruction manual.

This book was written in the 1950's, so some of the instructions (particularly for medical supplies and other kit) are a bit out of date, but there is plenty of timeless, common sense advice at hand. I found the information on finding one's direction and not getting lost in the first place to be quite useful - but understand that this book was written in a different time, and for a different audience than today's casual hiker or vacationer.

This book focuses mainly on survival in the North - i.e. the Canadian wilderness, but there are some tips on survival in desert climates, as well.

There are probably better manuals out there for practical survival skills, and this book suffers from a lack of clear illustrations and step-by-step instructions, But much of this lore comes straight from those who truly DID have to survive in the woods - trappers, prospectors, and the independent spirits who simply wanted a simpler way of life. I think this book is mainly useful as a general work on the subject of survival - and it does give you an interesting insight into how old-timers managed to live off the land in days gone by.

But with a little brains and common sense most of the tricks in this book can be adapted to different types of terrain, vegetation, and climate, and outdated survival kit items can be substituted with more modern ones.

Not a must-have book, in my opinion, as there are better survival guides out there these days, but it was an interesting read and does contain some solid tips for survival, I think.

It is impossible to teach people "How to Stay Alive in The Woods" in one book -- especially one that is as small as this one. But Angier does a very good job of covering some of the fundamentals and pointing you to areas that will later need further study. This is one of the first of many "survival skills" books that I have read and is generally the one that I recommend people read first (that or the "SAS Survival" book by Wiseman, which is also pretty good)

highly recommended ...