Navigation and Signa - Tools and Medicine

This book is very good for a hard core survivorist and the weekend camper. The things he talks about make a lot if sense and his way of teaching is a lot better than most. I would recommend this book in a heart beat.

This is a great book written by a great survivalist. Mr. Hawke definitely knows what he's talking about and it shows in this book and on his show. You'll definitely enjoy the humor he adds to the pages of this book by inserting his personality in the survival lessons. Everyone should read this book.

Having followed Mykel Hawke on tv and gotten the smaller compact version of this book i feel it's a real must have. He writes just as he talks and the no nonsense aproach is very refreshing. This book is not as dry as some other survival/self reliance type of books . I'm very happy that this reprint came out and in soft cover too!
The aproach of the book is really geared for the less outdoor type of person, he keeps the strategys simply and easy to use. This book really gives good coverage to all the necesarry disciplines for your basic survival as well as some insight into the man himself. My recomendation is really based off his style and simpleness in the way he teaches, good luck i think you wont be let down.

Good book but way too thick and heavy for lugging around in your back pack . It could've used some colour pics for people to identify some plant species for first aid or for food, this is where people who have read books like this may screw up in choosing the right plant or funghi after all black and white only describes.

I was pleasantly surprised that the book was a hardback. The information was divided well and the topics began with a red title making the information easier to find. The illustrations were drawn rather than photographs but were easy to follow. The author writes in a way that the information is easy to understand. Lots of good information and a book worth having in your collection if you are interested in knowing how to survive in the wilderness. The author teaches you all the things you need to know and have to survive.

This book is the only survival manual you MIGHT ever need in an emergency situation. If your not in such a situation, it still makes good reading and also gives you food for thought. It's well written and provides easy to find info on ANY thing you need to know to stay alive.

The imperfect writing style found in this book only strengthens its credibility. After all, it was written by a survival expert, not a writer. The chapters are detailed and cover even the most grizzly situations a person might find themselves in. Each chapter covers one essential survival topic such as fire, shelter, water, etc, and does so for most environments a person might find themselves in. If you want a great one size fits all survival manual with useful material and illustrations this 600+ page monster is for you.

This is a great book! Mykes common sense approach makes the things in this book easy to practice and remember. I have read the book twice through ,and put some of the skills to the test.I recomend this book to everyone! Buy it!

this is part of my survival learning. waiting for a collapse of civilization and am starting to stockpile. have been peeing in 7 gallon jugs for months to recycle my own fluids. don't trust the tap water, bottle water too costly. buying dented food cans to save my money. placed numerous ads on computer looking for like minded mate, no luck so far.

Bought both books (Handbook and Manual).
Good books but, personally, I didn't learn much. But I'm a South Dakota country boy who grew up figuring things out on my own, played with sticks, watched stars and camped without a tent and figured out how to find/build shelter and best ways to protect a fire on my own (Country smarts vs street smarts). My experiences in the USAF taught me the rest, but then again, I'm not as soft as most other wing-nuts.

I have no doubt the author could out survive me in a real situation, but street smarts, camping and cub-scout experience had already taught me everything these books had to offer.

I was really hoping for a good plant guide by region.

The book covers the basics with more depth on the medical issues. Although the title implies a military approach the book is really written in a "a skilled and experienced next door neighbor giving advice" style. Does repeat the myth, based on an error in an army manual, that rubbing an needle with silk will make the needle act like a compass. Other than that the book is full of sound advice for a survival situations.

CONS
-Food storage is a paragraph and only covers what you can cure with not how you cure with any, and a barely complete intro to smoking. No ground or earth storage or brief science or basic explanation on any of them.

-Most trapping illustrations have no supporting text. The less than a chapter text will cover one or two traps but show you many more with no supporting text. You can reverse engineer them visually but some text on typical catches and success rates would complete the chapter. Trapping works for you in the wild, I'd put it well above any idea of making weapons and hunting large or medium game.

-Nothing on science or ecosystems outside some generalized sentences here and there. I guess this is because the book is based on making your way back to civilization quickly, not efficiency and preservation.

-Basic chemistry and physics would make a lot of things in the book more effective and require only things you'd find or have. No mathematics either..

-Food nutrients and type is based on a warm climate American ecosystem. This is the easiest place to survive in the world.

PROS
-If the author's story is true it's an interesting one and one many lower income unattractive people like me can relate to. Hobo's can appreciate it too. Probably people who appreciate experiences too..

-It seems to summarize what you'll find in a lot of military field manuals. I've only read some of these manuals, but there are a lot and they get updates with field proven methodologies for anything soldiers would need. I'd rather have all the manuals because of the completeness and depth, but I don't want to carry many books or electronics.

There is better literature but not in one book. Buy it..

UPDATE: Ignore everything I've said in this review and my comment as an experienced reader and verified buyer, read the author's response and make your own conclusion..

HAWKE'S GREEN BERET SURVIVAL MANUAL is clearly written by a seasoned expert, but it is 360 degrees different from those by the rest of the survival gurus out there. It is packed with expertise based on both real-world and military training, but geared for regular people, even those who have no outdoor experience. It is a big, comprehensive book that covers absolutely everything needed to survive virtually anything...how to do it with or without tools and provisions in any environment; also how to think like Macgyver and use whatever is at hand. And perhaps one of the greatest things about this book is that it is immensely readable as told in Hawke's bare-bones, earthy and often humorous style. This book will appeal to both men and women, hard-core outdoor enthusiasts and those who've never even been camping.

It's also extremely empowering as Hawke makes it clear that we all have the most important tool to survive if we learn how to channel it: the will to live and the vow to never quit. But he provides a lot of invaluable extras that you may never need--or that may someday save your life or, perhaps, many others.

The book covers the basics with more depth on the medical issues. Although the title implies a military approach the book is really written in a "a skilled and experienced next door neighbor giving advice" style. Does repeat the myth, based on an error in an army manual, that rubbing an needle with silk will make the needle act like a compass. Other than that the book is full of sound advice for a survival situations.

CONS
-Food storage is a paragraph and only covers what you can cure with not how you cure with any, and a barely complete intro to smoking. No ground or earth storage or brief science or basic explanation on any of them.

-Most trapping illustrations have no supporting text. The less than a chapter text will cover one or two traps but show you many more with no supporting text. You can reverse engineer them visually but some text on typical catches and success rates would complete the chapter. Trapping works for you in the wild, I'd put it well above any idea of making weapons and hunting large or medium game.

-Nothing on science or ecosystems outside some generalized sentences here and there. I guess this is because the book is based on making your way back to civilization quickly, not efficiency and preservation.

-Basic chemistry and physics would make a lot of things in the book more effective and require only things you'd find or have. No mathematics either..

-Food nutrients and type is based on a warm climate American ecosystem. This is the easiest place to survive in the world.

PROS
-If the author's story is true it's an interesting one and one many lower income unattractive people like me can relate to. Hobo's can appreciate it too. Probably people who appreciate experiences too..

-It seems to summarize what you'll find in a lot of military field manuals. I've only read some of these manuals, but there are a lot and they get updates with field proven methodologies for anything soldiers would need. I'd rather have all the manuals because of the completeness and depth, but I don't want to carry many books or electronics.

There is better literature but not in one book. Buy it..

UPDATE: Ignore everything I've said in this review and my comment as an experienced reader and verified buyer, read the author's response and make your own conclusion..

HAWKE'S GREEN BERET SURVIVAL MANUAL is clearly written by a seasoned expert, but it is 360 degrees different from those by the rest of the survival gurus out there. It is packed with expertise based on both real-world and military training, but geared for regular people, even those who have no outdoor experience. It is a big, comprehensive book that covers absolutely everything needed to survive virtually anything...how to do it with or without tools and provisions in any environment; also how to think like Macgyver and use whatever is at hand. And perhaps one of the greatest things about this book is that it is immensely readable as told in Hawke's bare-bones, earthy and often humorous style. This book will appeal to both men and women, hard-core outdoor enthusiasts and those who've never even been camping.

It's also extremely empowering as Hawke makes it clear that we all have the most important tool to survive if we learn how to channel it: the will to live and the vow to never quit. But he provides a lot of invaluable extras that you may never need--or that may someday save your life or, perhaps, many others.

My title sums up Mykel Hawke's thesis: Never Quit! If you internalize this you have the message of his book.

I am prompted to do this review because I am a recently retired U.S. Army infantry officer and was intrigued by Hawke's book.

I am giving this book four stars because he needs to do a new edition. This book is the best of the crop of survival manuals as of 2011, but could be improved.

I agree with the other reviewers that Mykel Hawke's language is distractive. At the same time though, it is engrossing and it seems like he is actually talking to you. I could imagine being in a survival situation and listening to his words of wisdom. He writes in colloquial american english. This does not bother me, but the "nekkid" and "-ha" attempts at humour were tiresome in a written version. He has a black humour and attempts to convey this to the reader as if he were speaking. Furthermore, his education as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army show that his education level is far above what he is attempting to portray.

His organizational method and use of acronyms was useful. For example, the chapter on fire starts out with the use of disposable lighters and goes down to the use of stones to make fire. Lesson learned: carry a disposable lighter. This style of writing is applied survival psychology.

As a member of the SF community he does mirroring of the resources deployed to find missing people. He assumes that the resources of the Joint Personal Recovery Agency of the United States Department of Defense would be used to find the reader. If the reader is not American or is an American lost in a rural part of the United States he is making a false assumption. In the case of the United States, the rural search and rescue organizations are usually volunteer fire departments without the sophisticated means that Hawke implies will be mobilized.

Although he states that he is not an expert in survival, he has the assets within the SF community to correct his errors. For example, he recomends that in the case of a lightning strike to lie flat on the ground, which is against the accepted practice of crouching down with hands over ears and feet together because of the phenomnon of electrical conductivity through the surrounding ground near a lightning strike.

As a combat veteran, I can vouch for some certainty, that Mykel Hawke is the real deal. His manual is more than a manual of survival; but one of how people react in life threatening situations. His manual also contains a lot of what soldiers call "field craft" and I highly recommend this book to soldiers who have to live in the field. If I had read this 28 years ago, I would have been more effective as a leader and more comfortable at the same time.

His method of explaining things really makes a complex subject clear. Chapter 7: Navigation was particularly good. I have known all of my career of the LARS rule, but only UNDERSTOOD it when Hawke explained it. After all of the good explainations, I felt though that the point of chapter 7 was to convince the normal person to stay put versus move.

In most cases, when Hawke recommends something different from the conventionally accepted method, he explains his reasons. He also explains the alternative. This gives the reader a choice of which method to follow. In all of the cases, Hawke made sense to me when he deviated.

The margins of the book are adequate for annotating, which I did liberally with my own observations and comparisons to others. This book is in my reference collection for good. My next purchase will be his smaller guide which appears to be condensed and meant to be packed as a piece of survival kit. The book was organized so that I could skip climatic regions that did not apply to me...but in the future I may need that info...thus the need for the smaller more durable guidebook to put in my kit.

Hawke's dietary recomendations are hawkish...no pun intended as Hawke would write in his dry humour. His survival dietary recommendations are a paleo diet. It is interesting that it seems he reverse engineered a paleo diet as most efficient for survival, whereas the other paleo people engineered it from ancesteral beginings.

This book would be useful for anyone looking for an up to date survival manual for personal and family preparedness. The book would also be useful to any professional having to live in the bush and wanting to learn fieldcraft...especially soldiers. The wisdom that Hawke has gained in the Global War on Terrorism is a durable legacy that will make this book a survival classic.

People who would not like this book are vegans, who Mykel Hawke portays as potential meals for us meat eaters in a survival situation.

Great book! Truly informative and thought provoking. He genuinely has a fantastic grasp on techniques to survive.
I have read the book and heard the audio book. That being said, only buy the book. The narrator on the audio book is just awful. The guy tries to make his voice sound like Batman the way that Christian Bale did it. Completely overdone, too gruff and just annoying (to be honest). It gets to the point that it takes away from the information because you keep thinking "Is this guy for real?" Sadly it starts to become the real author's voice in your head and you almost start to hate him. I need to meet Mykel Hawke just to get that horrible fake voice of the hired narrator out of my head. It's seriously that awful.

So, 5 stars up and down for the book and information. Mr. Hawke did a fantastic job.
I wish I could give a separate rating for Mr. Vikas "Batman" Adam's narration.

All indications are that Myke Hawke "loves nature" as much as the next guy but he is no tree-hugger from La-La Land. He is a survivor - and has been from his young childhood when he was orphaned and often homeless.

He KNOWS from experience that survival is not a hobby or an adventure.

Hawke knows that Mother Nature can kill you fast if you are making love to her when she decides to get kinky.

Even though this manual teaches a lot of "bushcraft" style skills, it isn't about "bushcraft". It is about SURVIVAL.

"If it is fun or easy, you aren't surviving, just camping"

This manual tells you what you need to know to survive and does it in what I find to be a memorable way.

I have taught bushcraft and survival for 25 years. Hawke states early on that this book is not for experts--disagree. I learned not only new skills, but new ways and new ways to explain a complex task. Hawke has a way to break things down in its simplest form.

This book will be added to the must read for my students. This guy is the real deal and highly recommend this book. Also- the audio is a great source (except for the fake laugh of the audio actor). Still- both are excellent sources.

Two action items for the reader- keep a pencil with this book and make notes to yourself when you experiment with something.. Second- practice using the techniques in this book.

This guide is, without any doubt, the best survival guide i've ever read. On the book, Hawke manages to teach both the basic stuff and the more advanced details in a clear way.

The pros:
-Its good for both beginners and experts on the art of surviving.
-There is a lot about improvising and getting almost everything you need from the nature.
-The images are used only when needed, and are very easy to understand.
-There isn't a lot of hard to remember details like tons of plants names and stuff like that. (As Hawke says:" I don't care what its name or scientific designation is, and neither you will when you're freezing in the wild alone".)
-The guide is very pragmatic, just as surviving needs to be.
-There is a extremely high amount of information, just in case you need it.

The cons:
- Its too big and heavy for most people to carry with them to the wild.
-There is a extremely high amount of information, and you will need to read it several times in order to learn all it has to offer.

Best written and to the point survival book ever and without all the useless rambling! No fantasy bull crap or woods ninja teenage fantasy, just real and useful! Covers everything in the SAS John Lofty book and more while being easier to follow and use! Yes I have both of these books and Mykel Hawk's book is way more relevant in 2015.

This book is well written for the casual reader. The stories inserted here and there add a bit of humor. I looked over the myriad survival guides but found this one the most down to earth. Myke really speaks to the non-nature oriented folks. My experience with survival is limited to "car camping" and avoiding the bad neighborhoods in NYC. I don't smoke, but I think I will start carrying a lighter with me (get the book to know why). This book is a great fraking read. I would advise everyone to get this one, absorb what Myke says. Go to the local parks and practice what you can (legally.)

This book is not a technical manual, there are plenty of other books out there for that. Read it, practice it, and remember the acronyms, or make up your own as it doesn't matter how you get this knowledge in your head. If you decide to carry it with you and find yourself in a survival situation, you can use it as kindling if all else fails. Myke would be ok as long as you do all you can to survive.

I'm still reading through it, but I thought it deserved an early good review. IT'S THAT GOOD.

NEVER QUIT!! You will see these words throughout this book and they are words to live by. Myke Hawke is Special Forces-trained and approaches survival like a tactician. He basically leaves nothing to chance and advises that you do the same, since assuming ANYTHING in a survival situation will most likely make you dead. It is chock full of information that is easy to remember, since he uses many acronyms as mnemonic devices. For example, he subscribes to the "KISS" theory of survival, with "KISS" standing for "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" In other words, keeping it simple will conserve your energy, keep you alive longer and increase your chances of being rescued.

I reviewed his website and apparently, there is a "Field Version" of this book in development. That would be awesome, since a Field Version would be a better fit in one's survival pack. All in all, it is a very thorough and informative read and you will learn a great deal. NEVER QUIT!!

Whether you're a seasoned veteran of the upper echelons, i.e. USAF's Combat Controllers, US Army's Green Beret & Pathfinders, Navy Seals or Marine MARSOC, or a 'wannabe' internet poser, or even an experienced bushcraft/prepper/survivalist - this book belongs in your BOB. Buy it, read it, refer to it - keep it with you. Regardless of your knowledge level, this book can save your life.

This is the ultimate in survival info. If this was all I had to rely on, I could live a whole lot longer than with my wits alone. You need to add this to your library. Just don't let it collect dust...USE IT! You won't regret it. Thanks Mykel, you are my own private survival encyclopedia. Blessings!

This fascinating, information packed book tells you everything you need to know to prevail in a potential life or death situation. It begins with a brief account of Hawke's early life that is so good, I would have read an entire book on it. Here he explains his philosophy on survival, before moving in to all those `what if' scenarios. And there are a lot of them. For example, what to do in: plane crashes, deserts, jungles, islands, oceans, etc. heck, he even talks about cannibalism and argues intelligently about the pluses of it if you're standing at death's front door. Hawke has an easy writing style and makes a good attempt to explain things. If something is overly complex, illustrations kick in. Yes, people may say there's not enough illustrations, but remember this is not designed to be a big `picture book' like The SAS Survival Handbook. And besides, if something is not illustrated - say, for example, some obscure edible plant - it actually forces the reader to look them up, in essence making them memorise the information twice, so there's a stronger chance of actually remembering the stuff.

Want to know how much I love this book? I carry it with me on my Smartphone via the Kindle app; I reread it from time to time, and dip into it for various bits of information, but I also want a hard copy for my bookshelf. Get yourself educated: get this book pronto.

First off I would like to declare, I collect these types of books. I have read them all, some more than others, some old and some new. Some are fictional and some are not. Now having said, I want to point out that Mr. Hawke points out the inevitable. He writes in such a way that will put everything in perspective. As in my experience, you build a fire for warmth...you still get cold! There is no way around it. Other manuals state that if you build that fire you will be completely warm for the night. Not so! Mr. Hawke writes his book in this way. He will tell you how, why and when. BUT, he does not sugar coat it. You will still be miserable. Thats where his motto "NEVER QUIT" kicks in. I would recommend this book to any and everyone. It should be required reading for Scouts, High School students...etc.

Started reading this book and couldn't put it down. I've been practicing and teaching survival skills for more than 30 years, and speak from experience that this book is right on target with the essentials to get you through even the toughest situations. Most impressive and essential in my eyes is the emphasis on survival psychology interspersed with practical skills that everyone can comprehend. Hawke presents what to do in any climate and region of the world, and presents scenarios and techniques for how to best cope, and get out alive. His use of acronyms and other memory aids are clear, and simple, something very important when you are in a high stress and chaotic situation. This book is written by a man who has obviously lived and practiced these skills from direct experience. The icing on the cake is the presentation of very serious material with humor and and a gift for making very serious material both entertaining and deeply informative. This is a book for both beginners and seasoned explorers alike. Get the electronic version and put it in your iphone to carry everywhere you go, then get a hard copy for your survival kit.

Myke is an outstanding instructor. He's not showing you how good he is, he's showing you how good you can be. He teaches you what you really need to know, bottom line. This is not for the person looking for the extreme challenge, this is for the person who really wants to know how to handle a crisis/emergency situation. You do not have to be stranded in the wilderness, you might be in an accident, plane crash, flood, you name it. This will help you to be prepared to help yourself and others in an emergency. I am buying a copy for everyone dear to me.

Considering what you're getting, 630 pages for twenty bucks, it's not a bad deal and includes...

Foreward by Jim Morris
Preface
Introduction: The Hawke Teaching Methodology
Chapter 1: The Psychology of Survival
Chapter 2: Shelter
Chapter 3: Water
Chapter 4: Fire
Chapter 5: Food
Chapter 6: Tools
Chapter 7: Navigation
Chapter 8: Signals
Chapter 9: First Aid
Chapter 10: Nature
Last Words

As you can see, the topics are straight-forward and the explanations are to the point. This book is a perfect introduction for anyone curious about how to better survive in the outdoors.

Other than a few distractingly annoying typos, this book is the ultimate survival reference. Very easy to read with great illustrations, it is user- friendly for teenagers on up. There was information in here I've never seen referenced anywhere else, and Hawke's recurring message of mental and emotional preparation and maintenance being just as vital as physical resourcefulness never turns nagging or hits the ad nauseum point. Every family should have a copy of this on their shelf!

This is truly a brilliantly bizzare and unconventional book on survival. Hawke avoids a dull survival book read with his informal writing style, personal accounts and shockers like cannibalism and getting fluids from feces. The medical portion is fantastic. I was in the military with Hawke and he's the real deal. The book is very high quality.

Can ANYONE out there explain why a book like this (which was on my local B&N shelves a year ago, be commanding a price of $750?

I would encourage everyone to send email to the sellers at this ridiculous price and let them know how.! He**, at this price, I hope the OWS crowd occupies their premises!