Colin Towell

Tanto si planificas una aventura como si solo quieres aprender trucos para la vida al aire libre, ¡este es el libro perfecto! Una guía clara y sencilla que explica los conceptos básicos de la orientación, el senderismo, historias populares de animales, construir refugios, primeros auxilios... ¡y mucho más!
Las imágenes para explicar determinadas actividades paso a paso te enseñan las habilidades más importantes y las técnicas de socorro más avanzadas: por ejemplo, construir un refugio de maleza y sobrevivir a una avalancha.
En las dos primeras y las dos últimas páginas se incluye una miniguía de supervivencia para que les hagas fotos y las lleves contigo en todo momento. ¡Desarrolla las capacidades fundamentales para tus aventuras al aire libre!… (mehr)

There's a lot of in-depth information in here. The author has taught survival classes - Army and other - for several years. The book covers general and specific survival techniques in multiple environments from desert to temperate to arctic to open sea, including first aid, wild food, the basics of wise survival decisions (starting with, do I move or stay here?)...and more, and more. He recommends, constantly, that you practice all this stuff _before_ you go out into the wilderness and try to use it - which is a good idea; this big, heavy book would not be a good thing to take along on a hiking trip, and would be unlikely to be within reach in an emergency situation.
Unfortunately, as I read, I got more dubious. On the few areas I actually know something about (knots, for instance), I found places where the diagram, the labels on the diagram, and the text disagree; I could figure out how it ought to go, but that's because I know that subject. What errors are there in the subjects I don't know about? Similarly, he recommends sheltering from a hurricane or tornado by climbing to the top of an underpass and tucking into the smallest space possible - something that's specifically recommended _against_ by multiple weather and disaster authorities. A few minor typos - of the sort that wouldn't be caught by a spell-checker but would by an actual proofreader - added to my concern over the accuracy of the book (though since I got the book through Early Reviewers, it may be a pre-production copy. Doesn't look like it, though - it seems to be a finished book). In the end, I didn't feel I could fully rely on the information I got from this book, which makes it pretty well useless for survival training.… (mehr)

This book could save your life asserts the cover blurb, and indeed it could. What if you're adrift at sea in a life raft with no water? Stumble on a grizzly bear in the wilderness, or worse still, a hippopotamus? Lost in an African jungle or the Brazilian rainforest?

Do you know how to build a fire without matches, construct a shelter in the forest or the desert, or attract rescuers from a mountain top? Need to build a solar still for water, catch small birds for food, or make a gill net or a harpoon? And what do you for the inevitable burns, frostbite, snakebite, heat prostration, insect stings, and intestinal parasites?

This book is the ultimate survival guide, and of exactly the quality one would expect of a DK book. It is full of clear color diagrams, bulleted text, charts, tables, and above all, valuable information. While a softcover field guide version might be nice, the wise survivalist will find a place in the backpack for this valuable volume in whatever form. Stay - at home types will enjoy it too, as it offers a vicarious experience of potential dangers and how to face them with skill and confidence. And best part of all, it's a reference work that can be picked up and read almost at random.

For my part, next time I go on an expedition to a remote area, I will make sure to have read relevant parts of this book. In the meantime, it's awfully nice to know what to do when elephants attack, how to build make-shift snowshoes, and which insects to catch for food.… (mehr)