Best Wilderness Survival Books

This is the second book on our list from survival expert Dave Canterbury and is co-written with outdoor survival instructor Jason Hunt. However, this book is focused solely on first aid advice, rather than more generalized wilderness survival techniques.

Perhaps one of the most important skills you can have when learning wilderness survival is first aid. If you are faced with an emergency situation in the middle of the wilderness, getting access to a hospital is not the most straightforward task. That’s why this book is useful for survivalists of all ability levels, as keeping this book to hand could potentially save a life.

While it may seem like a standard first-aid manual on the surface, the book digs deeper into first-aid techniques to help you specifically in the wilderness. It explains how to treat different conditions through the use of plants, and how to make bandages and dressings only using the tools you have around you.

If you do feel quite overwhelmed at the prospect of learning lots of first-aid techniques, the book doesn’t use complex medical terminology. Instead, the authors write simplistically, making it accessible to people without medical knowledge.

Although the book has diagrams and pictures throughout, some readers have found that there aren’t enough images, which can cause difficulty in a survival situation where you need answers quickly.

Despite only being tailored around first-aid advice for the wilderness, the information itself is necessary knowledge, so it is worth considering this as a must-have in your wilderness survival book collection.

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Written by leading survival expert Ray Mears, even the book itself is suitable for surviving in the wilderness, as it’s a compact size and has a waterproof cover. It doesn’t get much more survivalist than that!

In this book, you will find advice on a wide range of wilderness-specific survival skills, including building fires, building shelter, how to tie different knots, and how to keep warm. This advice is featured alongside colorful pictures and clear illustrations, so you can get the full idea of how to execute a technique properly.

In addition to the advice in the book, Mears’s enthusiasm for wilderness survival comes through clearly in his writing. This makes it a great choice if you are looking for a dash of inspiration alongside high-quality tips and tricks.

Although the book features a lot of techniques and advice, some customers have described it as being too generalized to be called a ‘bushcraft’ survival book. It is worth considering this as a potential drawback, as the book may tell you information you are already aware of if you own more generalized survival books.

It also contains a lot of essential beginners’ advice, and if you are already knowledgeable about necessary survival skills, you may feel like this book is too simplistic for you.

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If you are looking for a wilderness survival book written by a highly respected expert in the field, then look no further than ‘Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival.’ Author Mors Kochanski is a renowned bushcraft and wilderness survival instructor, with followers across the globe. You can feel assured knowing that this book has advice from a legendary survival expert.

As a budget-friendly option, this book contains a whole host of information, with clear instructions and diagrams throughout, meaning you get a lot of detail for your money. The book is a suitable option for beginners, as it provides basic advice on topics such as lighting fires, chopping wood, and creating shelter. These are all key skills that any survivalist will need to master, so seeing the information written down may help you apply it in greater detail in reality.

Unlike many wilderness survival books, this book does not focus too heavily on tactics, with the emphasis instead being on true knowledge taken from experience of being in the outdoors. If you are more interested in all of the components to living outdoors, as opposed to crazy tactics, this book is a treasure chest of expert knowledge.

Despite being written by a survival expert, the book is arguably only suitable for beginners or those looking for basic skills. If you are more advanced already, this book may not provide you with enough information to gain any new skills.

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As described in the title, survivalist expert Dave Canterbury explores wilderness survival as an ‘art.’ He covers a variety of topics that help you to not only develop your skills, but that also explore how your experience in the outdoors can be maximized.

While not centered around a specific wilderness survival topic, this book goes into detail about what Canterbury considers to be the most crucial survival skills. These include sections on how to build resources from your surroundings, to collecting and cooking food. Despite there being a lot of areas to cover, the book is in-depth and guides you along the way.

The more generalized style of this book makes it a useful option for beginners. It follows the ‘5cs’ of Survivability – cutting tools, covering, combustion devices, containers, and cordages. If you are entirely new to wilderness survival techniques, then this book will give you an all-round look into both the techniques and the fun of being in the wilderness.

However, despite being a good beginners’ choice, it is worth noting the lack of illustrations in the book. You may find this is inconvenient if you were planning on carrying the book as a handy resource during an expedition.

Some readers have also found that Canterbury can often talk more about the science and history of a technique, rather than giving detailed instructions on how to perform them. This may be inspiring and interesting to keen wilderness survivalists, but it may not be the most useful for quick and easy access to information.

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If your area of interest around wilderness survival is primitive living, then this book could be of use to you.

Written by true primitivists John and Geri McPherson (often known in the survival community as ‘Prairie Wolf’), this book contains practical advice on how to survive with little to no resources. While it may seem more of an entertaining idea than useful for reality, primitive survival skills can come in handy when you least expect it.

Unique from other wilderness survival books, this book focuses on using ancient skills to help you stay alive. This includes, for example, advice on using a bow and arrow to hunt for meat, and how to use sticks and stones as tools. Although this might seem far-fetched, if this type of survival is of interest to you, then the book contains a lot of detailed information on the subject. It also includes over 700 pictures and diagrams, so you are never without a point of reference.

However, some readers have noted that the techniques aren’t entirely ‘primitive.’ They can sometimes require items that you won’t find easily in the wilderness, such as a refrigerator. This is worth bearing in mind, as you may not be able to quickly adapt all of the advice to real primitive survival.

Another potential issue with the book is its publication date. Although it focuses on primitive, ancient techniques that shouldn’t require technology, the book was published in 1993, so there has possibly been a lot more research into primitive survival since that time.

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