I'll try to add my two cents to Garrett's great review; I too found Cody's book to be entertaining and informative. To be fair this will be less of a review and more of a personal reaction to the book. FWIW, I plan to get a copy for some of my family members because it is very simple to understand and get through.

The book revolves around a simple premise; if you let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return, the ideas and recommended gear presented could keep you alive for the 72 hours it normally takes for rescuers to find you.

I found this approach to be quite manageable; I will admit that sometimes the kits, lists, and knowledge presented in other books leave my head spinning. Personally I don't have an interest in fishing, snares and plant identification; but I think I can get a grasp of keeping warm or cool, staying hydrated, and lighting a fire. So like garret, I learned more from this book than any other and was immediately able to put some ideas in action.

For instance, I immediately realized how often I break the basic premise of
filing a hike plan with someone. I travel to Tucson, Phoenix and Denver
dozens of times each year and go on day hikes during each trip. I never
tell anyone where I am going, the most I do is let my wife know I am going
for a hike. Luckily, my only semi dangerous incidents so far have been
stepping over a rattlesnake and encountering a mountain lion. From now on I
am going to email my wife with specifics of my hike plan.

The pictures of the kit pieces and their uses are great. Like any kid, I went through the pictures first and back through them over and over again. You can learn a lot just by looking at these pictures.

The knife section was awesome. Basically he uses what looks to be like a Mora. Simple, fixed blade, easy to sharpen. Of course this is one section of the kit where I am over equipped with folders so I decided I will augment my kit soon with a Mora. No matter what he thinks of folders but will keep carrying my spyderco military!

I totally agree with garrett about needing more specifics about the FAK. Most items in a survival kit are single items, but the first aid kit is just that, a kit, and I believe it needs its own list of items. This is one piece of the survival kit that seems to get used all the time
even in non-survival situations. The only specifics mentioned about the FAK
are krazy glue and lanolin cream for repairing cracked feet. Given that
most of us are not hiking in barefeet this seems to be a very Cody specific
set of items. While he explains that his goal with a first aid kit is to fix that one big cut and that most of us don't have the training to heal a traumatic wound or injury it still seemed a bit light to me.

The caffeine/ephedra mixure or homemade go-pill recommendation just bugged
me. While Lundin certainly warns to make sure you take the right amount of the
mixture and to be careful with it, it just seems like an odd thing to add to
the kit.

Lundin spends a great deal of time talking about the perils of dehydration. While I know this is important, I couldn't figure out what his solution was to finding water for the 72 hours. He recommends not wasting water by over exerting yourself in the heat, to carry plenty with you, and to carry plastic bags, condoms, and a platypus type folding containers to carry water but not much about where to find it if you need it. Maybe I missed it.

I didn't mind the weight of the kit of the space it takes. Now the kit stays permanently in my camelbak transalp. I still have room for appropriate clothing and food depending upon the area and time of year I am hiking in.

Well that is enough rambling. I am glad that garrett posted his review, because I have wanted to share my take on the book for a few weeks now.