I've got a softcover edition which dates me because it is from 1972. LOL.
It's a good resource. It's definitely from a Australian and jungle perspective with a heavy emphasis on fiber arts of cordage making and use. It hearkens back to the old 30s field-craft manuals with an emphasis on setting up housekeeping and longer term survival by heavily manipulating the wilderness you find yourself in.
Things like building cottages, bridges and manufacturing rope are fine skills to know but they are, except in very small doses, far too industrial for casual use because they destroy the forest. It has to be noted that they author is talking about a jungle where even a well constructed hut will decompose in a few months if it isn't actively maintained. An environment so verdant and actively growing that maintaining even a small clearing is pretty much a full-time job. Between a mindset from an earlier time and the resiliency of the jungle the approach can be forgiven.
If you crash landed on a jungle island, or one of those increasingly rare remote locations in South America or SE Asia, the Bushcraft way would be the go-to methodology. As it is it has a lot of useful tips even if you're not refounding humanity from some remote jungle clearing.
The book is a useful resource and deserves a place on any survival bookshelf.
Previous Topic
Index
