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#281088 - 06/16/16 12:20 PM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: bacpacjac]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
Not the oldest, but Woodcraft and Camping by George Washington Sears aka "Nessmuk" is a classic. First published in 1884...

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#281090 - 06/16/16 02:18 PM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: Russ]
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3219
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Originally Posted By: Russ
Not the oldest, but Woodcraft and Camping by George Washington Sears aka "Nessmuk" is a classic. First published in 1884...


Good one. It's also available here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34607?msg=welcome_stranger

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#281126 - 06/17/16 06:01 AM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: bacpacjac]
rafowell Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 11/29/09
Posts: 258
Loc: Southern California
Originally Posted By: bacpacjac
... My oldest is Kephart's "Camping and Woodcraft: A Handbook for Vacation Campers and for Travelers in the Wilderness." Not entirely what we think of as a survival manual, but very comprehensive. Originally published in 1917, my Grandfather had a copy when I as a kid, but an older cousin inherited that version. The copy I'm reading is the 7 printing from 2004.

Like Galton's book, Kephart's still-in-print classic grew through multiple editions, of which the 1917 version is the last.

I see no version at Project Gutenberg, alas, but the versions at Internet Archive seem clean, and have pretty much every format you could ask for: read online, or download as .pdf, epub, Kindle, or plaintext.

1st ed 1906: 321 pp: https://archive.org/details/bookofcampingwoo00keph
4th ed 1910: 331 pp, https://archive.org/details/bookofcampingwoo01keph
5th ed 1912: 331 pp, https://archive.org/details/bookofcampingwoo02keph
1917 version, 469 pp, https://archive.org/details/campingwoodcraft00kephrich


Edited by rafowell (06/17/16 06:07 AM)
Edit Reason: pdf is at Internet Archive
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#281191 - 06/21/16 08:31 PM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: WesleyH]
CANOEDOGS Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 1853
Loc: MINNESOTA
i'll go with "the way of the woods" by Edward Breck,1908.
not a survival manual as such but it tells you everything you need to know about camping in the northeast US and Canada.the one bit of "survival"advice is to never leave camp without a wood box of matches and another of salt.
I just thought of a pure survival book I have from 1965.a CB Colby "survival training in our armed services"

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#281192 - 06/21/16 08:52 PM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: CANOEDOGS]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
So many of the older books on the subject of camping discussed what we consider survival. Then, it was just camping. My first book on the subject was The Master Backwoodsman by Bradford Angier. Not particularly old, but a good read.

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#281193 - 06/22/16 12:43 AM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: WesleyH]
CANOEDOGS Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 1853
Loc: MINNESOTA
I don't think we see any real old survival books because "survival" did not really become much of a subject until the 50's when it became connected with post atomic war getting along.
now you can buy survival everything for every possible event.

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#281199 - 06/23/16 01:58 AM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: WesleyH]
Teslinhiker Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1418
Loc: Nothern Ontario
There are many published "survival" books at archive.org. Many of these date back to the mid 1800's. Back then, these books were not titled nor written as survival books. Instead they went by the name and genre such as Camping, Wood-lore, Exploring etc.

When I was a very young lad in the late 70's and early 80's, books I borrowed from libraries were of this nature. Little did I know - but those books I read then would make a very profound impact and lasting influence in my life - namely my love of the outdoors.
_________________________
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock

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#281204 - 06/23/16 03:10 AM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: Teslinhiker]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Originally Posted By: Teslinhiker
When I was a very young lad in the late 70's and early 80's, books I borrowed from libraries were of this nature. Little did I know - but those books I read then would make a very profound impact and lasting influence in my life - namely my love of the outdoors.


You and me both, my friend.

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#281208 - 06/23/16 12:01 PM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: WesleyH]
wildman800 Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/09/06
Posts: 2846
Loc: La-USA
My first such book on the subject was: My Side of the Mountain.


Edited by wildman800 (06/23/16 12:01 PM)
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QMC, USCG (Ret)
The best luck is what you make yourself!

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#281234 - 07/06/16 10:13 AM Re: Oldest commercially published "survival" book?? [Re: WesleyH]
WesleyH Offline
Member

Registered: 05/26/16
Posts: 101
Loc: Unknown
I have gotten some EXCELLENT suggestions from everyone here, thank you!

The thing I have noticed is that on my weekly trips to the bookstores in the area, It seems that every week some yahoo comes out with a new survival book. Granted, some of them are great, some are just slick printed clay stock with pretty pictures and conflicting info at best.

I had also noticed some time back that Doug does not seem to be updating the survival bookshelf reviews. Anyone know the story on that? It would seem, with the great proliferation of new books, it might be a worthwhile endeavour for someone to keep up with the reviews and new postings.

Also, I came across an interesting old one from 65.

The Art of Survival by Cord Christian Troebst, original copyright 1963 (German) American translation and copyright 1965. It looks well written, with no flashy pictures. . .

Chapter 1 Should we Train for an Emergency?
Chapter 2 Learning to Survive
Chapter 3 Survival in the Desert
Chapter 4 Survival at Sea
Chapter 5 Survival in Snow and Ice
Chapter 6 Survival in the Tropics
Chapter 7 Survival after Plane Crashes
Chapter 8 Today's rescue equipment-
Good and Bad
Chapter 9 What Man Can Stand

Any thoughts on this one? I've not started reading it yet.


One other one comes to mind Survival Psychology by John Leach.

Amazingly, I was able to secure a copy about 2 years ago. As great as the info is, I am surprised it has not been reprinted.

Wesley
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WesleyH

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