Noah Veenstra Review "The Survival Handbook"

Noah Veenstra
3/20/2016
Mr. Laughton
PAD3O

The Survival Handbook

(Published by DK)

Rating ***** 

     The Survival Handbook provides a lot of insight towards a lot of survival and outdoor skills, specifically what I have reviewed for this assignment is the Fire Making section.

     In this section there is tons of information regarding how to make fires ranging from the various tinder you can use to all the different arrangements of fires you can have and what they are best for not to mention how to light them. The book also has a lot of tips and advice about what wood you should use,  what tools you can use, things you should and shouldn't do when making a fire and a lot more. Another very helpful thing the book does is for specific methods it goes step by step painting a more clear picture of how to go about starting certain fires and making certain tinder. 

     Overall I think this is a wonderful book. I have gotten to try a couple of the methods it describes for fire making, lately what I have been working on is trying to make feather sticks and proper natural tinder and I find the step by step descriptions of these methods to be extremely useful. When I first started trying the fire steel to start fires instead of more traditional means I definitely struggled quite a bit but after finding this book I have changed a lot of what I do when starting fires and can do it much more easily. I will definitely try things like the bow drills and other friction methods when I am more efficient at lighting fires with the fire steel. Overall I think this book is a very useful tool for anybody who takes interest in this kind of stuff  and I hope that people in this outdoor ed class take the time to look at it because fire building will be part of the course and this can help them out.

    To conclude I really hope that now and in later years that people in this class and those who fancy these kind of things take a look at resources like this and make the most out of making fire.

PS. The book is to large to photocopy properly but if you guys comment if you want me to bring it for class, I certainly can.

Source 

Towell, Colin. The Survival Handbook: Essential Skills for Outdoor Adventure. New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley, 2012. Print.