Desert Survival Tips, Tricks, & Skills [Paperback]

Tony Nester (Author), Cover Photo by Jim Cole (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2003

The most up-to-date book on Desert Survival available. Contains field-tested skills and tips from the authors 18+ years of teaching survival skills. Includes: How to cope with heat stress and methods for acclimating your body to extreme heat, Locating water in seemingly arid regions, Current information on scorpion stings and snakebites along with current treatments, Equipping your vehicle for offroad travel and leading causes of breakdowns in the heat, Desert shelters for heat and cold, and Improvised signaling devices. Contains over 30 detailed photos and informative sidebars. This book is the second in the Practical Survival series.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Nester's compact text on Desert Survival is focused on the deserts of the American Southwest, but the majority of information is just as appropriate for any desert environment. This is not an all-inclusive text, rather, as the title suggests, it is a collection of practical information you need to survive most desert survival circumstances. The tips, tricks and skills provided are easy to understand, effective and can be put to use by even the most inexperienced. The photographic illustrations provided are effective and used to good effect; sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Could be used as a manual to include in a desert survival kit. Nester operates the Ancient Pathways survival school and is also the author of Practical Survival - Tips, Tricks, & Skills. Doug Ritter, Equipped To Survive Foundation, Equipped.org --Equipped. org survival book reviews

About the Author

Tony Nester is the founder of the highly-respected survival school, Ancient Pathways in Flagstaff, Arizona. He has taught courses for Military Special Operations Units, the National Transportation & Safety Board (NTSB), and served as a technical consultant for the movie Into The Wild. Tony is the author of three books on survival along with being adjunct faculty at Northern Arizona University. He has been featured on NBC News, the Discovery Channel, the New York Times, and writes a popular monthly column for Outside Magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Diamond Creek Press; First edition (September 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971381119
• ISBN-13: 978-0971381117
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #897,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony Nester has taught survival courses since 1989 and has worked with the National Transportation & Safety Board, Travel Channel, FAA, and served as a technical consultant for the movie Into The Wild. His company, Ancient Pathways, LLC is the primary provider of desert survival training for Military Special Operations units from around the world. Tony is the author of four books & a DVD along with writing a monthly column on survival for Outside Magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for what it is, but far from complete, November 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Desert Survival Tips, Tricks, & Skills (Paperback)

Desert Survival Tips, Tricks, & Skills is a very short, 80-page booklet containing tips on staying safe in the North American desert. In that respect, is very similar to Charles Lehman's book on desert survival and Bruce Grubb's book on Desert Hiking and Driving Tips. Intended for North American deserts only, they mostly treat all desert regions as the same in terms of survival response, though deserts vary widely even in North America in terms of temperature, hazards, weather, water availability, etc. Because they are so short, they tend to feature short pieces of advice, such as "learn to use a map and compass", "carry enough water", "watch out for venomous snakes". But, how do you learn to navigate the desert? How much water is 'enough'? How do you recognize the habits of venomous reptiles so you don't step on one, and employ the proper first aid response if you do? And, perhaps most important, how can you plan your desert vacation or backpacking trip so that you don't end up having to 'survive' in the first place? This takes a lot more information than most of these books can really provide.

As a brief guide to survival in a North American desert, this book is as good as Lehman's or Grubb's books. But there is no way the material in this book is adequate for someone interested in a long desert hiking or backpacking trip, mountain bike ride, or travel by four-wheel-drive, especially if you are going to remote deserts or deserts outside the United States. For example, there is not much here on snake and reptile hazards, water purification and collection (including the problems with so-called 'solutions' like solar stills), desert clothing and sun protection equipment, proper footwear, body conditioning, vehicle preparation, repair, and driving techiques(important in remote desert areas) and little or no information on learning to navigate using map, compass, the stars, or GPS equipment to stay out of trouble (vital in the desert).

My choice for best desert survival book would be either Desert Survival Skills by David Alloway (especially for the deserts of Texas and New Mexico), or The Ultimate Desert Handbook by Mark Johnson (covers both North American and world deserts. These are much larger and more complete books that go far beyond the booklet size publications in covering the subject of desert survival. They contain enough information so that a person can begin to actually understand and coexist in a desert environment. This includes planning and preparing to travel the desert safely, so that your risk of having to 'survive' is minimized.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good starting point for further research on desert survival, March 30, 2010

By 

Tradecraft (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Desert Survival Tips, Tricks, & Skills (Paperback)

Desert Survival: Tips, Tricks & Skills by Tony Nester is a brief yet solid review of information pertaining to surviving up to 72 hours in the desert. This book is not about long term survival or living in the desert environment. Desert Survival by Nester is a good introduction to provide the novice a direction for further research into surviving in a very harsh and difficult climate. This is not an all encompassing book covering every topic and detail of the desert.

Included in this book are the topics of:

What is a Desert?

Physiology of Humans in the Desert: Dehydration, hyponatremia, heat related injuries, hypothermia

Desert Hazards: Flash floods, scorpions, killer bees, rattlesnakes, cacti, and sand storms

Anatomy of a Survival Situation: preventable survival situations, unplanned survival situations, and three critical steps to take before a hike or drive

The Basic Skills of Survival: attitude, water, shelter, fire, signaling, first aid, and sleep

Outfitting your Vehicle: basic vehicle gear

Obtaining Water in the Desert: Reading the landscape, places to look for water, Tinajas, gathering water, and hazardous sources to avoid

Desert Survival Shelters: shelter types

Firemaking Skills: always have three methods to obtain fire

Knife Use and Safety: a knife is a must have for any survival situation

Signaling for Rescue: methods to attract the attention of potential rescuers

Again, this is a basic book with valuable information to point you in the right direction for further research. It is not designed to be a comprehensive volume of information regarding all the aspects of desert survival. I recommend this book.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great little book!!, February 18, 2004

By 

Tom Roney, Lt. Col (retired) (Reno, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desert Survival Tips, Tricks, & Skills (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed and gleaned new insights after reading this book. It is by far the most in-depth book I have read on water needs and dehydration concerns as well as covering an often overlooked malady of hyponatremia or sodium deficiency. The author, when not speaking from his own vast experience, draws upon prominent researchers in heat-related studies, toxicology of venomous creatures, and search and rescue personnel. I especially liked the section on Desert Survival Myths which debunks useless methods like the solar still and explains what really works in a survival situation which other books over the years have failed to cover.