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48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Comprehensive and easy to understand, August 30, 1999
This review is from: Land Navigation Handbook: The Sierra Club Guide to Map and Compass (Paperback)
The book discusses in detail every technique that you need to know to become a very good land navigator. It explains very simply and clearly the different types of maps and compasses. Teaching the novice or expert basic and advance navigational techniques which are both simple and practical. So far this is the best book that I have read with regards to land navigation.
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68 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Overrated and Outdated, December 3, 2004
This review is from: Land Navigation Handbook: The Sierra Club Guide to Map and Compass (Paperback)
It's beyond me why people recommend this book for first-time backcountry hikers, adventure racers, or backpackers who want to learn how to read a map and use a compass in the wilds. Even the old time-encrusted 'Be Expert With Map and Compass' book is easier to learn with, and that's saying something!
The writers (Kals died years ago, and the book was recently slightly revised and augmented with GPS information) take far too long getting to the point in teaching map and compass fundamentals. Mr. Kals was an amateur sailing enthusiast, not a hardcore wilderness hiker, and this influence shows in his frequent references to this sport - but sea navigation bears little resemblance to wilderness land navigation! Kals' frequent deviations from the relevant topic are worsened by the fact that the book pages are small (you can't even crack the book flat on a table while referring to it and doing a few nav exercises) and the resulting illustrations are less than clear. The whole book reminds me of an old first-year astronomy text - interesting discussions of abstract planetary and magnetic concepts, but very long in coming to the point when it comes to practical instruction. Furthermore, Kals tries too often to be clever when he should be trying to be clear and concise. Even with the so-called revision, it remains a slow-reading book that takes too long to get across the concept of practical back-country navigation in most wilderness environments. I am convinced that someone interested in backcountry navigation will want a modern teaching guide that helps them learn quickly, and not three pages on the virtues of an obsolete 1902 compass design! Oh, and the added-on GPS information is far too scanty to serve as a useful guide - better to master map/compass work first, then try a few geocaching exercises while using the factory instruction manual.
The fact is most every new backcountry navigator will want and need to practice mapreading and compass skills in the field with ANY instruction book. But there are much better instructional texts (and, with easier-to-follow illustrations!) than this one for learning basic map and compass skills, and learning them quickly (try The Essential Wilderness Navigator, for just one example.)
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get this book!!!! it'll be your best choice, October 17, 2003
This review is from: Land Navigation Handbook: The Sierra Club Guide to Map and Compass (Paperback)
This is a great book, it is careful explained, written in plain english, it explains everything about map and compass navigation ...and it goes further explaining about stars navigation, altimeter navigation, scales, cross country navigation and much more!, all explanations are carefully developed to made easy the learning process. If you are looking for a book to get usefull knowledge about land navigation or compass and map skills this your best choice. This is a book for all people, beginers and intermediate users will be pleased and satisfied, the book contains a lot of useful information. Author is an expert!!!, no doubt this is the best book about map & compass navigation and the best choice!
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