Customer Reviews

The Lost Lore of a Man's Life: Lots of Cool Stuff Guys Used to Know But Forgot About the Great Outdoors

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Everything's in this book, from two pages on how to predict the weather without a weatherman to how fast a duck flies to how to build a campfire. A worthy addition to a man's library.

When I purchased this book, I went in with my eyes open knowing that it is a collection of campfire stories and old "best way" methods. I had hoped, though, that I would gain a little insight into some practical tips and suggestions for today's nature enthusiast. And though there were some, there were very few. The redundancy and laughable suggestions (use a 8'- 10' fishing pole for pike; the best fishing poles are bamboo) eroded the practical application of the remaining insights. So if you're looking for a lesson in firearms (35% of content) or entertainment of how things used to be done before technology entered the outdoor world, the book has real value. If you're looking for tips and suggestions on how to survive in the bush or to support a true roughing-it camping experience, look elsewhere.

I ordered this book as I really thought it might have some fun information about woodsmanship or old ways of doing things. Not expecting practical items but at least material that was researched and had some credibility. Boy was I wrong. Not only is a lot of the data in this book WRONG, but some of it is downright dangerous. About the only use I will have for this book is to level out a wobbly table or maybe to start a fire using the paper. Save your money.

The title had hooked me. I'll save you the trouble. To "Catch a Pig", use a covered pit that is baited and be careful extracting the pig. There you have it, the basis for the entire title is one sentence.

Oh yeah, I would have given it "0" stars, but thats not an option.

I just skimmed this before I gave it as a present. A third of the book is about shooting and rifles. The rest is campsite and hiking advice. "When hiking through the woods go in a single file indian line, when on a road, go in double file lines". From what I could tell the book is a re-hashed jumble of army camping manuals and very dated, a lot was just filler, but it does have several ways to make a fire and old fashion ways to predict the weather. I think my hippy camping brother will like the book (skipping the part about guns) but I wonder if I should have just gotten a camping manual.

This book provides some pretty good tips for surviving in the outdoors, but overall it's too outdated for most people's uses. The book is basically a compilation of information from several books published around 1900, so there's no new and improved information mentioned anywhere.

The book is divided into 3 sections: camping, fishing, and shooting. The camping section covers almost every aspect of camping, such as what to bring, how to prepare food, how to make shelter, how to survive certain climates, how to predict the weather, and how to treat sicknesses and injuries. Overall this chapter has fairly good info, but modern technology and discoveries are superior to many of the tips and methods presented here.

I didn't read the fishing and shooting sections because I have no uses for those. However I did skim through them and they seem quite similar to the camping chapter: the info is alright, but it's outdated and beaten by new technology and methods.

A problem that is present throughout the whole book is that advice is often not explained well enough; the author assumes that the reader already knows quite a bit. I'm guessing that this problems stems from the fact that the original audience (from 1900) had much different common knowledge than people do today. So, those readers would have been able to fully understand the advice, whereas most modern people probably won't.

Another problem with this book is the writing style. Most of the book is a direct copy of its 1900-era references, so it's written with words and expressions that haven't been used for at least 50 years. Also, there are lots of grammar and spelling mistakes.

I wouldn't recommend reading this book. I'm sure there are many better-written books with new information out there, so search around. The only people I could see this book being good for are people who really want to use 100 year-old methods, or older people who enjoy reading something old.

Some people may say that the practical things in this book are out of date. I completely disagree. While the technology of camping and fishing has changed, the basic things haven't and that's where this book shines. One of my favorite books is Buzacott's "Sportsman's Encyclopedia" and there are plenty of selections in here from that book, along with bits and pieces from other old-timers' books I've never seen but wish I had! If you want all the latest on outdoors gadgetry, go someplace else. But if you want what really works and what's tried-and-true, then this is the book for you.

I purchased it for my husband as a Christmas gift. He has really enjoyed it as has everyone else that has checked it out.

Maybe that's a little unfair to Gramps. But unless you're going to take him camping with you, this book with have little to no practical benefit on its own.

The authors readily admit that they recycled old material, mainly outdoor guides and scouting manuals. Fine. But it would have been better to simply reproduce those pages in their entirety. Instead, by scanning and/or retyping, typos have been introduced and perhaps even worse, the advice has lost much of its original flavor.

Either way, one has to suspend reality when thumbing through this compendium. The period advice would be hard to follow even if you wanted to. You mean you don't have a standard lard bucket handy? How about finding blanket pins at your local harness store? And because some of the information is outdated, don't be surprised when you are told to suck out snake venom!

Compared to the bulk of the book, which is devoted to camping, the angling (fishing) and shooting (hunting) sections are almost worthless. It's good for a laugh, though. Here are some words of wisdom for fisherman: "Never use Pork Rind--except in trolling," "For Carp Fishing--White maggots smeared with honey," "A Nest of Very Small Mice--Make excellent large trout or bass bait." The sporting rifle section has some classics as well: "Use Fresh Beef Tallow--As a rust preventative," "To Clean a Foul Gun--Pour in a little quicksilver (mercury!)," "Always Remove--Bones from tails of skinned animals." If you're feeling inadequate in terms of your frontier knowledge, don't worry! Just bone up with the two-and-a-half page appendix titled, "Cabins and How to Make Them."

Highly annoying is the high number of plugs within the text for the authors' other book. Shameless self-promotion!

One star for the entertainment value and another star for the book itself, which can be burned in case of an emergency.

Why settle for a pretender when you can have the real thing?

Boy Scouts Handbook: The First Edition, 1911 (Dover Books on Americana)

I enjoyed what this book was trying to do, but I'm uncertain if the information here is current and/or correct. Some of the first aid advice I question having just taken first aid courses, and gotten conflicting info. Still, for the $4 I paid for it, you can't go wrong.