Customer Reviews

New Way Of The Wilderness: The Classic Guide to Survival in the Wild (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have great respect for Calvin Rutstrum and the wilderness skills about which he wrote. However, this book is not a good place to start or even a good addition to your library. It is a gear guide as opposed to a survival guide. The problem is that it was written in 1958 and he often refers to outdoor technology developed in World War II. We don't use that gear any more. There is a reason we use the expensive high-tech gear that was not available or designed when Mr. Rutstrum wrote: today's equipment is warm, waterproof, breathable and lightweight. Likewise, this book focuses on canoe travel or camping with pack animals. You might outfit a cabin or winter camp with his "essentials" list, but if you carry your camping gear you'll need ten Sherpas to lug all that equipment into the wilds. In fairness, he suggests that backpackers need to be very selective when considering his list. A better Rutstrum book might be Paradise Below Zero, which would make all but walking corpses want to snow camp.

I had a copy of the book 35 years ago and over the years I've found its information to be very useful. Sure, it's dated... But if I was lost in the wild, without a North Face tent, Gore-Tex jacket or a titanium sierra stove, there'as a good chance I could survive just on what I've read in this book. Need to make a shelter? Find food? Build a cabin? Paddle a canoe? It's all here. Highly recommended!

I really got this for the enjoyment of seeing his viewpoints as he lived them years ago...his present day knowledge spilled out in this volume is still handy advice for many who venture into the outdoors. I enjoy almost all of his reads!