Customer Reviews

Primitive Skills and Crafts: An Outdoorsman's Guide to Shelters, Tools, Weapons, Tracking, Survival, and More

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I gave the book 3 stars because I was expecting a "how to" book; this book is not an instructional at all. Rather, this book seems to be a compilation of ideas, methods, and skills that are all described very superficially.

Fun to read, but if you were going to be out in "no where" for the rest of time you'd want something far more detailed.

This is a book of collected articles previously published as "Woodsmoke, Collected Writings on Ancient Living Skills" (Menasha Ridge Press 1994). No revisions, but then the articles were good then anyway. This book is the second in which the fire piston is covered (the first that I am aware of came out in 1972). Beside the philosophy (waxing poetic) of the Jamisons and a poor bit on tracking, the book offers the reader some well laid out "how-to" information from the likes of Steve Watts, David Wescott, Jim Riggs and Larry Dean Olson. Atlatl, Pottery, blowguns, Hide Glue, stone tools and bark baskets are some of the topics introduced in this book. If you are interested in the primitive skills, this book is worth getting.

This is a very interesting book which describes in remarkable detail various primitive crafts and survival techniques. Skills such as making blades and axes from stone to various methods of primitive cooking are described in detail. There are sections on primitive basket making and pottery as well as blowgun making and stalking. After reading this book I was left with both a profound admiration for our primitive ancestors as well as some potentially useful newfound knowledge. Since many of the techniques described were utilized by Native Americans this book will be enjoyed by students of this subject as well as by Boy/Girl Scouts who will find many sections which they can utilize on camping trips. This book will also be enjoyed by fans of shows such as "Survivor Man" and "Man vs. Wild" and should be required reading for anyone planning to compete on "Survivor".

I can say I generally agree with the other 5 reviews prior to the date of this one. This book is a compilation of various authors' articles that have been published elswhere including in the Primitive Technology I & II (Bulletin of Primitive Technology), & Practicing Primitive by Steven Watts. Therefore the content varies from chapter to chapter some being more detailed than others. I particularly found the chapter on the Paiute deadfall & Whole-shoot Willow Baskets helpful, while some of the stories told were also enjoyable. The subtitle of the book "An outdoorsman's guide to Shelters, Tools, Weapons, Tracking, Survival, and More" is a bit misleading in that there is next to nothing gained from this book for shelters and I would take the survival part somewhat lightly. There are certainly some useful survival tips but as one reviewer said you wouldn't want to be stuck with this book in a survival situation. I recommend this book for people just starting with an interest in primitive technology or those looking for a summary or introduction to the world of primitiveness. It may also be of use to those looking for some basic instructions on basket crafts & pottery.

This is not a how to do book. Yes, the book has a lot of information; I think too much... unnecessary writing. anecdotes. past experiences, etc
I gave 2 stars because I thing that a book about "skill and craft" that pretends to teach you how to do things, has to have pictures, drawings, charts to show you how to do it, step by steps... this book only have a few drawing, a few very dark pictures... it's doesn't work.
I think if you look in the Internet you will find better information.

This book is mostly the history of primitive skills and VERY LITTLE practical instruction on how to do the skills. Save your money.

read the table of contents, useful skills but not alot of them. the material covered is so different that you most likely will not enjoy all of this book

This seems like a survival book, with the bare minimal in mind. The fire starter is especially crafty. This is not a huge amount of info, but instead a focus on a few very affective strategies for living off the land. There is a great amount of effort made to convince the reader to value these traditions. Not what your regular know-it-all survivalist would approve of but those with actual experience probably will.

This book is good if you want to just sit at home and read. It's more of a history lesson than a guide. I got about halfway through it and got bored and haven't picked it up since. The instructions are a little hard to follow if you don't already have a conception of what to do already.

Hiking and camping has been a passion of mine ever since I can remember first experiencing it as a cub scout. The mountains in the north country of New England here have been the scene of many trips by me and with my family in the warmer months, as well as years of my trekking the mountains in the dead of winter. No matter how many books on hiking and survival one owns, it seems to be a subject that one can't get enough of if you happen to have a passion for it. There always seems to be something or other included you never saw before, or at least is talked about in greater detail. This Primitive Skills book goes far enough back and gets about as thorough as to diversity as one can get on the subject of wilderness survival. In fact, its better called a wilderness book on living. There is just about nothing that this book doesn't cover, or at least mention in passing on the subject of living and surviving in the wilds of any frontier. From the very beginning it assumes you have moved out into the wilds of some wilderness country and decided to stay there for a right long time. And, bringing nothing with you but a knife and a few matches. Along with the before mentioned basket and tool making, this book will tell you how to make a blow gun, and stalk your pray with it too. It will instruct you on how to make fire from scratch and what is safe to cook over it and keep it going all night. It speaks of primitive medicine in some detail, and outfitting a wardrobe from whatever you can find. And it directs one through the procedure of making all manner of shelter using the bark of trees as rope. You'll learn how to fashion fishing gear out of wild root and fish hooks made of bone. And you will even enjoy an immensely enjoyable section on how to cook some darn tasty good meals with a bare minimum of ingredients, and even show you how to season it. It is a very interesting and informative look at yesteryear when life was devoid of all modern convenience. Even some not so modern...

Unfortunately as much as I enjoy this book immensely for its being well written, and with a vast amount of interesting info, I have to agree with some of the other reviewers here that speak of it being quite impractical, and not anywhere near as instructional as one would surmise in others. Although I feel it gives one enough information on many of the subjects as to actually building or practicing what it preaches, one would still be hard pressed to find someplace anymore where much of what you learn here could be put to any real use. Not a whole lot of lonesome hills and prairie left anymore where one can chop down trees at will, chisel away at rocks, or go running around with blows guns hunting down your dinner. Even if you are interested in a lot of its more congenial teachings, (like leather work or tool making), one would still have to pursue the subject deeper than this book offers to really know and understand what you're doing. Unfortunately as interesting as this book is, its most definitely written about a time, place, and era that just doesn't exist anymore. As much as I personally am enjoying it very much, I would recommend it only to those that long for a full flavor of yesteryear, and how it was living back in the real old days when we needed much more in the way of skills to just survive. A very interesting and downright fascinating book for those simply yearning for the nostalgia of it all...