US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76 [Paperback]

Department of Defense (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1970

Army Survival Manual is the finest single source for self-reliance for all extreme circumstances. A must for anyone who wants to know how to survive in primitive conditions. The book is very straightforward with many pictures and user-friendly illustrations, written in easy to understand language. This is just some of the survival information that this book provides: All-climates: arctic, tropics, temperate forest, savannah or desert. All-terrain survival tactics. The Will to Survive. Identify poisonous snakes, as well as edible and non-edible plants. Survival Medicine. Wilderness medicine. Techniques on first aid. Survival in the hottest or coldest of climates. Survival Planning. Make polluted water potable. How to find water. Ways to trap and collection techniques of water. Covers navigation and compass use. Find direction using the sun and stars. Weapons and Tools. Recognizing signs of land when lost at sea. Building life-saving shelters. Traps and snares. How to prepare wild game to be cooked also preserving food. All types of fire making. Water Crossings. Find direction using the sun and stars. Physical and mental fitness. Disaster preparedness. Again this is just some of the survival information is this book!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The United States Department of Defense ( DOD or DoD ) is the federal department charged with coordination and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military. The DOD is headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The Military Departments at the Pentagon publishes some of the very best manuals, handbooks and guidebooks on a wide range of topics; teaching skills, tactics and techniques. The content of these manuals are unmatched in depth, consider that some this knowledge is drawn from hundreds of years, thousands of man hours, and first hand operational experience. Also material in most of these manuals has been shared with other Military Branches providing even greater depth of subject matter. Military Manuals from the Department of Defense are unedited by outside individuals and or companies, this ensures the information is complete, current, and accurate as the military intended. Listed below you will see some of the major departments or components of the Department of Defense. Here you will find just a few book titles of the many sponsored works from each department. Department of the Air Force: U.S. Air Force Aircrew Survival; Air Force Handbook; USAF Military Working Dog Program; USAF Weapons Handling Manual; Airport Signs and Markings; Unexploded Ordnance Booby-traps UXO Recognition and Reporting Chart. Department of the Army: US Army Survival Manual FM 21-76; Survival Skills U.S. Army / Special Operations, Tactics, Techniques, and Skills Guide; Ranger Handbook; Special Forces Medical Handbook; Military Mountaineering; Boobytraps Army Instruction Manual; Explosives and Demolitions; Guerrilla Warfare; Army Hand to Hand Combat; U.S. Army Special Forces Handbook; Survival Evasion and Recovery; Military First Aid. Department of the Navy: Seabee Combat Handbook; Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine; USN Diving Manual; U.S. Navy Seal Patrol Leaders Handbook; Performance Maintenance During Continuous Flight Operations. United States Marine Corps: USMC 5.56MM, M16A2 Technical Manual; U.S. Marine Corp M40A1 Sniper Rifle 7.62MM; U.S. Marine Guidebook; Close Combat Hand to Hand Fighting Marine Corps; Booby Traps Close Combat Urban; Counterinsurgency; USMC Land Navigation; Scouting and Patrolling; Combat Water Survival; Map Reading; Sniper Counter Sniper.

Product Details

• Paperback: 285 pages
• Publisher: Department of the Army; Field Manual No 21-76 edition (October 1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967512395
• ISBN-13: 978-0967512396
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (90 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Survival Skills

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

364 of 372 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the best on the subject for regular folks October 24, 2001

By microjoe TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

First off, there multiple version of this book floating around, and you should be really clear with a seller which one you are getting. Amazon often posts reviews for books with the same title and author at different pages for different release years, where there can be changes in releases. This book is no exception. For example there is a fairly recent printing Army survival book with the same FM number that was republished by a major bookseller and edited for "civilian use". It is a really nice version that includes color photos and other changes, but more on that in a minute. The traditional Army Survival manual available is from the 1970's (not whatever current manual is in use as those are usually classified) and concentrates on the straightforward survival material you need to know. It is written in very accessible easy to understand language, and you do not need to be an expert in order to use this information. The material includes chapters on: Navigation and compass use; Health & Hygiene in the outdoors to prevent sickness, including first aid; Hazards in the wild to watch out for;
Foods and where to find them including harvesting and identifying native plants and vegetables; How to fish and tons of unusual different ways to catch them with local materials that actually work; other food from fresh water sources; Trapping mammals, rodents, reptiles, insects, catching birds, and more including how to dress and prepare these; Cooking, preserving food in the wild; methods of fire making including without matches or lighter.

One of the most important chapters tells you how to find the most important element you need to survive. Water from Plants, digging for water, purifying found water, and building a solar water still.... Other chapters include Climate and Weather, Travel, finding or building Shelter, Clothing, Health, Survival at Sea, Poisonous Snakes, signaling for help, what to do if you are lost, and much more ...

An extremely useful book for the camper to keep in their supplies. One very nice treat... the recent bookstore reprint version differs from the 1970's surplus military version in that it offers color photos of the plants (original military version was black and white), and it is very comprehensive. While there are books available on edible and poisonous plants that are more specialized, the material here is very adequate for inclusion in this manual. All in all, one of the best books on the survival subject, well rounded and very detailed. I have a library of books on camping and camping emergencies. While one reviewer thought this book had too much info and wanted a simpler book, I would say that if you had it with you in an emergency you would be glad of its many topics. You may even want to keep a copy in the trunk of your car with your roadside tools, since you never know when you might need some help making a fire or finding water.

Another change in the bookstore "civilian version" was the elimination of the chapters on escape and evasion that you will find in some of the 1970's copies. Again if you are buying used, be sure to query the seller which version they have. I actually have both versions and was able to compare them to review the changes. Either way, the basics on shelter, water, fire, etc are unchanged and can be very useful in the trunk of your car for emergencies. One reviewer pointed out that the manual is available for free by download, which is OK you just want to read it, that is up to you. But I think a paper copy in your emergency disaster box or in your car trunk may prove very useful when you need it. There are lots of military based survival books out there, like the pocket sized Aircrew Survival book, and they are all quite useful. Read more ›

261 of 271 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on Survival July 20, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

As a Special Forces soldier, I read just about every book there is on survival. Most are hardly worth the paper they are printed on, and that especially includes the popular "survival" books which tend to contain potentially deadly errors and omissions. The main problem with these "worst case" books and others is that most readers, unfortunately, have no way of knowing what is accurate and what is fantasy. For readers who wish to stick to nonfiction, this book is your best choice.

235 of 263 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Um, You Don't Have To Pay For This. September 18, 2006

By A Soldier's Wife

Format:Paperback

This, like many other military manuals, is available online. Just type the FM number into your search box and a list of links to it will magically appear.

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Ok... but there are better books out there March 7, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

While I enjoyed reading the U.S. Army Survival Manual I would not recommend it as my only survival learning text. For that honor, I prefer Gregory Davenport's book, "Wilderness Survival", which covers the same material but in a far more user friendly format. Mr. Davenport's book goes beyond the ARMY manual by giving the step by step instructions needed to do the survival tasks related to clothing, shelter, fire, water and food procurement, etc. In addition, his navigation and health chapters are far superior.

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good except for Jungle/Desert Survival November 4, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

The U.S. Army field manual on Survival is a good basic guide, standard reading for our troops, and unlike some survival manuals, it is fairly well written and organized. I have yet to find a survival enthusiast who didn't have this book or Greg Davenport's Wilderness Survival in their personal library, and that tells you something. One of the bigger drawbacks to the book is its sketchy coverage of jungle and desert survival - for these areas you'll definitely want additional reading on these topics, as there's a lot more information to be had! If you're interested in those environments, Jeff Randall's Adventure Travel in the Third World book is excellent for jungle survival, while Mark Johnson's The Ultimate Desert Handbook is definitely the best desert survival book out there.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent with Common Sense March 23, 2006

By Ben

Format:Paperback

I have used this book, and earlier versions, for over 45 years. I first used a copy my father got me (he was in the military) as a Boy Scout. When I attended Outward Bound (back when that was a "new" thing we used a copy. And then my own 30 year military career primarily in Army Special Forces. From the SF Q course, and in every other field/combat/survival/leadership course I attended (or lead) on down the totem pole, FM 21-76 (FM stands for Field Manual) was part of the course and listed as a reference material in the course. Anyway, an earlier reviewer did not like the book and complained as an example that it does not tell you which tree to use for the bark to make cordage...well, ANY survival book and any "survival instructor" with a modicum of compentency will tell you first and foremost keep your cool, assess your situation, assess all your equipment and clothing you have available (even the lint in your pockets can be useful), keep your wits and be optomistic, and use your common sense. In that light, no book can save you in a dire situation without you using your own common sense. However, this book, with common sense will make your survival possible and likely. Because of weather, varmits, and predators, there are no guarantees...no book can do that. But this book will help you increase your odds for survival and live to tell the tale as a "war story". The earlier reviewer complained that the book does not tell you specifically which tree to use the bark of for cordage. COMMON SENSE says the trees available in the interior of Alaska differ from the ones you find in a Peruvian jungle or in equitorial Africa. But the idea of using the inside of the bark, stripping it out, and then applying common sense to TIE THE STRIPS TOGETHER is true.... The book makes the assumption, like all survival books (and good survival instructors) that you use the materials at hand. You don't need to go looking for a northern birch tree in a forest in Thailand! But the trees there will work too. The book also makes the assumption that you will have the COMMON SENSE to know to tie the strips together, or weave them together to make a thicker rope. No treatment is necessary, so the book does not discuss it. As the strips naturally dry out, they will shrink and grow stronger, but the reader does not need to worry about that so the book does not cover it. Common Sense. Overall, this is a good book. I suspect that anyone who thinks it is only good for starting a fire with its pages has an axe to grind and is really not that knowledgeable. The techniques in the book work. Period. Some do require common sense to implement, along with patience (try catching a fish with $500 tackle from a sporting goods store when it is for fun, much less the ways described in the book when you are hungry and searching for lunch). But the techniques and advice in the book work, and the lessons in the book will allow you to meet your needs of survival which are at a minimum shelter, water, food, warmth, set up rescue fires/ground-to-air signaling for rescue aircraft, and in the worst case, how to navigate and walk yourself out of anywhere. Buy the full military version. With some of the more trendy and popular travel destinations people junket to these days, where the "rules of civilization and law" are not always enforced, and some folks become kidnapped for fun or ransome, the chapters in the military version on evasion and resistance could be useful.

Best of luck to any reader. Read more ›