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Riverwalker’s Book Review SAS Guide to Desert Survival

From the introduction to the final page with the Five Golden Rules of Survival, the SAS Guide to Desert Survival by Barry Davies covers the major factors that can affect your survival. This is a compact guide to surviving not only in a desert environment but a comprehensive guide that covers all the basic items and more that will be needed for your survival.

The contents are broken down into not only the basic requirements for shelter, water, food, and fire but also include helpful tips about the equipment you will need, medical priorities, and survival medicine.

It’s also compact enough to fit easily in your backpack or bug-out bag but where space may be at a premium. With over 150 pages of comprehensive information, it is presented in a useful format that allows anyone to access needed information quickly and effortlessly. This is one item that should be included in every backpack.

While the book gives many useful and worthwhile tips for survival in an extreme desert environment (or Texas summers), it also contains a wealth of additional survival information that is suitable for both the novice and the more experienced outdoorsman. This is information which could play a critical part in your survival.

From knots to fire-making techniques, the SAS Desert Guide to Survival is full of useful tips and plenty of illustrations to guide you in your quest for survival. It’s also available at a very affordable price that won’t wreck your budget or break your piggy bank.

Got heat?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker’s Book Review SAS Guide to Desert Survival

Riverwalker’s Book Review The Wayward Journey

What would you do if you found yourself a long ways from home when all hell breaks loose? In his first book,The Wayward Journey , Nathan Hale Jefferson reveals how the problem of being separated from family can have a profound effect on everyone. From the perspective of the main character, John, a number of scenarios are examined that reveal John’s determination to get back home. With limited resources and even more limited options, John battles numerous obstacles in a determined struggle to return home and be reunited with his family.

Through the characters in his book an attempt is made to offer solutions and insight into the possible problems one might face in this scenario and the efforts that may be required to persevere through these extreme circumstances in order to survive. It does make you stop and think “what if” this should happen to you.

Nathan Hale Jefferson also keeps you up-to-date on the situation at home and offers a real life view of the deteriorating conditions in John’s neighborhood. This includes the main bad guy, Garrett, who seeks to empower himself through his own devious efforts, as well as the misfortunes of others. This gives you a lot of insight into who your real friends are and who is really the enemy. He also offers insight into how things might change on a global basis if the worst should happen.

The book is a quick and easy read which will make you think about things from a different perspective. With only a couple of places where the editing could have been better, you will find this book very thought-provoking. This is a very good first effort and there is a sequel in progress (The Fires at Home) which should be just as good, if not better.

Got Wayward Journey?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker’s Book Review The Wayward Journey

Book Review Winner Good Clean Food

We have a winner in our book review giveaway. Selene has won a free copy of Good Clean Food direct from the publisher.

Here is Selene’s winning comment:

Anonymous said...

This year we planted a larger garden.
Most of it was washed away in heavy rains. We replanted it. Because of health concerns, we feel it is very important for us to grow as many of the vegetables we eat as we can.
We have tomatoes, peppers, squash, peas, beans, radish, kale all doing well now.
Getting ready to plant some more veggies for fall harvest too.

Selene

July 9, 2013 at 6:11 PM

Selene, in order to claim your prize, please send me an e-mail with your shipping address so the publisher can send you your free copy of Good Clean Food.

Congratulations Selene!

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Book Review Winner Good Clean Food

Riverwalker’s Book Review Fight Flight or Hide The Guide to Surviving a Mass Shooting

Here is an excerpt from Fight, Flight, or Hide. The Guide to Surviving a Mass Shootingthat really explains our responsibility in order to survive a mass shooting.

“The simple fact is that we, as a populace, need to become the solution to the problem.”

John Forsythe gives common sense advice on the actions that we can take as individuals to survive a mass shooting. He gives relevant and meaningful advice of how and when you should take cover, flee or take the fight to your attacker. Whether you are seeking to avoid being a victim, determining the proper actions to take as a guardian or quite possibly be an unintended hero, John gives simple, common sense advice that can be an invaluable part of helping you to become a part of the solution to the problem. You will also have a significantly better chance of being a survivor.

No matter your level of expertise, good advice is always useful. This book provides the good advice necessary to increase your chances of surviving a mass shooting. If you find yourself with the time to read only one book, it should be this one.

Riverwalker gives Fight, Flight, or Hide. The Guide to Surviving a Mass Shootinga thumbs up!

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker’s Book Review Fight Flight or Hide The Guide to Surviving a Mass Shooting

Riverwalker’s Book Review Tribes by John S Wilson

“Tribes” is John S. Wilson’s prequel to his other survival novels Joshua and Traveler. In this latest edition, John manages to create some thought-provoking survival scenarios that are about as close to what can happen when the grid goes down and everything goes to hell. With a new set of characters, John has been able to create an entirely different set of circumstances to test his new main character, Tom, and his ability to lead a small group in his community as they struggle to survive.

From the paranoid to the psychotic to downright mean and sadistic characters, you will have a lot better understanding of what may happen should you face a similar survival situation.

Sometimes, survival isnt as easy as you may think.

Riverwalker gives ”Tribes”a thumbs up!

Got “Tribes”?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker’s Book Review Tribes by John S Wilson

Riverwalker’s Book Review and Gear Giveaway The Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide

In his latest book, “The Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide”, Creek Stewart has put together a rather impressive and unique wilderness survival guide. This survival guide utilizes a theme based on a very popular series of books and a major motion picture. Hollywood special effects and make-up crews can create on camera sequences that almost make survival look easy. In real life, you will need a lot more to survive. This book showcases many of the survivals skills and tricks utilized by the characters in the movie and gives a thorough explanation of how to develop those same survival skills. It is having a proper working knowledge of survival skills that will ultimately keep you alive.

One of the things that is fairly unique to this book is the number of illustrations it contains. It is positively loaded with pictures from start to finish and this makes visualizing the skills being taught much easier. It also makes it an excellent guide for younger people who are quite likely to be more “visually” orientated. If you like illustrations, this survival guide has plenty from start to finish.

Building a primitive survival shelter is one of the more impressive sections of the book. Techniques for building a debris hut are clearly illustrated so that even the novice survivalist can build an excellent shelter for their survival. These shelter instructions are very good.

Even if you haven’t read the trilogy or seen the movie, this is still an excellent survival guide with many useful tips and tricks for developing your primitive survival skills. The subject matter is laid out in an easy to understand and organized manner that closely follows the table of contents. It also has a very impressive index that can quickly guide you to the location of relevant survival information you may be seeking. This also allows you to review specific survival topics quickly, easily and in a very precise manner. Creek has also included a section that lists numerous survival kit resources that will allow you to find additional survival gear or information that you may need.

Creek also includes a number of “Survival Quick Tips” throughout the book that can help you further enhance your survival skills. These tips cover a wide variety of survival techniques that can be of value to anyone reading or using his book.

All things considered, this is an excellent survival guide that is well organized, with easily referenced topics and numerous illustrations to help the reader have a much better understanding of the survival skills being outlined and taught in the book. This can certainly help to put the odds in your favor.

Whether you are new to the game of survival or youre a seasoned "pro", this book will help the novice develop new skills and the more experienced survivalist to reinforce their current skills.

Riverwalker gives “The Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide ” by Creek Stewart a thumbs up!

Special Reader’s Bonus - Free Survival Gear Giveaway

As a special bonus to my readers, Stealth Survival is also having a survival gear giveaway sponsored by Creek Stewart and Willow Haven Outdoor. Two lucky readers will win a multi-function survival tool, a bandanna, a drawstring backpack and a free copy of “The Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide” signed by the author.

In addition, the winners will receive an added bonus. A signal mirror from Riverwalker and Stealth Survival will be included in the gear the winners receive. This is the same signal mirror featured in the recent series of posts on “Building a Survival Kit.”

How do you win? It’s simple and easy. Leave a comment on this post with a “Survival Quick Tip” of your own that you feel others may be able to use. That’s all you need to do in order to have a chance at winning the gear giveaway. Two winners will be chosen from the responses received and will be announced in a special post on June 1, 2013.

You may also want to check out Creek Stewart’s first book, ”Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag: Your 72-Hour Disaster Survival Kit”. This is another excellent book that you may wish to include in your survival library.

Creek Stewart is the owner of Willow Haven Outdoor, a Survival and Disaster Preparedness Training Facility located in central Indiana.

Are you ready to put the odds in your favor?

Then let the “games” begin!

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Disclaimer: This book is unofficial and unauthorized. It is not authorized, approved, licensed or endorsed by Suzanne Collins, her publishers, or Lionsgate Entertainment Corporation.

Riverwalker’s Book Review and Gear Giveaway The Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide

Riverwalker’s Book Review Home Remedies

Home Remedies

In time when everyone had to be a lot more self reliant, home remedies where often the only way to treat many minor ailments. Alex Smith in his new book, Home Remedies, seeks to provide you with a guide to some of the more basic and best known home remedies in an easy to reference alphabetical format.

Alex Smith also provides a glossary of some of the more common terms used in home remedies to provide further understanding for the different types of home remedies that are commonly used to treat various ailments. He also provides a fairly comprehensive list of the herbs and plants that are more commonly used in the making of various home remedies.

Although it doesnt include an index, at less than 125 pages it is still easy to find the home remedy you may be looking for due to the easy alphabetical format. The remedies for some of the more common ailments are available at your finger tips.

If you are looking for a quick reference guide to help treat minor ailments, Home Remediesby Alex Smith may be exactly what you need.

Got Home Remedies?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Disclaimer: Always consult a medical professional before using any type of new treatments,

Riverwalker’s Book Review Home Remedies

Riverwalker’s Book Review and Bonus Giveaway The MiniFARMING Guide to Composting

Probably one of the least understood things when it comes to gardening is being able to make compost. Knowing a few basic techniques can help you enrich your gardening experience and make your plants a lot happier. Brett Markham in The Mini Farming Guide to Composting: Self-Sufficiency from Your Kitchen to Your Backyard can help you achieve your goal of better gardening through the use of composting.

While not a technical manual on composting, Markham manages to provide a basic and simple understanding of what is required to be successful when composting. He also provides an explanation of several ways to make a compost bin including a simple plan using a five gallon bucket to make a small composting bin. This would even be a great project that would allow urban dwellers with minimum amounts of space to benefit from composting as well. He also gives very good instructions on how to make compost tea in simple and easy to understand terms. Just don’t use one of your wife’s good pillowcases or you could wind up in the doghouse.

Even if you are an experienced gardener, there are numerous tips and tricks throughout his book that can help make your gardening efforts more successful through the use of proper composting techniques. A little compost can go a long way in making your gardening efforts a success.

As an added bonus, one lucky reader will win a free copy of The Mini Farming Guide to Composting: Self-Sufficiency from Your Kitchen to Your Backyard. Just leave a comment telling us of your composting experience. Feel free to include any tips or tricks you think others may find useful. A winner will be chosen at random on March 15th and the winner will receive their free book directly from the publisher.

You might also want to check out Brett Markham’s other books including Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre.

Got compost?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker’s Book Review and Bonus Giveaway The MiniFARMING Guide to Composting

Riverwalker’s Book Review and Giveaway Good Clean Food

In a world of ever increasing dominance of large national companies that control our food sources, it is increasingly important that we make ourselves aware of the risks this poses to our food supply. In his new book,Good Clean Food, Samuel Epstein, MD helps to inform everyone of these risks and gives you a better understanding of the effects certain practices are having on our current food supply.

One of the main features of this book is the help and understanding that can be gained from knowing about how our food is labeled and whether it is truly organic and safe from toxic substances that can affect our health. There is a wide discrepancy in the manner in which our food is labeled and everyone should be aware of how to properly read and understand the labels on our food products. While most labeling isnt meant to be deceptive, it can also be very misleading if you arent careful when reading the label. You can also learn to decipher the codes on fruit and vegetables in order for you to determine which products are truly organic and better for you and your family.

The book also offers tips on shopping locally (farmer’s markets, etc.), growing your own food and even tips for dining out. It also offers advice on nutritional and dietary approaches to help undo some of the harmful effects in many of our processed foods.

There is also a section at the end of each chapter with information on different organic farms and growers that are considered to have safe and reliable food products. There is also an extensive index with numerous businesses in the various states that have reliable products that you can trust to be safe for your consumption.

Information can be a vital key to understanding what is going on in our world. With government regulations that are at most inadequate in the majority of cases where our food supply is concerned, it is important to educate yourself about the possible risks to your food supply.

The Giveaway

As an added bonus, a lucky reader will also receive a free copy of “Good Clean Food” direct from the publisher at no charge. Simply leave a comment about how you are taking the necessary steps to have good clean food available for yourself and your family. Whether it is growing your own vegetables, forming a buying club, or going to farmer’s markets, let us know how you are working to make your food supply safer. A winner will be chosen at random from the comments received. If commenting anonymously, please leave an identifier in your comments. The winner will be announced in a separate post on July 15th from the comments received.

About the Author

Samuel Epstein, MD is an internationally recognized authority on avoidable causes of cancer. He is the author of more than twenty books and 270 peer-reviewed articles and has served as president of the Society for Occupational and Environmental Health, the Rachel Carson Council, professor emeritus of environmental and occupational medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition.

Got Good Clean Food?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker’s Book Review and Giveaway Good Clean Food

Riverwalker’s Book Review Getting Home

An excellent book for the beginning prepper is Alex Smith’s Getting Home. This book isn’t about a survivalist battling zombies to get to his family. It is a decent non-fiction guide to putting a plan of action into motion that will allow you to get home safely in a crisis. In his book he covers EDC (everyday carry) items and how to choose a GHB (get home bag). He makes excellent points on EDC items you should have and covers options for items needed both at your work environment and things you should keep in your vehicle.

Alex also stresses the importance of redundancy (two is one and one is none) in your EDC and your GHB. He also has some excellent tips on choosing the right type of pack to fit your physical profile. This is extremely vital information for those who have done relatively little hiking or backpacking, which is completely different from the “car camping” many persons utilize in their outdoor endeavors. The information about choosing the proper type of pack is worth the cost of the book itself.

He also gives tips on firearms for EDC. While decent recommendations, most seemed to be based on his personal experience and preferences when it comes to firearms. The book also includes several helpful tips in regards to your transportation that the beginning prepper may not think of or may not be familiar with in their experience. Several of these tips are found throughout his book and you need to read it carefully so as not to miss them.

Alex’s book is well written and would make a good addition to your survival library. Several of his tips would also make it worthwhile to the more experienced prepper. I even found a few tips that will be useful to me. RW gives Getting Home a thumbs up!

Got GHB?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker’s Book Review Getting Home

Riverwalker’s Book Review Traveler by John Wilson

What would you do to survive in a world with dwindling resources and desperate people? In Traveler by John Wilson, this is the ultimate question you will be asking yourself. The book is a thought-provoking look at the harsh realities of survival and the things that you may be required to do in order to survive.

Would you pretend to be something you’re not? Or take your chances with the truth, only to be disappointed by the harsh realities of a changing world. A changing world in which the only difference between friend and foe may be your only chance for another meal or a warm place to sleep.

In his book, John Wilson examines the moral dilemma of what’s right or wrong. True reality becomes blurry at best and it becomes extremely difficult to see who the real threat to your survival is and the difficulty of choosing the path you must take for survival.

Here are a couple of brief excerpts from the book:

“Rob’s smile was suddenly gone. “Okay, kid, I won’t destroy your delusions. But it’s obvious to anyone paying attention that we’re on the down side of the slope. Resources are getting scarcer every year...people are getting more desperate... more vicious. It doesn’t take a fortune teller to see which way this world is going.”

The girl honestly asked ”So you don’t think the old world will ever come back?”

“Nope...” A few years from now they’ll all be extinct, they’ll be as dead as the dodo, but people like me will still be here.”

If you want to read a book that examines the concept of “survival of the fittest” and what it truly takes to survive, perhaps it’s time for you to read “Traveler” by John Wilson.

Got Traveler?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker’s Book Review Traveler by John Wilson

We have a composting book winner!

We have a winner! A lucky reader has won a free copy of The Mini Farming Guide to Composting: Self-Sufficiency from Your Kitchen to Your Backyard. Here is the winning comment:

TMM said...

I tried composting, I built one of those rotating barrels out of a 55 gal plastic barrel. Spent hours making that thing. even had an aeration tube down the center and all. Put all the clippings in it, rotated it regularly.. and after an entire year, I had stinky mushy clippings...

Then I did the metal can in the ground with holes for worms to go in and out.. tossed in the kitchen scraps for a few months and then let it sit for a year.... ended up with stinky mushy kitchen scraps!

Guess composting is not my specialty :(

March 5, 2013 at 9:27 AM

TMM please send me your shipping address via email to riverwalker_texas@yahoo.com

and your free copy of The Mini Farming Guide to Composting: Self-Sufficiency from Your Kitchen to Your Backyard will be sent to you direct from the publisher.

Please respond within 72 hours to receive your prize or an alternate winner will be chosen.

Congratulations to TMM.

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

We have a composting book winner!

Riverwalker’s Book Review and Giveaway The Pocket Guide to Wild Mushrooms

Foraging for edible foods in the wild can be an important skill that everyone should learn in order to be more self-reliant. Unfortunately, many food items found in the wild can be deadly if you lack the proper knowledge about the items you are foraging. Wild mushrooms are one such item that require a good guide in order to determine if the mushrooms you find are safe to eat.

In The Pocket Guide to Wild Mushrooms by Pelle Holmberg and Hans Marklund, the authors have created a condensed version of their larger book on foraging for mushrooms. This smaller and portable version contains a guide to many of the more common mushrooms found in the wild. It includes excellent pictures of the various types of edible mushrooms that are generally found in the wild. Cutaway views of the mushrooms are also included in order to help you further properly identify your wild mushrooms.

Amazingly, this is one pocket guide that actually fits in your pocket, even if it is a little tight. This makes it a lot easier to keep handy when you are out foraging for edible mushrooms. The guide also offers some helpful tips on cleaning and cooking your mushrooms properly. There is also a small reference section for more extensive information on mushrooms in the wild along with a handy index section for quick reference.

The only drawback of this guide is there isnt very extensive information on where the different edible mushrooms can be found. The guide does reference basic regions and areas where edible mushrooms are found but you may need a larger and more detailed guide for specific varieties of edible mushrooms in your area. This guide does include a very extensive section on beginner mushrooms that can help to get you started in the proper foraging of edible wild mushrooms.

Pockets guides are not meant to be a definite source and while not all inclusive, this is an excellent pocket guide for both beginners and experienced foragers to use when hunting edible wild mushrooms.

The Giveaway

A lucky reader will also win a free copy of The Pocket Guide to Wild Mushrooms direct from the publisher. Just leave a comment about your experience (or lack of) in foraging for mushrooms or other edible food items in the wild. If commenting anonymously, please leave an identifier in your comment. A winner will be chosen at random from the comments left on this post. The winner will be announced in a separate post on July 31st.

Got pocket guide for wild mushrooms?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Riverwalker’s Book Review and Giveaway The Pocket Guide to Wild Mushrooms