Over the past few weeks, I’ve been publishing pieces of a survival guide. I’ve now assembled all those pieces into one single pdf:
In addition to the recent pdfs that I’ve published on the blog, this also includes new sections about shelter, distress signals and a few preliminary sentences of general advice. It’s 16 pages long, so shorter than the dedicated survival books, like the SAS Survival Handbook or Bushcraft 101, but longer than lots of the best internet survival guides, like The Urban Prepper’s Survival Cheat Sheet.
The most important thing I haven’t included is a first aid section. As you may know, I’m no stranger to publishing things that I’m not an expert in or somehow the opposite of an expert in. Still, for first aid, it seems kind of irresponsible for me to write and publish anything. For first aid, you should get a professional guide like the Johanniter International European First Aid Guidelines, the John Furst Guide or the European First Aid Manual.
I’ve also skipped anything about how to find food in a survival situation, which most survival guides cover. Again, I’m a little more reluctant to wade in as an amateur here for fear of killing somebody with the wrong berries. Also, you have a while before you die of starvation and I really intend my pdf for short-term emergencies. So I think a food section was beyond the scope of this pdf anyways.
Finally, the section on distress signals doesn’t include Morse code, which it maybe should. I made this decision partly because I already included Morse code in Alphabets. My plan is to eventually lump all these pdfs together in one longer, all-purpose book and I didn’t want to duplicate Morse code in two different sections. So I guess if you find yourself shipwrecked on a deserted island with no chance of rescue except a radio beacon and my pdf survival guide, then, you know, my humblest apologies.
One reply on “Survival guide”
Nothing on first aid?! Doesn’t it seem more irresponsible to leave the desperate, traumatized reader with nothing?? Just a few paras on stopping the bleeding, the ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation), how to brace/splint, and when to not move someone if you suspect neck damage.