How to Survive Anything Anywhere: A Handbook of Survival Skills for Every Scenario and Environment

Surviving in the world's most hostile natural environments depends mainly on knowledge. Personal grit and courage count for a lot, but if a person does not know how to find food and water, make shelter, light fires, and apply basic first-aid, amongst many other skills, his or her chances of survival can be slim. How to Survive Anything Anywhere is the complete single-volume handbook of professional survival skills. It teaches survival fundamentals for every scenario and every environment, from the sub-zero landscape of the Arctic to the scorching suns of the tropics. In clear and practical terms, the book explains how to preserve life without any external aid, and reach safety. Topics covered include: how to make hunting weapons, identifying edible plants, survival psychology, celestial navigation, surviving at sea, constructing shelters, hunting and trapping techniques, making and sustaining fire, improvised cooking vessels, and finding underground water. The book also explores traditionally less well-covered but equally essential aspects of survival such as: natural remedies for common diseases, rope handling and climbing methods, unarmed combat, and customs to follow in foreign countries. Furthermore, an entire section is dedicated to the peculiarities of urban survival, dealing with relevant everyday issues ranging from being safe on public transport to surviving terrorist attacks. Heavily illustrated throughout with more than 500 line artworks and diagrams, How to Survive Anything Anywhere gives the reader practical measures of survival which are easy to memorise and apply: it is a vital single source of invaluable survival information.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Explains why learning survival techniques is important to us all, especially with the expanding participation in foreign travel and adventure sports, and the rise of urban crime and violence. Section 1 Preparation Deals with the basics of preparing for any trip into a potentially hostile natural environment. The options for kit and clothing are explained in detail, and the section also looks at how to prepare the mind and body to meet physical adversity. 1. Survival psychology Includes: the will to survive; preparing for emergencies using visualisation; systems for controlling fear and depression; developing concentration; handling the relationship between body and mind 2. Survival clothing Includes: selecting the right fabrics and clothing for the environment; the layering principle of clothing; selection and care of boots; repairing damaged clothing; correct method of drying wet clothing 3. Survival kit Includes: packing a comprehensive first-aid kit; selecting sleeping bags; packing a rucksack; recommended contents of a survival tin; knives and utility tools; protecting metallic objects from corrosion 4. Planning and preparation Includes: researching foreign cultures prior to travel; informing third parties of travel arrangements; working out a travel schedule; preparing a vehicle; analysing terrain against your capabilities; accessing expert help 5. Personal health and fitness Includes: fitness and survival; matching training with wilderness activity; coping with pre-existing medical conditions; recovering from injury; weight training for the outdoor adventurer Section 2 Fundamentals of Wilderness Survival Explores in detail the cornerstones of survival: water, food, shelter and fire. The section explains how to work with nature, using its resources and reading its signs to stay alive indefinitely without technology or external help. 6. Finding water Includes: underground water sources; animals, plants and terrain as indicators of water; purifying water; making water-storage vessels; constructing solar stills and transpiration bags; conserving the body’s water 7. Food from plants Includes: rules for identifying edible plants; applying the universal edibility test; common edible wilderness plants; fungi as a source of food; storing plant foodstuffs; recognising early symptoms of poisoning 8. Hunting and trapping animals Includes: types of common animal recommended for eating; identifying animals from tracks and droppings; dealing with dangerous animals; hunting and the application of firearms; constructing traps; improvised hunting weapons; tracking techniques; gathering edible insects 9. Survival cooking and food preservation Includes: preparing animals for cooking; constructing Yukon stoves and teepee fires; making underground ovens; food drying techniques; smoking food; cooking in clay; cooking on hot rocks; salting food 10. Making shelters Includes: selecting materials; locating shelters away from natural hazards; creating storage areas; waterproofing shelters; natural insulating materials; shelters as part of a camp; protecting shelters from invasive insect life 11. Making fire Includes: selecting tinder, kindling and fuel; friction methods of ignition; carrying fire; fire hazards; preparing the ground for a fire; different fires for heat and cooking; constructing heat reflectors; making fires safely within a shelter 12. Tools, ropes and knots Includes: constructing axes and other improvised tools; ropes and knots; making storage containers; making natural ropes; uses for animal bones and skin; using knives safely; techniques of knife-sharpening; useful knots Section 3 Emergency Procedures Survival situations can be thrust upon us in an instant. This section explains how to respond to emergency survival situations such as tornados, earthquakes, sudden serious injury, climbing accidents, vehicle breakdowns in remote places, and getting lost in the wilderness. 13. First aid Includes: assessing the body’s vital signs using the ABC technique; delivering CPR; assessing levels of consciousness; treating common minor injuries, including bruises, rope burns and cuts; wound hygiene; stabilising broken bones 14. Natural disasters Includes: selecting appropriate shelter during a tornado or hurricane; earthquake responses; correct action if caught in a forest fire; preparation for drought; escaping a tsunami 15. Rescue procedures Includes: preparing an area for helicopter rescue; what to do in case of vehicle breakdown in a remote area; signalling for help; delegating rescue responsibilities between a team; radio maydays; morse code 16. Navigation Includes: navigation using celestial bodies; understanding maps and compasses; using shadows for orientation; plants which indicate direction; navigating during adverse conditions; distance judgement; dead reckoning; navigating through areas of dense foliage 17. Reading the Weather Includes: understanding cloud patterns and predicting the weather; natural phenomena which indicate future rainfall; avoiding lightning strikes; understanding information provided by weather services Section 4 Surviving in Hostile Environments Building on earlier sections, here the focus switches to survival in the world’s most hostile places. Each chapter explains how the basic principles of survival have to be adapted and even changed completely in severe climates, and shows how the human body can endure under the most threatening conditions. 18. Polar survival Includes: constructing igloos and snow shelters; arctic foods; understanding, preventing and treating hypothermia; frostbite and trench foot; fire-making materials available in sub-zero climates; ice fishing; surviving a fall through ice 19. Mountain survival Includes: required kit for mountain survival; proper use of an ice axe; advantages of walking poles; applications of walking and climbing ropes; spotting potential avalanches and surviving avalanches; fundamental climbing techniques; altitude sickness 20. Tropical survival Includes: identifying dangerous tropical animals; special requirements for jungle shelters; finding safe water supplies; types of tropical environment; treating insect bites and stings; treating common tropical illnesses 21. Desert survival Includes: treating heatstroke and dehydration; special measures for conserving water; finding water in dried-up riverbeds; insect nutrition in the desert; adapting clothing for extreme heat and sunshine; making desert shelters 22. Survival at sea Includes: selection and care of flotation devices; attracting attention at sea; correct procedure for abandoning ship; indicators of land; making a landing; distilling sea water; dealing with sharks and other dangerous marine life; winds and ocean navigation Section 5 Urban Survival Urban survival means dealing with the threats of violence and accident surrounding us every day in towns and cities. The section deals with personal safety and property protection, and includes an in-depth examination of how to survive terrorist attacks and threats. 23. Self Defence Includes: spotting potential muggers and attackers in advance; rape avoidance; identifying dangerous zones; knowing when to fight; realistic unarmed combat techniques; coping with adrenalin; improvised weapons 24. Transport security Includes: protecting your vehicle against theft; dealing with road rage; safety procedures for late-night travel; carjacking; parking in safe places; security on subways and trains; coping air-rage passengers; avoiding deep-vein thrombosis on long-haul flights; safety during extreme air turbulence 25. Transport accidents Includes: defensive driving; escaping from a crushed car; dealing with car fires; triage at the scene of an accident; survival and air crashes; surviving train accidents 26. Home security Includes: security fittings on doors and windows; selecting alarms and other security devices; identifying vulnerable parts of your home; constructing a safe room; identifying fire hazards; surviving a house fire; accident hotspots; storing dangerous materials or firearms 27. Surviving terrorism Includes: responses to being taken hostage; actions during during rescue operations by police or security forces; identifying suspect packages; response to radiological, chemical or biological attacks; performing a vehicle search; spotting potential suicide bombers; taking cover from an impending explosion; selecting cover against gunfire Appendices

About the Author :
Chris McNab is a wilderness expert, military specialist and author of over 20 survival publications, including How to Survive Anything, Anywhere, Living off the Land, and SAS Training Manual: Endurance Techniques. He holds a PhD from the University of Wales and lives in south Wales, UK.