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| Modern Survival by Dwight R. Schuh |
I got a new book, Modern Survival: Outdoor Gear and
Savvy to Bring you Back Alive, in the mail yesterday, from
Thriftbooks. I sat down and quickly read
the first two chapters and I was so impressed with what I read, that I decided
to write a review of just these two chapters.
So far, this book is an easy read and I enjoyed reading it. I totally agree with the author’s message, which he explained in the first two chapters of his book, in fact I have taught many of
these same principals to students of the outdoors over the years.
The author, Dwight R. Schuh, explains the premise of
his book, in his first chapter, as follows: “In this age, a person has to be grossly careless or irresponsible to
find himself in a predicament that demands primitive skills for survival”, assuming that the person has taken the minimum precautions to be prepared. He further explaining his point by writing, “The dictionary says that to survive means to
‘remain alive and existent.’ Survival,
then, is the state of remaining alive”.
Additionally, the author advised that to remain “alive and existent” in the backcountry, you
must follow these six principals:
“Outdoors
emergencies are rarely acts of God”.
You cannot control nature, the only thing you can control are your
actions when you find yourself in circumstances beyond your control. Most people, who perish in the outdoors, do
so because they lose control and panic.
“Disaster can
happen to you”. It can happen to
you, no one is immune, and anyone can get hurt or lose his or her bearings in
the woods. Emergencies in the outdoors
get worse if you are unable to admit that there is a problem in the first
place.
“Emergencies
can happen at any time”. You do not
have to be on a high-adventure, backcountry expedition to have a medical
emergency or to get lost. Many people,
particularly children or the elderly can become hurt or disoriented, very close
to their homes.
“You should
plan for the worst”. Just like a Boy
Scout, we should always be prepared.
Many people are complacent or ignorant and do not carry the Ten
Essentials with them into the backcountry. Additionally, many people do not have basic
wilderness or first-aid skills when they venture off deep into the outdoors for
the first time. The author recommended
that you practice your wilderness skills under safe conditions before heading
deep into the backcountry. He suggested
that you practice your wilderness skills, by setting up a camp for one night, a
few yards from the road head and then on your second outing, do the same thing,
only set up your campsite a few miles from the road head. You should always hope for the best, but plan
for the worst, so that you are not caught off guard.
“Prevention is
the best medicine”. It is so much
easier to avoid, rather than deal with, an emergency, so plan ahead.
“Learn to live
with the outdoors, not to fight it”.
An experienced woodsman does not fight circumstances beyond his or her
control and does not feel threatened in a situation they cannot control. He or she learns to control their actions and
not to panic.
I really enjoyed the first two chapters of Modern
Survival: Outdoor Gear and Savvy to Bring You Back Alive, by Dwight R.
Schuh and I can’t wait to read the rest of this book. If you own a copy of this book, dust it off
and reread it, and if you don’t own a copy, find one and give it a chance, I
think that you will like it.
Source:
Dwight R. Schuh, Modern Survival: Outdoor Gear and
Savvy to Bring You Back Alive, (David McKay Company Inc., New York, NY
[1979])
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