Northern Survival, This Is A Great Book! ©

The front cover of Northern Survival, photo by the author.

Recently, I have been reading Northern Survival, which was authorized by the Canadian Ministry of Supply and Services, in 1979.

The back cover of Northern Survival, photo by the author.

This is a great book!  Like all books on survival, this book has chapters on the techniques of first aid, finding food and water, building a shelter, making signals and travelling; but the best part of this book is the first seven pages.  The first seven pages of this book are about survival attitudes and the mental aspect of surviving in the wilderness.  Anybody can learn all about how to build a survival shelter or how to find direction with the sun, but if you haven’t learned how to have a positive survival, can do attitude and how to prevent fear, and even worse, panic from overwhelming you, the odds are that when the rescuers find you, they won’t be bringing out a survivor, but a corpse.

As the author of Northern Survival wrote on page two, under “Planning for Survival”, “The first steps toward survival in the north should be taken before you ever venture into a wilderness area”.  Pages two and three, discuss the importance of having the proper knowledge, clothing, food, equipment and medical supplies before you go out into the wilderness.  The most important of these five topics, is knowledge; because even if you are lacking clothing, food, equipment or medical supplies, if you have studied survival techniques, then you will know how to overcome these deficiencies.  Also, and the most important, knowledge, is someone else’s knowledge of where you are, where you are going, what route you are taking, when you left and when you will be back.

On pages four and five, the authors discuss the “Psychological Aspects of Survival” and they made an excellent point when they wrote “…man when faced with a survival situation still has himself to contend”.  They also discuss the “Seven Enemies of Survival”, which are; pain, cold, thirst, hunger, fatigue, boredom and loneliness; and how they are made worse by fear.  For more on the Seven Enemies of Survival, read “The Ace of Spades: Survival Basics”, HERE.

Pages six and seven, are about the “Physical Aspects of Survival” and the survival priorities; first aid, food and water, shelter and warmth, and signals to attract rescue.  These pages also discuss “To Go or Not to Go” decisions.  The authors note that “travel is not recommended”.  In fact, they list a survival drill of five requirements, that must be met before you decide to travel: knowing where you are and where you are going, having the means of setting and maintaining a course of direction, being physically capable of travelling in difficult, dangerous and demanding wilderness, having the proper clothes and footwear for a difficult journey and are food, water, fuel and shelter available where you are going or can you carry them with you.  If the answer to any of these questions is no, the authors recommend that you stay where you are.  For more on to go or not to go decisions, read “Survival Drill, Updated and Explained”, HERE.

This is a great book, and I recommend that you find a copy, buy it and study it; particularly the first seven pages.  It still is available on the used-book market, in fact I just checked www.abebooks.com, and there were twelve different copies for sale.

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