Quick question about non fictional survial books

[Feygan]

I've never really gotten around to reading some of the book avalible of accounts of survival or long term wilderness living, and am thinking about getting hold of a few. However I'm wondering how often do they give you ideas or contain handy tips to add skills to your bushcraft knowledge base? or are they primarily just novels of enjoyment?

 

[spamel]

I think stories of this kind may not teach you anyhing as in the actual way to carve the trigger for a trap, or whatever, but then you will go out and look at how to do that afterwards. Also, if the book is a really good read, you may remember it and if the unthinkable were to happen to you you may remember how somebody else confronted the problem and be able to deal with it in an effective way.

It's probably a bit like subliminal learning. You couldn't do the same thing with a survival manual, there is just far too much to remember!

 

[Mikey P]

I think stories of this kind may not teach you anyhing as in the actual way to carve the trigger for a trap, or whatever, but then you will go out and look at how to do that afterwards. Also, if the book is a really good read, you may remember it and if the unthinkable were to happen to you you may remember how somebody else confronted the problem and be able to deal with it in an effective way.

It's probably a bit like subliminal learning. You couldn't do the same thing with a survival manual, there is just far too much to remember!

Yeah, I guess it's more to do with the psychological aspects than how to make a basket. As you say, though, you might remember a little gem of information.

 

[falling rain]

Well as mentioned by others they won't teach you much exactly about survival or bushcraft techniques but they will give you an insight into what goes through the mind of someone in a survival situation, which I find very fascinating personally.
I've read loads of books but the some ones that spring to mind are these and I highly recommend them.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Survive-Sav...7711968?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173145943&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/117-Days-Ad...8384218-7711968?ie=UTF8&qid=1173145943&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deep-Surviv...7711968?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173146512&sr=1-3
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cold-Burial...7711968?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173146817&sr=1-1

That'll keep you going for a while. These are just off the top of my head.
Of course there are the usuals that people have read like into the wild and touching the void there are loads.