Book Review: 5 Stars for Stay Alive! Survival Skills You Need, By John D. McCann

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Have you been looking for a book that covers survival kits and gear as well as basic survival skills? Stay Alive!: Survival Skills You Need, by John D McCann, is a book you should consider. After reading and reviewing the second edition of McCann’s first title, Build the Perfect Survival kit, for the blog, I could not wait to dig into this one.

I wasn’t disappointed.

“Stay Alive!” is a Must Read…

Stay Alive! essentially picks up where the author’s first book ends, focusing on teaching you how to use the gear that he suggests be carried in various types of survival kits detailed in the first tome, as well as the related survival skills. In addition, McCann discusses the survival mentality, wilderness hazards and safety which all come into play when you are in the outdoors.

With a little over 250 pages to this volume, using great color photos and graphics, McCann shows and succinctly talks about many of the basic survival skills that someone needs to know in a survival situation. Like his first book, this title is well laid out, easy to navigate and reference. There is something in this book for everyone, whether you are a seasoned outdoors person or novice, just starting to plan your first adventures.

What’s Between the Covers

In a nutshell, this book delves into and details:

Survivor Mentality
Survival kits
Knives and Tools
Fire and Light
Shelter and Protection
Water Collection and Purification
Signaling
Navigation
Food
Wilderness Hazards and Safety
Other Resources Available to Learn From

Noteworthy Section

For me, one section in particular stands out in what is a great book, overall: navigation. I love the detailed yet easy to understand way McCann takes the reader through how to navigate in the outdoors. His choice of words as well as the accompanying color photos and diagrams give you a very concise and usable way to successfully learn to navigate in the outdoors. In this one section, he describes the process better than some entire books published on the subject!

Stay Alive!, available in paper and e-versions, definitely stands on its on merits as a book covering the subject of survival kits, equipment and skills. It is also an excellent companion book to McCann’s title, Building the Perfect Survival Kit. I highly recommend you add both to your outdoor survival library.