Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have very mixed feelings about Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival. I wanted to like it, and I have nothing personal against Dave Canterbury; in fact, I think he's a very nice guy with an obvious passion for all things outdoors--including an earnest desire to share knowledge about bushcraft with others, as his YouTube channel demonstrates admirably. But this book is very, very basic--sometimes startlingly so. Even as introductions to bushcraft go, it strikes me as mediocre--more interested in brief lists of possibilities and gear, or quick primers on (unnecessary) terminology, instead of dedicating itself to instilling really robust insights into the details of bushcraft. Every time it does steer into fruitful territory, it plows ahead swiftly and refuses to unpack, explain, or illustrate the really important details. (Frankly, I'm stunned that so many reviewers here claim he "covers" these topics "in detail"?! I suspect they're unconsciously filling in a clearer picture based on prior familiarity with his videos because, trust me, many salient details are NOT in the book.) Ultimately, that's unfortunate. I know that Canterbury has plenty of experience to share. One problem is the shortage of illustrations. In the author's review of his own book, he essentially apologizes for not having more illustrations due to cost considerations by the publisher; I can sympathize, but that immediately limits the book's usefulness since the target audience (presumably ultra-novices brand new to bushcraft) has greater need for illustrations than more experienced folks. That shortage of illustrations aside, the larger problem is the haste with which Canterbury plows through each subject. The resulting shallow treatment of many subjects makes it feel less like an "introduction" to the subject and more like a dust-jacket summary that you would expect to find on the back of a book about that subject. This is particularly notable in the "Trapping and Processing Game" chapter--which is arguably the most unique and potentially "fresh" for this kind of guide, yet routinely forgets its (novice) audience has probably never set a trap before. This leads to a strange blend of detail and vagueness. Trying to imagine it from a novice's perspective, I suspect many will come away knowing how to recognize a few basic trap setups, but not much better off than a reasonably intelligent person who simply mulled over the matter without reading the book would be. My point is that it shortchanges the most important bits of knowledge one would need to put the concept into practice. Where, for example, are the illustrations showing the specific kinds of tracks that a particular animal makes? Or how to clean those animals safely so as to avoid contamination of the meat? Or the placement on a game trail to maximize likelihood of capture? At one point in that chapter, Canterbury remarks "you just need to remove the fur [of medium-size mammals] to make them easy to process, and quarter them for quicker cooking. Remove all innards and the anal tract. Be careful not to perforate the gut or intestines while removing them, as this can foul the taste of the meat. Many innards are worth consuming, such as the heart and liver. Check the organs of any kill to ensure that they look healthy: brightly colored with no blotching or worms." Yet unlike his later discussion of fish (which does include a 4-step illustration of how to clean a fish), there is not a single picture here to show where to make cuts, how to identify certain organs, how to avoid cutting into the intestines, how to remove the anal tract, etc. Someone experienced in hunting will have little trouble here, but remember, this is supposedly "Bushcraft 101" and the rest of the book adopts a very basic tone and focus. That problem aside, the larger issue is that Canterbury plows through small mammals, medium mammals, birds, and fish in a few pages, and spends most of the chapter describing facets of trapping that never get illustrated adequately. One would be far, far better served simply obtaining a (usually free or dirt cheap) copy of A. R. Harding's historic text "Deadfalls and Snares"--which is one of the best and most comprehensive primers you'll ever find on all things trapping, not to mention an outstanding value. I don't mean to be too hard on Canterbury or his book. The problem I'm trying to describe is endemic to our culture, it seems. On YouTube, for instance, a search on "bushcraft" will yield hundreds of thousands of videos on the subject. While a small percentage of those include first rate information, the vast majority are actually inferior and seemingly-infinite re-hashings of the same old tired information. I wish I had a penny for each time some amateur knock-off imitator of Bear Grylls or Ray Mears made a 10-minute video or longer to repeat the disclaimer, "This is just my kit; you really shouldn't try to imitate my kit, and I hope you don't because you've really got to make your own and find out what works for you"--which begs the question: Then why are you showing me your kit? And why do you have twenty "kit update" videos in your history where you re-record your kit overview explaining to me the changes you made to your kit since last month, and then periodically slip up and call it your "get-home bag" (as if bushcraft is synonymous with the "prepper"/TEOTWAKI hysteria)? Anyway, this book ends up feeling much like those standard fare YouTube videos: not full of rich insights, but rather a derivative summary of well-worn advice already available not only in cheaper, but also more detailed form elsewhere! That's a shame because I'm sure Dave Canterbury is not a faker. His videos and his record of experiences (Dual Survival, et al) make it clear that the man really does have a lot of great experience. He has most definitely been in the bush trying out techniques. So why doesn't more of that experience come through here? Why churn out yet another intro to bushcrafting book that reads like a "camping for dummies" book, summarizing the same kinds of stuff that these books always seem to say: 'This is a knife... it has a sharp pointy end and also a handle; it should be durable because if it breaks it will make you sad and you will end up dead because you won't be able to process wood to make a fire after you somehow lose all your other gear and end up lost in the woods where this book told you to go....' I look forward to the day that one can find a Bushcraft book that doesn't patronize its reader or cater to an audience apparently so novice and inexperienced they are unlikely to ever stray far from the couch. But I would've settled for a well-written, well-focused introduction to bushcraft that includes a handful of truly seasoned insights about how to thrive in the wilderness and get by with less. As it stands, the reality is that this book tries to cover too much in an often shallow fashion and will likely inspire people to go into the wilderness unaware of the sometimes vitally important details that Canterbury has left out, probably carrying a pack that is grossly overloaded with items (such as "at least six [#11 DLS traps made by Sleepy Creek]") which they scarcely know how to use. On the plus side, I've decided to buy stock in Sleepy Creek traps because I'm sure they'll start selling well as more novices and preppers read this book. :) If you're experienced at bushcraft at all, I would pass on this and rely on diligent searches on YouTube and historic texts. Yes, you will have to sift through a lot of fluff and filler on YouTube to find good information, but it's free and it's often well-illustrated, unlike this book. Also, read some classics like the A. R. Harding book I mentioned above, as well as George Washington Sears's "Woodcraft and Camping" and E. H. Kreps's "Woodcraft." And for broader insight into roughing it, I recommend some really captivating true-history accounts of wilderness living, such as Lewis Merriweather's "The Journals of Lewis and Clark" and William Drannan's FASCINATING autobiography "Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains." I hope Canterbury will publish a guide that assumes a more advanced audience (skips or minimizes the usual fluff about packs, knives, firesteels, etc.) and gets right into the nitty-gritty of the wilderness and woodcraft experience. Until then, the most valuable contribution he brings to the table here is confined mainly to a mnemonic device: the 5C's (or 10C's) that will help you remember general categories of bushcraft skills along with the very preliminary introduction Canterbury provides for each. -------------------- [UPDATE/SECOND REVIEW 12-25-2014: I don't usually revisit book reviews, but since people keep down-voting this review, I'd like to clarify why I gave it two stars. It is NOT because the book doesn't cover more advanced material. Although that fact does disappoint me, I understand that it is titled "Bushcraft 101" and thus, purports to target a beginner-level audience. I made a few comments elaborating on the nature of my disappointment that Canterbury didn't write something more original, but I did not mean to imply that I deducted stars on that basis. On the contrary, I gave this book two stars because EVEN FOR AN INTRODUCTORY BOOK, this book is unfocused, shallow, and surprisingly absent of many essential points for truly basic bushcraft. For one, it tackles too many topics, some of which have no business being here (e.g., trapping) if this is truly intended as an introductory primer. For another, it makes almost no references to other resources to help a beginner flesh out his/her knowledge of the topics which are barely introduced here. And for another (as other reviewers have rightly noted), the book confuses/conflates bushcraft with survival (not to mention trapping), which is particularly strange given its ostensible purpose as a clear and basic introduction to bushcraft. While the two subjects do overlap, they are definitely not the same. (Imagine if I wrote a book called "Domestic Cats 101" and periodically confused them with panthers... How credible would I be?) There is also a tone/ethos problem that I ignored in my original review because I didn't want to seem too hard on Canterbury or to stir up old wounds about his falsifying/inflating his military credentials to get on Discovery Channel's "Dual Survival." (I was impressed by Dave's heartfelt apology and have nothing against him, but some elements of his book come across as if he is padding his resume/expertise once again.) While I won't accuse him of plagiarism, per se, there are several places in "Bushcraft 101" where he repeats the views and attitudes of other (uncredited) wilderness experts suspiciously closely, and his usual voice and persona seem to shift. One example of this shifting tone/ethos is in the second appendix, where Canterbury talks about foraging for edible plants. At the start of the appendix, Canterbury seems to channel the voice and attitude of Samuel Thayer, the somewhat eccentric author of two OUTSTANDING resources on foraging: "The Forager's Harvest" and "Nature's Garden." In the latter book, Thayer writes at considerable length about Chris McCandles (the subject of John Krakauer's book "Into the Wild") to debunk the "myth" that edible plants are easily confused with fatally poisonous plants. In Thayer's compelling opinion, a responsible, properly trained person can distinguish between them easily and thus, forage safely. What you have to understand is that Thayer's bold viewpoint departs sharply from virtually every other author on foraging, who preface their books with disclaimers about the ease of mistaking toxic plants for edible, possibly causing death. Thus, it is already striking to find Canterbury expressing the same bold opinion (that people concern themselves too much with what is, or is not, edible) while making no reference to Thayer. But then, after briefly listing a few common edible plants (minus any detailed descriptions or pictures!), he abruptly backpedals with the disclaimer that edible plants can be easily confused with poisonous ones, refuting his own "just get out there and try it" attitude! This is important for two reasons: FIRST, it is a great example of the fact that Canterbury's book is not only poorly illustrated, but sometimes dangerously shallow (or else laughably unhelpful) in its approach to such complex subjects. Imagine "introducing" beginners to foraging with NO detailed descriptions or illustrations, then telling them that beginners should NOT undertake it! Why include the topic at all then? I suspect it's merely to give the impression that this guide is more comprehensive than it actually is, and thus, sell more copies. Regardless, this should give you pause before trusting other reviewers who claim this book offers "excellent" or "comprehensive" advice (and should lend some credence to my two-star rating). SECOND, I suppose it is possible that Canterbury happens to hold the same view as Thayer, but his publisher may have insisted he include the contradictory disclaimer about the risks of toxic plants. But I find that unlikely. I really get the impression he is "borrowing" from Thayer without crediting him, then retreating to a legalistic defense because he knows he has wandered outside of his expertise and needs to cover himself legally. In my experience, a seasoned expert who is speaking confidently in his own authentic voice does NOT shift positions like that. So my opinion is that EITHER Canterbury is "borrowing" viewpoints he hasn't truly vetted (or credited), OR he's faking exaggerated confidence while still feeling self-conscious about the limits of his expertise and masking that fact by leaving out ALL of the salient details about foraging that would confirm or cast doubt on his expertise. (As a result, he seems dismissive of the idea of getting well informed about foraging by consulting a more detailed resource, in favor of instead just experimenting by eating stuff in your backyard--though how this fits with his disclaimer that you really need to know what you're doing to identify edible plants remains a total mystery.). Whatever the case, NONE of this serves the supposed audience well. Ultimately, the MAIN reason this book deserves two stars is much simpler: The SAME information found in this book is available elsewhere in CHEAPER, BETTER-WRITTEN, and MORE DETAILED form. Without meaning any disrespect, those who describe this book as "detailed" and "excellent," or who commend this as an ideal "textbook" for a bushcraft/survival instructor MUST be very poorly read on topics relating to bushcraft. The only truly unique fare this book even brings to the table is a couple of helpful mnemonic devices (Canterbury's 5 C's) and the chapters like trapping that (a) don't belong in an introductory book and (b) don't have nearly enough detail to be of use to someone who wishes to elevate his/her bushcraft to the next level. How does either of those justify the price tag? If Canterbury was writing a fiction book for entertainment, I could see how reviews might vary based on subjective preference, but as a "reference" book for beginners (and without requiring that readers "supplement" it with Dave's great YouTube videos), I don't see how this book could ever deserve more than three stars. (Quite a few of the astonishingly positive reviews appear to focus on Canterbury's personal character rather than his book--which is ludicrous and beside the point. I like Dave, too, but not this book.) If this is indeed "Bushcraft 101," then it should be (1) much better illustrated, (2) better focused, with fewer chapters that go into clearer detail about each topic, and (3) far more sensitive to the ease with which beginners can be negatively impacted by poorly-qualified advice (I'm fine with opinionated writing, but when an author authoritatively suggests that a "beginner" carry "at least six" metal traps in his/her ruck, can't we agree that that sort of unqualified advice is both bizarre and quite a long way off point?). If you want to read something "outdoorsy" for pleasure or would like a general refresher of your well-seasoned experience, by all means, buy this book. If you want a high-quality introduction to bushcraft that will actually ease a BEGINNER into bushcraft, with superb tips on helpful, effective techniques, then I'm sorry, this just isn't it folks.]