Living Off the Land

by Gary Brandner

Book by Brandner, Gary

177 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Gary Phil Brandner (May 31, 1930 – September 22, 2013) was an American horror author best known for his werewolf themed trilogy of novels, The Howling. The first book in the series was loosely adapted as a motion picture in 1981. Brandner's second and third Howling novels, published in 1979 and 1985 respectively, have no connection to the film series, though he was involved in writing the screenplay for the second Howling film, Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf. The fourth film in the Howling series, Howling IV: The Original Nightmare, is actually the closest adaptation of Brandner's original novel, though this too varies to some degree.

Brandner's novel Walkers was adapted and filmed for television as From The Dead Of Night. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1988 horror film Cameron's Closet.

Born in the Midwest and much traveled during his formative years, Brandner published more than 30 novels, over 100 short stories, and also wrote a handful of screenplays. He attended college at the University of Washington where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. After graduating in 1955, he worked as an amateur boxer, bartender, surveyor, loan company investigator, advertising copywriter, and technical writer before turning to fiction writing. Brandner lived with his wife, Martine Wood Brandner, and several cats in Reno, Nevada.

He died of esophageal cancer in 2013.

Reviews

[Tentatively, Convenience · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shame on me. I started this bk about 36 yrs ago & never finished it. Slacker. Time to take care of that.

& I finished it today. I'm hardly an expert on "living off the land" being an almost thoroughly urban survivor, but this bk struck me as well-organized & easily readable. I'd consider taking it w/ me if I were daring a long backpacking excursion. It's full of what to me at least appears to be good advice:

"If you feel yourself sinking in quicksand or a bog of any kind, fall forward, spread out your arms, and start to swim or pull your way along. Struggling or trying to lift your feet while in an upright position will only make you sink deeper. Move slowly, and keep your lungs full of air for buoyancy. Even a fair swimmer can make his way through miles of bog this way. as long as he keeps calm."

Now let's just hope I remember that if I'm ever in quicksand!

[Blake Mustard · Rating 4 out of 5]

i relly liked this book it makes you think of all the challenges you could and will face in the wild no matter where you are i suggest this book to anyone who thinks logically and wants to learn survival.