Complete Wilderness Training Manual

101 Essential Tips

by Hugh McManners

From constructing emergency shelters and testing plants for poison to making a compass and splinting a broken arm, this fully-illustrated guide will teach you everything you need to know about staying alive in any environment. AUTHOR BIO: During his 16 years in the military, Hugh McManners served as a paratrooper and combat-survival instructor. He is the author of DK's Ultimate Special Forces.

Genres: Survival, Nonfiction, Outdoors, Reference, Nature, Travel, Self Help

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

After 18 years in the British Army including the Falklands War working with the SBS, Hugh became a non-fiction author and television producer. He was the Defence Correspondent of The Sunday Times from 1995 -2000. Hugh started writing fiction in 2022.
Hugh says: "I'm a campaigner and enthusiast. Having written a wide variety of non-fiction books, I'm now writing fiction - "military historical thrillers".
He's starting with a five book series running from 1980 until the end of the Falklands War in 1982. The first book "The Sunday Service" about the SAS and PIRA in Northern Ireland, is now published.
"I'm writing fiction as with all my books, to explain the reality of extreme situations to people who haven't experienced it for themselves," Hugh says.
"Fiction that uses action and violence with military characters and settings needs to be accurately portrayed. The brave people who risk life and limb for our security deserve this.
"Plus, I really dislike the word 'thrill" -dictionary definition: "a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure". It's superficial, vicarious and simple, totally unlike the reality of military operations. But if you've not been a soldier on operations, how could you know that?
"I'm not quite sure where this gets me with writing "thrillers". I'll leave further comment to my readers."

Hugh is also a musician: a guitarist and songwriter. He was Director of The Scars of War Foundation at the University of Oxford, a pioneering research into the cognitive neuroscience of combat-related PTSD and brain injury in war veterans.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice skills overview book. well laid out with a ton of detailed pics throughout. well written and easy to follow. Very recommended

[Pierre · Rating 1 out of 5]

First thing that I noticed was that the book was poorly written. The tenses shifted back and forth from first person to third person, referring to "the special forces" as "they" and then as "we". Confusing. The poor writing detracted from the rest of the book, making it very difficult to read.

Secondly, the title is misleading. This book isn't about wilderness training or field skills in the classic sense. It is about survival training and survival skills. The book is constantly under tension about conventional low impact camping and high impact survival camping. The high impact old fashioned model seems to win out.

In a lot of my reviews, I talk about illustrations and pictures, and how a lot of books don't have enough detailed pictures. This book has a lot of pictures. And they are pretty. The problem is that they don't explain anything. The step by step photographs fail to explain how to light a fire or create a stone knife in enough detail.

Lastly, I was going to show this book to my fiance as an introductory book to wilderness camping. Not a chance.

[James Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the introduction in this book, but unfortunately what followed didn't live up to the promise. There is a wide variety of topics covered, but it seemed too often contrived rather than from actual experience. Like the author had researched the subject (and included some old myths) rather than actually experienced those things for himself. That is the complete opposite of other good books on survival such as Mors kochanski's "Bush Craft" where the author is obviously experienced and has tried every possible survival technique in all its varieties. Maybe it was written for children and that is why some things were over simplified. It was okay in some respects, but not good relative to other books written on the same subject.

[Julien Penel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the book, my only book kept in a waterproof container...
Had a chance to have a few words on Facebook with Hugh, he's definitely an alright guy and a true survival master.

[Jedediah LeDuc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a clear version of how to survive under any and every circumstance that comes your way in the great outdoors. The author, Hugh McManners wrote a book “Complete Wilderness Training Manual” that describes many survival situations and ways to overcome them, such as building an igloo in extreme conditions or navigating through any terrain using a compass. The way Hugh McManners shares the information is prominent for getting the reader's attention and getting them hooked on the book. For instance, McManners describes what to do to deter a shark. “They will often depart if jabbed firmly on the nose with something hard, such as a paddle” (162). The author McManners connects the reader to the book and makes you feel like you are in the book through his type of writing style. An example of this is, “Stand astride the rope and reach behind with your right hand to pull on both sides of the Rope around your hip over your left shoulder and across your back grip the downside of the rope with your right hand and the upside of the rope with your left” (147). McManners had to know what he was talking about by researching, and his personal experiences to make his book true and credible in real circumstances, especially in CPR. “ Tilt her head back to open his or her Airway remove any obstructions from her mouth pinching the victim's nose shut, and clamp your mouth over his/her mouth and blow steadily for about 2 seconds until his chest Rises remove your mouth and let his chest fall then repeat ” (McManners, 175). "Complete Wilderness Training Manual by Hugh McManners", is for people who love the outdoors and are looking for a fun informative read that relates to their passion for the outdoors.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. It's not the kind of book that you can read cover to cover, instead its fun to just skim the pages and find a survival topic that interests you. This book talks about anything from building igloos to preserving food, and it really goes into depth on certain topics. When I was reading this book I learned something new on every page. This book actually has me thinking about just going out and camping for one night in the wilderness.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good and compact resource book.

[Bryan]

I don't know why I thought it might be more narrative when I skimmed and bought it. It's as technical as I enjoy writing, but no narrative, which is what I enjoy reading! Lol

[Branson Stoddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had since I was a boy. This book is sentimental to me, constructively however, it is good but not excellent. Loys of helpful knowledge for emergencies and exploration.

[Blast · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for learning the basics of wilderness survival such as making shelter and fire, finding food and water, etc... Probably the best illistrated survival book on the market, but too big to actually take with you out in the wilds.

[Bryce Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a compact version of this book - written for the Boy Scouts of America. I found it extremely useful and the artwork explains survival principles nicely. It's perfect for an addition to the bug out bag!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME