The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival

by Steven Rinella

"For anyone actually spending time outside, The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival is the perfect antidote to the sensationalism of today, filled instead with advice you'll actually use. Along with lessons from the real-life experiences of renowned outdoors expert and host of the Netflix Original Series MeatEater Steven Rinella, its pages are packed with tried-and-true tips, techniques, and gear recommendations from Rinella and his trusted crew of expert hunters, anglers, emergency room doctors, climbers, paddlers, and wilderness guides who've learned from their own mistakes. Among other skills, readers will learn about old-school navigation and essential satellite tools, how to build a basic first-aid kit and apply tourniquets, how to repel grizzly bear charges, and how to effectively purify water using everything from ancient methods to cutting edge technologies. This essential guide delivers the hard-won insights and know-how, garnered from Rinella's own experiences and mistakes, that will make any reader feel comfortable and competent while out in the wild. Throughout, survival stories will highlight the real dangers that can arise in nature, from hypothermia and frostbite to encounters with the world's most dangerous animal--the mosquito"--

Genres: Nonfiction, Outdoors, Survival, Self Help, Wilderness, Food, Nature

421 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2020

About the author

Steven Rinella is the host of the Netflix Original series MeatEater and The MeatEater Podcast. He's also the author of six books dealing with wildlife, hunting, fishing and wild game cooking, including the bestselling MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook: Recipes and Techniques for Every Hunter and Angler.

Reviews

[A B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful, very readable, and often amusing/lighthearted overview of basis survival techniques.

It is NOT a complete guide (not a military SERE type manual) and I feel it would be wise to use this as an introduction. While it can't hurt to toss it into your car on your next camping trip or your apocalypse bugout bag, it would be better served to read relevant sections prior to a wilderness expedition, then research more thoroughly and practice the techniques. For example, if you get lost in the woods and need to build a fire or emergency shelter, this book has good instructions. However, it will be of limited value if you didn't read it ahead of time and know that you'll need a flint and a sturdy knife or axe.

Chapter 1 - What to Pack and Wear. This is one of the most helpful. It has great tips and suggestions for gear, including clothing, tents, sleeping bags, and emergency gear.

Chapter 2- Water. Again, very helpful with lots of options for natural and manufactured water purifying solutions.

Chapter 3 - Food. This covers food you bring, food you forage, and food you kill. There are good suggestions about what food to bring from home and how to pack it (I loved the hilarious shoutout to Carl Buddig lunch meat). The subsection on foraging was alright, mostly about berries and nuts with some drawings that probably won't go much good. I did not care for the section on hunting and fishing. Just enough information is provided to be dangerous and result in disasters for humans and animal cruelty. I'M NOT AN ANTI-HUNTING HIPPIE. I appreciate hunting guides that emphasize that hunting must be done humanely and safely. Remember, you are choosing to kill another creature that has done you no harm. Aside from a warning about stunned v/s dead animals and a horrific way to kill possums - seriously? there are much quicker, far less brutal ways to do so - there is not a single statement about the importance of learning to hunt properly from a trained professional. I really hope no one reads this section and does a "Hey y'all watch this" (bad memories from basic training and our SERE instructors trolling us with how to catch snakes).

Chapter 4 - Things That Bite, Sting, Etc. - good overview on what to look out for in terms of creepies and crawlies. Also funny anecdotes about how to defend yourself from a shark.

Chapter 5 - Shelter and Warmth. This was what I was really looking forward to, but it was kind of a disappointment to see that it's very, very basic.

Chapter 6 - Navigation and Wilderness Travel. There are some good tips on natural navigation and where you should and shouldn't venture. The subsection on compass navigation is waaaaay too short for even a basic guide. This section is likely kind of slim because so few people have an interest in these techniques nowadays, particularly with the prevalence of electronic navigation tools (which the author does acknowledge). I was disappointed that the subsection on desert travel was literally 3 pages, but was also pleased to see that he covered the most important stuff that sadly claims victims every year: adequate water, heatstroke/hypothermia, and flash foods.

Chapter 7 - Medical and Safety. If you read one chapter, read this one. At a minimum, it will let you know of risks associated with outdoor activities so that you can figure out what you can handle. Think you can walk 3 miles back to your car with a fishhook in your eye? If not, then don't go remote fishing solo.

What could have been better:

- illustrations. There are a small number of very helpful diagrams, such as one on removing a conibear trap from a dog using a bootlace, and a sample triangulation to help you if you're lost on a trail. I wish there were more! Like they say, a picture = thousand words

- as previously mentioned, no statement on responsible, humane hunting practices

- there are three mantras many of us outdoor enthusiasts follow: 1. Safety first 2. know your limits 3. leave no trace. The author certainly covers #1 but doesn't discuss 2 or 3 as much as I would have liked.

- so what do you do for a snakebite? I wonder if this was an editing mistake. The references to snakebites and index all lead to an anecdote about Hollywood being stupid, but nothing actually tells you what to do.

This would be a great addition for outdoorsmen of all experience levels. Novices will find it valuable for learning, and even the old salts will get a laugh out of "Bullshit Alert" sections.

***I received a free copy via a Goodreads giveaway. This did not affect my rating in any way***

[Marco Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

“If you don’t love Mother Nature, stay the hell away from her”

Definitely one of my favorite outdoor books I’ve read. Loads of essential and fun information in here. Nothing feels wasted. There’s been plenty of guides I’ve read that just throw so much at you that it gets overwhelming. Or at times had some unpractical advice. You won’t find that here.

It’s a great overall guide for anyone that goes outdoors (hikers, hunters, anglers, campers, etc) there’s great humor and stories to guide the very serious nature of talking about the dangerous and risks of being outdoors and how to navigate them.

There were many parts that were reviews/refreshers for me, but there was also some new information that Rinella is able to explain in a digestible way. Lots of diagrams and step-by-step pictures when needed to explain techniques, knots, set ups, or how to’s.

Definitely will be revisiting this book again and again.

[Kemp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book of fourths. The first section covers things to carry, eat, and use. It was okay and I really just skimmed through this section.

The middle two sections were a bit meh and a lot meh. The first is a laundry list of animals, plants, and diseases that bite, sting, make you sick. Next comes a section on activities I don’t do like hunting and fishing so plowed through thinking of a DNF.

The remainder of the book is on navigation and first aid. This was easily the best section and a very good review since my last First Aid course was a while ago. Included with the first aid discussion are tips for makeshift material if you find yourself wanting in an emergency.

All in all, a 2.5 on the Goodread scale and I’ll round up as many of the recommendations are solid and things we should keep in mind as we explore the outdoors.

[Tyler Tesch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book outlining wilderness skills and survival. While these topics in the book aren’t as effective as experience and what you would learn in various classes, it sets a great foundation and skill set. For me personally the book was a review/refresher on the various topics that I’ve gained knowledge on in the Marine Corps, search and rescue, wildland firefighting, and as an EMT. It was an enjoyable read though as I love Steve’s writing style in all of his books as he is humorous yet serious at the same time.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on being in nature and how to do it safely. It gives an overview on how to be prepared for what could go wrong from severe weather to encounters with animals in the wild. Did you know you can eat cattails ? You can learn all about how to prepare them in this book and so much more. This is a great reference book for enjoying nature in a safe way while maintaining the integrity of the wild.

[Jack Schwierling · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Eagle Scout and life long outdoorsman if you want an all around understanding of the thrills and dangers of the outdoors, pick this up!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Meateater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival is a general guide to wilderness and emergency survival skills presented by Steven Rinella. Due out 1st Dec 2020 from Random House, it's 512 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

For readers unfamiliar with the author, the title MeatEater refers to his online presence and brand. This is a general guide for emergency and self-sufficiency wilderness skills and is an impressively comprehensive treatment of the subject. The book is arranged in logical sections starting with what to pack and wear, securing water and food, avoiding being something else's dinner, securing shelter and staying warm, navigating in the wilderness, and medical/safety.

One of the most impressive parts of this guide is that besides being a comprehensive treatise on keeping body and soul physically moving and alive, the author also expends a great deal of effort talking about and illustrating the importance of psychological preparedness for survival - evaluating situations, minimizing (as much as possible) mistakes, and compensating for unforseeable situations which crop up.

This is probably the best overall survival guide I've ever seen. This would make a sensible addition to the smallholder's library, self-sufficiency folks, off-grid, campers/hikers/wilderness and the like. It would make an excellent gift for the outdoorsy folks as well. Very well written and accessible.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Leanne Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea when I first got this book that it would soon become one of my favorite books. Whether you are a novice on your first hike, or an outdoor enthusiasts adventure seeker, The Meateater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival by Steven Rinella has absolutely everything you need to know before you get started. A truly useful guide you will refer back to time and time again. I honestly recommend this book for all types of readers. It has everything from supplies, to first aid. It is a very detailed book, with diagrams and other references to assist the reader in learning all one needs to know about knots and more. A must read, a great gift for those you care about!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I see that this book is due to be published on Dec. 1. Perfect. Go buy it for people you love. This is by far the best all around first aid-survival-what am I going to do now-book. The advice is solid and comes complete with excellent illustrations that work fine on kindle and simple step by step guidance.
How often to you see or hear "apply pressure to the wound" when someone is bleeding out? Here you get simple instructions (with illustration) on how to pack the wound, with what, and why you must pack the would. It's a technique called "stop the bleed" and it saves lives. This was just one highlight for me.
How about sucking rattlesnake venom out of the bite (nope, don't do that)? What should you pack if you're going into the bush, camping, taking a hike, or maybe even driving across 100 miles of nothing. How do you find safe water? Gather food? What about bites, stings, snakes, lions and bears? Staying warm, dry and sheltered?
Finding your way without getting lost....or more lost? Lastly, the Medical and Safety chapter the covers pretty much everything you can think of. Throughout the book are interesting and entertaining anecdotes of the author's experiences told with a nice touch of humor and wisdom. I highly recommend The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival! #netgalley #TheMeatEaterGuidetoWildernessSkillsandSurvival.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am grateful to have received a copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for my honest review.
This is an extremely thorough collection of outdoor tips and instruction - from how to search out a water source and where and how to forage food when lost or injured in the wilderness, to how to properly hunt, fish and clean game, along with injury prevention and first aid. There is a section for how and what to pack when heading out into the wilderness and many safety tips. It is a fairly comprehensive and detailed guide. Really the only drawback, is that as it would be something everyone would want to have in their pack as a reference, at over 400pgs, it is quite heavy and since not all of the sections would be applicable to any given trip, the added weight is likely not going to be worth it. In that way it is almost too comprehensive and not just useful for any one adventure someone may be embarking on.
What I did love about this book was not just the usefulness of it as an excellent guide and wealth of info that any outdoor adventurer should definitely read, but that it was told in a very readable way that made me laugh out loud many times. So it is not just an encyclopedia of facts and information but is written in a storytelling way that kept me engaged, even in the sections that will never have any relevance for me.

[Cait Herdman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not outdoorsy. I have never - and I mean NEVER - met a hike that I haven't gotten temporarily lost on. I am absolutely mystified by the fact that despite growing up in the Canadian Rockies and living in some of the most incredible places surrounded by nature, I am as useless as an umbrella in a hurricane when it comes to ruling the outdoors.

Rinella and his team provide a very comprehensive beginners guide to the outdoors and highlight incredibly important safety and survival points that have never once crossed my mind (I may not be outdoorsy but I do like to consider myself somewhat intelligent). Though not all points within the book were directly applicable to the type of nature adventures I enjoy (namely sitting still for hours on end and drinking beer in the sunshine), each section can be extrapolated and applied to a variety of unpredictable situations that might occur when taking on Mother Nature.

The Meateater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival is simple to digest, comprehensive, anecdotal, and leaves the reader with action items in order to best prepare them for their next excursion. I highly recommend, regardless of your existing relationship with nature.

[Marie Neumiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fact filled, honest look at the risks associated with outdoor recreation and the best ways to prevent and, if needed, recover from those risks.

“If you don’t love Mother Nature, stay the hell away from her. There is no room left in the world for the outdated “man versus wild” sentiments...Those days have passed. We no longer need people who want to conquer nature or subdue it. Now, we need people who want to save it. It’s time to accept the reality that wilderness and the dangers of wilderness only exist because we have made a conscious decision to preserve them. The next time you step into the wild, remember this. Acknowledge your gratitude for every danger. Regard every risk as a blessing. Be thankful that there’s something left to survive. That rustling noise outside your tent might be something that’s coming to eat you. By all means, be prepared to punch it in the face. But when you throw the lunch, throw it with love.”

[Hagen S · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a really good book to read I really liked it a lot it teaches ways to tie certain knots and how to cook animals and talks a lot about the outdoors and hunting and fishing and how to survive in the wild.
the guy who wrote this book also has a TV show called meater its a really good show if your into hunting and exploring the wilderness. they way he travels all over the world and hunts and fishes and cooks wild game everywhere and every way you could possibly cook it he is a good book writer to.
if i was gonna choose what to do with my life it would be the exact thing this guy does.

[S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a town and city raised guy, so my forays into the wilds were short. I'm currently dating someone who is from the wilds of Alaska and wants me to go out more, so I'm trying to prepare. I also have foster kids who come in who want to learn more about how to survive out there. So I got this book and it's filled to the brim with so much knowledge. I'd say this is THE reference guide you should have. It's filled with tons of good info, but it's not bogged down with jargon or unemotional science speak, and I see good humor sprinkled throughout.

[Jamice Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the title, I think everyone, including those who are not meat eaters, should have this book. This book is so detailed, that even a beginner would find this useful if they were in a survival situation. I also love how love Steven Rinella debunks the common myths, that people including me believed. I had no idea moss didn’t just grow on the north side of trees. This would be a great gift for Christmas when it is published. I for sure will be buying a few copies.

[Brett (brettb734) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, as much as one can read a survival guide. It’s filled with knowledge and enough personal stories to leave you feeling like the writers know what they’re talking about. I think it’s important to know that this survival guide is more like a Scoutbook and not a bush crafters guide, it does have information on building natural shelters but it’s not their main means of having shelter while out in nature. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to venture outside.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being of fan of Steve Rinella's books, I honestly thought this book was going to be super cheesy and unpragmatic. I was wrong. This book has so much valuable information that it has the potential to save your life if stuck in a bad situation one day. I would consider this a must read for people looking to do more advanced backpacking or backcountry hunting trips that inherently pose a greater risk to safety.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a little known fact that as a white man over the age of 12, I am legally required to pick up any book with “wilderness survival” in the title.

This one definitely rises above the rest as Rinella and his cadre of outdoors experts devote the bulk of the book to useful, practical wilderness skills and emergencies modern outdoors-folk are actually likely to find themselves in. A refreshing reprieve from the often ridiculous, Rambo-esque entries in the genre.

[Bobby Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read!! Very informative! I would compare it to the college text book that you wanted to read because it was something you were actually interested in!
Steve does a great job and makes his books more personable buy speaking intelligently while not acting like he is superior. The "bull shit alerts" had to have been my favorite part of the book!!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't necessarily a book you read straight through. I read it out if order and by which chapter appealed to me at the time. The book tells you everything.frim what to pack before going out into the wild, what's edible and what to do when dealing with wild animals. This is a fascinating book even if most of your adventuring is through books. I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.

[Andy Baran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was helpful in gaining a basic understanding of the necessities outdoors. It’s a guide than can help you through many predicaments, while also providing information that is generally accepted as correct, but indeed myth. Steve keeps the book pretty enjoyable through out, keeping long stories to a minimum, but still intertwining stories.

[Steve Trujillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is hard to complete as a daily reader, however if read as a survival guide as intended, it's got great resources for anybody planning a backpacking trip. There is a wealth of knowledge inside and if kept as a backpack companion or in your vehicle, would be valuable to have around to reference on a scenario basis while you're out in the wilderness.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough and versatile survival guide by someone very fit to write one. This covers survival in a wide range of environments with anecdotal details. I enjoy the author's tribute to both experiences and company he has learned from over the years, especially from mistakes. The images accompanying explanations are also helpful.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for anyone spending time in the outdoors.

Anyone, not just hunters, who spends time in the backcountry could profit from this book. It’s also a good read for beginners and experienced folks alike. Steven Rinella also has a great writing style so you could even just read it for just the stories.

[Joel Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steven Rinella and the crew at Meateater did a wonderful job on this book. I enjoyed the instructional aspect in addition to the stories. This is a book I will use as a reference in the future as I pursue my outdoor interests. This a book for any outdoor enthusiast not just hunters and anglers.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource with a ton of useful, well laid out info. This is one that I finished reading but will be skimming back through to reread. Great resource for anyone looking to backpack, hike or hunt.

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book for wilderness adventure. It gets a bit extreme for my backpacking ambitions but it would be a great resource to have available when preparing for new backcountry adventures. It is very informative and it is on my "Want" list.

[Cameron Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steven Rinella's no-nonsense look at the skills and techniques that he uses for his many adventures hunting and fishing in America's backcountry. Solid gear and training recommendations to make any remote adventure more...survivable.

[Lee Minich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was packed full of great info for anyone engaged in outdoor activities, and delivered in the classic Rinella / MeatEater fashion which made me laugh out loud a few times and smile regularly during the read. This will serve as a great resource I know I’ll refer back to over the years

[Stockton Denos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I loved it and I know I will refer to often before I take off on my outdoor adventures. I knew a lot of this stuff already from my time as a boy scout. But I was able to learn so many new skills and tips and tricks for the outdoors that will be very useful to me.