The Official US Army Survival Guide - Updated Edition (FM 3-05.70 / FM 21-76)

Q: Who is this book for?

A: This guide is vital for preppers, hikers, hunters, campers, outdoorspeople, military personnel, pilots, travelers, and anyone who wants a comprehensive reference for surviving when normal support, equipment, or communications are unavailable.

Q: What does the guide cover?

A: It covers survival psychology, planning, survival kits, basic medicine, shelters, water procurement, firecraft, food procurement, plants, animals, weapons and tools, desert survival, tropical survival, cold-weather survival, sea survival, expedient water crossings, field-expedient direction finding, signaling, recovery, and survival in hostile areas.

Q: Is this mainly a wilderness survival book?

A: No. Wilderness survival is a major part of the guide, but the scope is much broader. It also addresses medical emergencies, signaling, navigation, evasion, hostile environments, water survival, climatic extremes, improvised tools, and the mental discipline required to cope with isolation and danger.

Q: Is it useful for civilian readers?

A: Yes. Although written for soldiers who may become isolated in remote or hostile areas, many of the underlying skills are directly relevant to civilian emergencies. Hikers, hunters, campers, pilots, travelers, and preparedness-minded readers can all benefit from the sections on shelter, water, fire, food, medicine, navigation, signaling, and environmental survival.

Q: Is this the old FM 21-76 survival manual?

A: No. This edition contains FM 3-05.70, the extensively revised successor to FM 21-76. It is a much larger work, running to more than 600 pages and incorporating several hundred pages of material beyond the familiar older survival manual.

Q: What makes this different from a typical commercial survival guide?

A: Its great strength is breadth and systematic organization. Rather than concentrating on one author's preferred techniques, the manual was designed to prepare soldiers for survival across many different climates, environments, and emergencies, from finding water and treating injuries to signaling rescuers and surviving at sea.

Q: Is this suitable for beginners?

A: Yes. The book starts with fundamental survival priorities and techniques and explains them in a practical, instructional manner. At the same time, its considerable depth means more experienced outdoorspeople and preparedness enthusiasts can use it as a long-term reference rather than simply an introductory guide.

Q: Is this a book to read from beginning to end or mainly a reference?

A: It works well both ways. Reading it systematically provides a broad grounding in survival principles, while the extensive coverage of specific environments, techniques, hazards, plants, animals, medicine, and equipment makes it especially valuable as a reference that can be revisited whenever a particular question arises.

Q: Why choose the print edition?

A: A survival reference has particular value when it does not depend on batteries, connectivity, or functioning electronics. This complete 674-page edition is produced in a substantial 6 × 9-inch format, making it practical for a cabin, vehicle, RV, aircraft, emergency kit, or home preparedness library.