Modern conveniences, we are surrounded by them, so much so that we take most of them for granted, until we don't have them. From the knife and fork we use to the more complex machines we have built to serve us such as computers, washing machines and even the car we drive, we have developed a way of life where we think we can not do without these 'necessities'. Is all the gadgetry we have surrounded ourselves with really 'necessities' or have we let ourselves become victims to so much gadgetry that even a broken pencil cannot be sharpened because the electric sharpener is out of batteries? I'm not against having modern conveniences. They have made life easier and given us all more time for things we enjoy. But neither can the individual who will survive become so much a slave to luxuries that they cannot do without them. There have been people who have died because they have lost all their modern gear in some outdoor activity because they could not escape the mentality that they were lost without it. It is a fact that disillusionment and the paranoia that follows it are the biggest killers among people thrust into a survival situation. History bears out what can happen to a people locked into this mentality. Did you know there were people who died on the Oregon trail because they lost their silver forks and spoons and figured they could not eat because they no longer had the tools they were used to eating with? It's true! Many others died when their food supplies ran out because they would not eat the wild game their guides provided because they considered it uncivilized. Even earlier than the Oregon Trail, back to the establishing of the first European settlements in this land, many perished waiting for the supply ships though they lived in a land of plenty. Had it not been for some friendly Native Americans who opened their eyes to nature's bounty and how to make and use the tools they used, the casualties would have been even higher. Yes, there was a time people lived closer to the Earth. They experienced the outdoors everyday. The woods, the rivers, the land was their source for food, for medicine and all of life's daily needs. It was for this reason they often called the Earth their 'Mother'. In our modern culture most people have become far removed from this connection.This book draws off of the skills that primitive people have used for thousands of years and applies these skills in such a way to show the modern day survival student how they too can survive in the outdoors. These basic skills can be adapted to whatever place in the world one finds themselves in a situation where one must survive or die. Whether you are a serious survivalist or an outdoorsman that wants to be prepared this book is for you. This book is unique in that it draws its knowledge from how ancient people lived before they even had a steel blade to depend on and though there are some modern survival tools used this book mainly seeks to illustrate how to survive with nothing except what Nature provides. The knowledge you will obtain from reading and practicing the skills described in this book could very well save you and your loved ones' life. At very least you will discover you don't need the whole camping catalog in your backpack to enjoy the outdoors. Primitive survival skills open up a whole new realm of possibility and appreciation for the outdoors. Once you experience the outdoors on this level you will never look at the outdoors the same way again.
About the Author: Benjamin 'RAVEN' Pressley practices and teaches the skills of the past; primitive, survival and wilderness living skills practiced for generations by Native Americans and aboriginal peoples all over the world. He has been teaching since 1986. He has written for many outdoor and survival magazines. He is also known for the school he founded, Windsong Primitives and the worldwide organization he co-founded, TRIBE. He has played in instructional video curriculum and educational television movies depicting life in our country between 1750-1790.