Primitive Skills & Crafts

Great book for those who love the outdoors and want to learn how our ancestors survived. Lots of great information in the book but always supplement it with others to round out your knowledge and skills.

This is not so much a story, but how the early people survived, which could be vluable in case you are lost in the woods, or how to survive in case of a disaster. It is also a good book for any one interested on how the early ancestors survived. How they made things to hep them to live. They tell, and show how to make vital items, like cordage, pots, fire starting and the first assualt weapon the ATLATL which came about 30-40 thousands of years ago, and gave man the first tool, and weapon to survive in the earliest days.The bow, only about 10 thousand years ago, is not so much mentioned. It is a more modern weapon

I was hoping this would be more of an instruction guide, and I bought it to help with some writing I was doing. I was sorely disappointed. This goes into very LITTLE description on how to make anything, and more of what kind of people used it and built it, and what kind of camping trips the author has gone on, and what kind of communing with nature they did, etc. etc. I like books where they author adds their own flavor to it, but this is all flavor and no substance. It's like the bottom of a bag of snack mix; very strong, but nothing much there. All in all, I would say if you want to write about a 'commune with nature, work with Mother Earth' type character, this is a good book to look into. If you actually want to learn how to build anything it mentions, it's not.

I can say I generally agree with the other 5 reviews prior to the date of this one. This book is a compilation of various authors' articles that have been published elswhere including in the Primitive Technology I & II (Bulletin of Primitive Technology), & Practicing Primitive by Steven Watts. Therefore the content varies from chapter to chapter some being more detailed than others. I particularly found the chapter on the Paiute deadfall & Whole-shoot Willow Baskets helpful, while some of the stories told were also enjoyable. The subtitle of the book "An outdoorsman's guide to Shelters, Tools, Weapons, Tracking, Survival, and More" is a bit misleading in that there is next to nothing gained from this book for shelters and I would take the survival part somewhat lightly. There are certainly some useful survival tips but as one reviewer said you wouldn't want to be stuck with this book in a survival situation. I recommend this book for people just starting with an interest in primitive technology or those looking for a summary or introduction to the world of primitiveness. It may also be of use to those looking for some basic instructions on basket crafts & pottery.

I grew up a city kid but married a country gal. I always wanted to learn these skills but didn't have the opportunity until I remarried and ended up on a farm (my life long dream). Now I need to learn these skills to try myself and "be prepared" (as they taught us in the Boy Scouts which, unfortunately now I realize, I didn't stick with long enough. I am just starting to explore this book and the skills. It is understandable and well written. Hope this city boy can get some country in him!

This is a great book for varous groups to learn basics for survival. An introduction to woods skills and such for the average person; once one has mastered these basics, one can go on to more advanced skills from here. I taught my young children right on thru their teen years with this type of a book, learning also, my own self how to keep warm, start a fire, catch food and so on as we learned together on weekends used for camping trips around the wilderness areas of the U.P. of Michigan. For even more advanced skills, I would suggest other reading material procured from Amazon and from off the home computor. Skills such as edible foods to be found in the wild, shelters that will survive storms and extreme cold, medicinal plants and so on. For anyone wanting to sharpen their survival skills in an uncertain world, start reading and preparing now.

This seems like a survival book, with the bare minimal in mind. The fire starter is especially crafty. This is not a huge amount of info, but instead a focus on a few very affective strategies for living off the land. There is a great amount of effort made to convince the reader to value these traditions. Not what your regular know-it-all survivalist would approve of but those with actual experience probably will.

Great book for people that like natural living! Great Gift. As pictured and described. Very, Very pleased with item. Thank you! Love Amazon.com would recommend to friends for sure!

Didn't really make sure that I was buying this new...it wasn't. Other than a few dog-earred pages, it was a good purchase.