This week’s DestinySurvival Amazon Pick of the Week is Aboman’s Guide to Survival and Self Reliance: Practical Skills for Interesting Times, by J. A. (Joe) Bigley.  Of all the survival books out there, well, this is one of them.

            Seriously, I don’t think any book can be touted as the only one you’ll ever need, or there is no better, etc. But Aboman’s Guide to Survival and Self Reliance is one you most certainly should have in your survival library.  Aboriginal people survived without our modern conveniences.  How would we get along without them?  How well do we do with them??

            In a nutshell, this book covers a wide variety of topics, including preparing for emergencies, the 72-hour kit, surviving hurricanes and tornadoes, water filtration, gardening, money management, maintaining health through alternative and herbal medicine, troubleshooting household and car problems, and wilderness survival skills such as making fire and hunting for meat.

            Bigley teaches survival skills, has spent time in the military, and served as a manager in FEMA.  He admits his book isn’t the only source of information you need on any number of topics he discusses.  Each chapter and appendix ends with a brief resource list.  He recommends several of the companies you see advertised here, such as Nitro-Pak and Lehman’s.

            Chapters are easy to read.  Some include examples he calls allegories.  Others include rather amusing correspondence with Aboman himself, which I presume is a caricature of an American Indian with advice on primitive skills.

Modern and primitive skills are both discussed in the book to give a well rounded, though brief, survey of survival and preparedness.  One of the appendices has thoughts on whether it’s possible to completely live the wilderness survival lifestyle today, and it raises good points.  As good as this book is, be advised that it’s not an encyclopedia.

            Because Aboman’s Guide to Survival and Self Reliance covers so many topics and gives helpful resources, it deserves its place on your shelf.  Order your copy by clicking on the Amazon.com logo below and place your order from the page featuring the book.