Best bushcraft and wilderness skills books
Bushcraft is the skill of living comfortably in the woods with few tools. These books teach fire, shelter, cordage, tools, and trapping from experienced instructors.
22 books, beginner-friendly first.
98.6 Degrees
Cody Lundin · 2003
Survival is about keeping your core temperature normal, and Lundin builds the whole book around that idea.
beginner
The Boy Scout Handbook
Robert Birkby, Boy Scouts of America · 1990
The Scouts' handbook covers camping, first aid, knots, and navigation in a format kids and adults can use.
beginnerLarge reference
Bushcraft 101
Dave Canterbury · 2014
Dave Canterbury's core bushcraft skills: tools, fire, shelter, and the '5 Cs'.
beginnerCamp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making
W. Hamilton Gibson · 2018
An 1880s guide to woods camps, traps, and snares. It's public domain, so Project Gutenberg has a free copy.
beginnerFree legal PDF
Camping & Wilderness Survival
Paul Tawrell · 2006
Paul Tawrell's large, heavily illustrated outdoor reference.
beginnerLarge reference
Camping and Woodcraft
Horace Kephart · 2017
Horace Kephart's 1910s classic on woods life. Old, but much of it still holds.
beginnerEssential Bushcraft
Ray Mears · 2003
Ray Mears's introduction to core bushcraft skills, well photographed.
beginnerHow to Stay Alive in the Woods
Bradford Angier · 2012
Bradford Angier's mid-century guide to food, warmth, shelter, and self-rescue in the woods.
beginner
SAS Survival Handbook
John Wiseman · 2014
John 'Lofty' Wiseman's broad survival reference covering every climate and situation. The most-recommended general survival book.
beginnerLarge referenceShelters, Shacks, and Shanties
Daniel Carter Beard · 2012
Daniel Carter Beard's 1914 guide to building shelters from bark lean-tos to log cabins. Public domain, so Project Gutenberg has it free.
beginnerFree legal PDF
Survive!
Les Stroud · 2009
Les Stroud's essential skills for surviving outdoors, drawn from his TV survival experience.
beginner
Survivor Kid
Denise Long · 2011
A wilderness survival guide written for kids, covering shelter, fire, water, and signaling.
beginnerU.S. Army Survival Manual
U.S. Department of the Army · 2013
Reprint of the Army survival manual (FM 21-76). The current version, ATP 3-50.21, is a free public-release Army publication.
beginnerFree legal PDFWoodcraft and Camping
George W. Sears (Nessmuk) · 2017
George Washington Sears ('Nessmuk') wrote this 1880s classic on going light in the woods. Short, practical, and public domain, so Project Gutenberg has it free.
beginnerFree legal PDFPocket-sizeAdvanced Bushcraft
Dave Canterbury · 2015
Longer-term wilderness living skills, picking up where Bushcraft 101 leaves off.
intermediate
Bushcraft
Ray Mears · 2002
Ray Mears's foundational bushcraft book on fire, shelter, and woodland skills.
intermediateThe Bushcraft Field Guide to Trapping, Gathering, and Cooking in the Wild
Dave Canterbury · 2016
Canterbury on finding and cooking food in the wild.
intermediate
Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival
Mors Kochanski · 1998
Mors Kochanski's classic on northern-forest bushcraft. Many instructors started here.
intermediateBoreal / NorthernOutdoor Survival Skills
Larry Dean Olsen · 2021
Larry Dean Olsen's classic on primitive survival skills, rooted in the desert West.
intermediate
Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills
John McPherson · 1993
Detailed primitive skills: fire by friction, hide tanning, traps, and tools.
intermediate
Thrive
Juan Pablo Quiñonez · 2022
A long-term wilderness survival guide focused on living on the land, not just a weekend.
intermediate
Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival
Tom Brown, Jr. · 1983
Tom Brown Jr.'s guide to shelter, water, fire, and food with minimal gear.
intermediate