“Hundreds of miles from civilization, two ships wreck on the opposite ends of the same deserted island in this true story of human nature at it best – and worst.”

Most of us can’t take all the survival field classes and seminars we’d like to, and only a fool would create a real emergency to see how he might react! But these five books will help you develop the most important part of any wilderness survival kit: the survival mindset!

Williams hits all the right buttons, as far as I’m concerned, with his approach to disaster planning.

Author Leah Waarvik is a search-and-rescue professional who works as part of a canine team to find missing people in the wilderness. She wrote “I Sit and Stay” after hearing stories of children who were lost and unprepared. The book is intended to initiate a discussion between adults and children about the main teaching points. The title says it all: Teach your lost children to stay in one place and await rescue

Amanda Ripley’s book “The Unthinkable” is not about disaster recovery: It’s about what happens in the midst of one – before emergency personnel arrive and structure is imposed on the loss. It’s about the human reaction to disaster and how you should act if you want to survive.

“Here’s my definition: Survival is the ability and desire to stay alive, all alone, under adverse conditions, until rescued. Survival is an attitude.” – Peter Kummerfeldt

David Alloway, author of Desert Survival Skills, has experience and the survival skills, and his book is worth reading, even if you don’t live, work or recreate in an arid area.

The most common reaction at the onset of an emergency is disbelief and denial.
Most people won’t know what to do, and a large percentage will do the wrong things!

Possibly the most important goal of survival common sense is to help develop a survival mindset. Essentially, that means you must have a rational plan to deal with, get out of, or find a way to survive, a life-threatening predicament. Bottom line: You must know what to do next.

A good way to prepare for potential emergencies is to read and learn from informative books with practical, usable information. “Camping’s Forgotten Skills: Backwoods Tips From a Boundary Waters Guide” by Cliff Jacobson is one of those literary resources that should be part of any survival or prepper library.