A Review of Richard Jamison’s Primitive Skills and Crafts

The title Primitive Skills and Crafts: An Outdoorsman’s Guide to Shelters, Tools, Weapons, Tracking, Survival, and More will leave many people assuming that such a book is 1,000+ pages and costs over $50. After all, how could you cram such vast amounts of helpful information into a moderately sized tome? Well, author Richard Jamison most definitely has been able to write a very tight and concise work that covers all the proverbial bases regarding the proper knowledge a skilled outdoorsman should possess.

And at 272 pages and a mere $12.95, you do get all the needed bases covered. The price makes this book accessible to all and the page length is just right for covering the basics of various important and helpful topics.

While concise in its presentation, the book remains highly thorough, researched, and detailed. This is not an overly cursory “How To” guide written for those that merely dabble in the material. This is a properly composed book that delivers the much needed insight into what skills are required to be an effective outdoorsman.

No, that does not mean that if you read Primitive Skills and Crafts: An Outdoorsman’s Guide to Shelters, Tools, Weapons, Tracking, Survival, and More by Richard Jamison you will develop skills overnight. What it does mean, however, is that you now have access to an excellent reference tool that can be referred to over and over again. From this, you can improve your familiarity in areas that might have previously escaped you. Just consider it the ultimate bible on the subject of outdoor living and survival.

One thing that need to be mentioned about “primitive skills and crafts” is that they are not designed for the survivalist mentality of rejecting civilization. Most people do not fall into such a description. Rather, their goals for learning the basics of survival training are to maintain their health and safety if a bad situation develops in the wilderness. Yes, people do become lost in the woods in horrible weather scenarios. This is decidedly not a good thing and the ability to make do with what you have is a must. But, do you really understand what is necessary to survive? Without a proper education on the subject, it is not likely that you will. In this work, you not only get a proper introductory education on all manner of subjects, you will discover an amazing amount of depth and detail you otherwise would not learn anywhere else. Consider that a major recommendation for purchasing this excellent book!

Subjects covered in Primitive Skills and Crafts: An Outdoorsman’s Guide to Shelters, Tools, Weapons, Tracking, Survival, and More by Richard Jamison include:

• How to make blades and axes out of stone.

• The process in which to make improvised weapons for hunting.

• Stalking prey in a hunt.

• Making pots and cooking utensils out of clay.

• And many more interesting areas of research.

While much of the material is designed for use in primitive conditions, you could also call this work a novel and unique history text. Much of the material found in the book in nothing new. On the contrary, much of it derives from practical knowledge that was developed in prior centuries. As society progressed thanks to technology and industrialization, many of these skills have become lost. Richard Jamison helps restore some of the knowledge surrounding these skills to the public consciousness. That is certainly a good thing because they is much to learn when re-exploring this knowledge from a modern perspective.

And, once again, this knowledge also has the potential to help keep you safe when things in the great outdoors turn out to be, well, not so great. Consider that a major reason why purchasing this book is highly advised.