Can anyone recommend a few good books?

[SS Freak]

I am in the market for a few new books, but I cant seem to find what I am looking for.

I am looking for a foraging book specializing in the midwest or mountain state regions if there is such a thing.

Also, I am not very knowldegable at knot tying and would like to purchase a book on knots that I could learn.

Thanks

Chris

[Sarge47]

I am in the market for a few new books, but I cant seem to find what I am looking for.

I am looking for a foraging book specializing in the midwest or mountain state regions if there is such a thing.

Also, I am not very knowldegable at knot tying and would like to purchase a book on knots that I could learn.

Thanks

Chris
For knots I suggest The Boy Scout Handbook to start, although just about any survival book covers that subject pretty well.(You can also Google "Knots" & find many illustrations for free on line)

for "Wild Edibles" the Euell Gibbons' books are very good as are the Peterson Field Guides, specifically "Edible Wild Plants". There is also one titled "Mushrooms & Mushrooms."

Euell Gibbons' Field Guide: "Stalking The Wild Asparagus" is excellent. Here are some other titles:

Stalking the Blue-Eyed Scallop.
Stalking the Healthful Herbs.
Stalking the Good Life.
Feast on a diabetic diet.
Beachcomber's Handbook.

Checking out the Blog section as well as going through the previous posts on the subject will reveal even more.:cool:

[SS Freak]

Thanks for the help.

[SARKY]

here are a couple;
Edible and medicinal wild plants of Minnesota and Wisconsin
Matthew Alfs ISBN 0961296437
Survival Acre
Linda Runyon ISBN 0918517036
Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West
Gregory Tilford ISBN 0878423591
Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies
Linda Kershaw ISBN 1551052296

As far as knots go the Sarge is right, the boyscout handbook is good for that.

[Gray Wolf]

I am not very knowldegable at knot tying and would like to purchase a book on knots that I could learn.

Thanks

Chris

Chris, one of the best books written on basically every knot is, " The Ashley Book of knots". To me it's the Knots Bible...

[chiangmaimav]

Barnes and Noble sells a pocket size book about knots which comes with a small section of rope to practice tying.

[endurance]

I have a very old copy of Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains by Harrington that has excellent drawings. It wasn't cheap, but it looks like Amazon has them used for under $5 (new is over $25).

[Riverrat]

Here is a link I posted awhile ago...pretty good info on this site, may be of some help.

http://www.earthmountainview.com/earthwise/wildcrafting.htm

[sthomas]

You could get overwhelmed trying to learn and remember too many knots. If you learn just these 5 knots, you should be able to get by in most knot-tying situations:
Square
Bowline
Timber Hitch
Clove Hitch
Taut-line

I also use a trucker's hitch often when stringing up a shelter backbone:
http://www.animatedknots.com/truckers/truckers.gif
That's a 3-part knot - a loop, a purchase, and two half hitches. I sometimes tie a slip knot in place of the loop.
Basically you tie one end of your rope to one tree, using a taut-line or whichever applicable knot you prefer. Then you tie the loop a couple feet out from the opposing tree you're tying the other end to. You then throw the rope around the tree, come back through the loop for the purchase, pull it as taut as you can (pull hard), and finish off with the two half hitches. Works like a champ and is super fast and easy to take down when you break camp.

Here are 8 basic Boy Scout knots:
http://pack741breaksdistrict.org/photo_album1.0.html

And if all else fails, remember what my grand-dad used to say;
If you can't tie one good knot, just string together a bunch of bad ones.
;)
(in reality my grandfather was an avid fisherman/boatman and was a stickler for using the right knot for the right occasion)

[snakeman]

The SAS survival handbook by Johny Wiseman has a lot of wild edibles in it. It also contains some other great info. Definatley worth having.

[endurance]

This (http://www.coloradoplants.org/edible.php) is also a good free source for Colorado with nice color pictures.

[SARKY]

The one and only knot we taught a SERE is the overhand knot. There is a great deal you can do in a survival situation with just this knot.

[crashdive123]

The one and only knot we taught a SERE is the overhand knot. There is a great deal you can do in a survival situation with just this knot.

Why was that? Just to keep stuff simple?

[RBB]

For knots - "Ashley's Book of knots" (more than you ever wanted to know).

For foraging (for plants?) - "Plants Used By the Ojibwe."

You should be able to Google both.

Tara Prindle also has a list of books on the subject at her Native Tech site:

http://www.nativetech.org/plantgath/plantrefs.html

There are quite a few other subjects of interest on the site.

http://www.nativetech.org

[Deer Sniper]

Also, I am not very knowledgeable at knot tying and would like to purchase a book on knots that I could learn.


I second RBB and sthomas.

If you want the bible of knot tying it is called " The Ashley Book of Knots "

Also " Mountaineering, freedom of the hills." is very good for setting up intricate anchor and rope systems.

I would suggest making sure you can tie a overhand, half hitch, and a truckers hitch. Those should cover most situations. A figure 8 is easier to untie after it has been loaded than a overhand, but is more difficult to dress. :)

[checksix]

For a wild edibles or foraging book - find one that uses good photographs as well as examples of the edibles in several stages/seasons.

Best course of action is take a class from an experienced forager familiar with that area.

[Dennis]

The Morrow guide to KNOTS by Mario Bigon and Guido Regazzoni.
Knots for sailing, fishing, camping, and climbing covers about anything you would ever need.

Very good large color illustrations and they use different color ropes when tying with two ropes makes it easier to tell what’s going on.

Boy Scout hand book and field book are always good.

[skunkkiller]

Iwould just go to the laibery and look for all the books you want and copy the pages you want.copies are chaep and the books are free to to read.

[vthompson]

A real nice book that I got myself from Amazon on edible wild plants is The FORAGERS HARVEST. It has a ton of color pictures to go along with it also to help you identify the plants.

[SARKY]

Why was that? Just to keep stuff simple?

partially, but in general if you look at most knots, the incorporate in them the over hand knot. Since the only cordage we used was 550/parachute cord this is a very efficient knot for building shelters, nets, hammock, and tying 2 lengths of cord together in order to make 1 long length. It is quick, easy and can be done even if you only have one hand available