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SURVIVAL BOOK LIST
Note: These books are not a required reading list and the SERE Specialist career field and Air Force
does not endorse a particular author or book. If interested, start by visiting your library to find these
books. Many can also be purchased in an electronic or hardcopy version.
A. GENERAL
1. Be an Expert with Map & Compass, The Orienting Handbook
by Bjorn Kjellstrom. Joline Press, Any Edition.
2. Map Reading and Land Navigation, FM 21-26 (1987), FM 3-25.26, (2011)
by Headquarters Department of the Army.
3. The Basic Essentials of Map & Compass
by Cliff Jacobson. ICS Books, Inc., 2007.
4. A Comprehensive Guide to Land Navigation on GPS
by Noel J. Hotchkiss. Alexis Pub; 3rd edition, 1999
5. GPS Made Easy
by Lawrence Letham. The Mountaineers Books, 2008.
6. AF Regulation 64-4, Vol 1, Search and Rescue Survival
by Department of the Air Force, 1985.
7. The SAS Survival Handbook
by John Wiseman. William Morrow Paperbacks, 2009.
8. Staying alive in the Arctic, A Cold weather Survival Manual
By Frank Heyl. American Petroleum Institute. 1976.
9. How to stay Alive in the Woods
by Bradford Angier. Collier-Macmillan LTD, Any Edition
10. Fieldbook, Boy Scouts of America
by Any Edition. Older versions discuss more primitive skills.
11. Tom Brown’s Field Guides:
a. Wilderness Survival d. Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants
b. Nature & Survival for Children
c. Nature Observation & Tracking by Tom Brown. Berkley Publishing Group
12. High Angle Rescue Techniques, A Student guide for Rope Rescue Classes
by Tom Vines and Steve Hudson, Mosby-Year Book, Inc. 1992.
13. River Rescue
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by Les Bechdel and Slim Ray. Globe Pequot Press.
B. FLORA & FAUNA
1. Field Guide to Medicinal Plants
by Bradford Angler. Stackpole Books, 1978.
2. Best-Tasting Wild Plants of Colorado and the Rockies
by Bob Seebeck. Westcliffe Publishers, Inc., 1998.
3. Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rocky Mountains and Neighboring Territories
by Terry Willard Ph.D. Wild Rose College of Natural Healing, Ltd., 1992.
4. Plants of the Southern Interior, British Columbia
by Ray Coupe, Roberta Parish, Dennis Lloyd. Lone Pine Publishing, 1996.
5. Deer from Field to Freezer
by John & Geri McPherson. Ag Press, 1995
6. Step-by-Step, Brain Tanning the Sioux Way
by Larry Belitz. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 1995.
7. Complete Guide to Game Animals
by Leonard Lee Rue III. Grolier Book Clubs, Inc. 1981.
8. Catching More Freshwater Fish
by Barney Rowe. Wellspring, 1993.
9. Tom Brown’s Field Guides, Wild edible & medicinal Plants:
by Tom Brown. Berkley Publishing Group, 1983.
C. MEDICINE
1. Medicine for Mountaineering & Other Wilderness Activities
by James A. Wilkerson, MD. The Mountaineers, 1992.
2. Wilderness Medicine, Management of Wilderness and Environmental Emergencies
by Paul S. Auerbach, MD, MS, FACEP. Mosby-Year Book, Inc. 1995.
3. Hypothermia, Frostbite and other Cold Injuries
by James A. Wilkerson, MD. The Mountaineers, 1986.
4. The Outward Bound, Wilderness First-Aid Handbook
by Jeffrey Isaac, PA-C. Lyons Press, 1998.
5. Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured
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by American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. 7
th
Edition, 1999.
