Les Stroud (Survivorman) has written a new book entitled “Will To Live: dispatches from the edge of survival”. The publisher, Harper Collins, was generous enough to provide us with an advanced copy for this blog to review.

The book takes an in-depth look at several of the most notorious survival stories (successful and unsuccessful) from around the world. Most of these are actual events that have have happened to regular people just going about their normal lives and had suddenly found themselves in a fight for their lives. Mr. Stroud describes them in detail while interjecting his thoughts on the right and wrong decisions made by the people involved. He also takes a few chapters to write about the highlights and lessons learned from his own adventures.

Each survival story is accompanied by a list of items that he would have been sure to take along. There are also many good backwoods tips interjected throughout the book.

I thought this book was an excellent read. It is well written and easy to follow. It’s one of those books that you have a hard time putting down.

I usually run into a sentence or two out of each book that is so well said and profound enough to stay in my memory and there was one sentence in this book that has stuck with me since I read it: “If you know you’re in for trouble, either avoid it or prepare for it, fully and completely”. Well said Mr. Stroud!

This book will be available in February 2011.

Justus