Best Book To Take Out in the Field?

[Chris H]

Hey folks,

I have a number of bushcraft and survival books in ebook that I read on my iPad, but I wanted to ask y'all about what you thought was the best book to take out with you in the field. So, basically, if you could only take one bushcraft book with you out in the field, what would it be?

[Pointman]

Books are heavy and "knowledge weighs nothing". I expect you will get a lot of different answers but to my mind it would depend on an individual's skill level. I might take a wild edibles book if my general bushcraft skills were up to snuff and my plant lore was weak. Same would hold true with tree identification, knots, and traps. With this line of thought, it would appear that it is going to depend on the weakest area of the individual's expertise. Traps are my weakest area but I would never carry a heavy book. I would transfer the ones I need to learn onto some 3x5 laminated index cards which would most likely be 10 or less. Your thoughts?

[GreyOne]

I cannot pick a single "best: book. It depends so much on where I am going, who I might be with, and what skills I might intend to work on. Taking a book on tracking, or one on edible wild plants, or one on traps- all have been of use on specific trips. Since I love to read and find it relaxing I almost always carry something to read for evening relaxation or those lazy times spent under shelter while a storm blows through.

[Chris H]

I'm definitely thinking that it is pretty much dependent on assessing the areas that need more development, and then bringing something that can help you practice.