I read this short (110 pages), tongue in cheek book, because the author, Buck Tilton, had written an excellent short book on first aid in the wilderness. Tom Faranda’s Folly: Latest Read: Backcountry First Aid So since the reviews on amazon for this book were pretty good, I decided to give it a read.
The best that can be said about it, is that it is a very quick read, and it is mildly amusing. Tilton devotes a page and a couple of hundred words to 100 different outdoor menaces, from Cape Buffalo, and various sharks, to varieties of parasites and stinging insects. And he offers some basic advice, like avoid getting stepped on by rhinos, don’t eat mushrooms in the wild, that sort of stuff. Each entry begins and ends with a witty aphorism or pithy statement.
The book is OK, but as a genuine guide to avoiding outdoor dangers, has nothing particular to offer.
Leave a Reply