Having fun on the Desert: Without it bitin' you in the butt Paperback – June 6, 2016

This is the finest book of its kind that I have read and I've read several over the decades. It is well researched, written, arranged, and edited. This book is chock-full of valuable, common sense, even life-saving information arranged in a logical sequence starting with basic safety subjects and moving into necessary preparation, such as the recommendation concerning how much food and water to take along on a desert adventure (more than most people think they need).Critical tools are another area of concern needed to keep an adventurer from becoming a victim of common hazards. One example cited that many people may not think of is the high-life jack. Most people think of a jack as a tool used vertically to lift a car that, for instance, needs a tire changed. This particular variety of jack plus one or more tow chains can be used horizontally to extract a vehicle that has become stuck in a sandy dry wash or a muddy stream. Other recommended items include communication and location devices that can be critical to survival if a person is lost, injured, or stranded. Also highlighted are safety guidelines that include vehicle operations, use of firearms, common sense climbing rules, weather factors, dangers of mine shafts and what to do when encountering wild animals. Not only do the authors describe these subjects, they also cite accounts of real-life incidents in which people have been seriously injured or killed because they did not follow the rules. Very sobering. The book is logically arranged and the writing flows very smoothly. In fact the book is so filled with interesting information that I had a hard time putting it down. Each portion naturally leads into the next. The reader really gets drawn into it. The last section of this book describes the venomous creatures that a traveler could encounter. It goes into detailed procedures a person should follow if an encounter occurs and what to do if it results in a bite or sting. The recommendations can be life-saving and should be taken very seriously by the reader. Much of the knowledge in this book could also apply to other types of environments, even urban areas where wild creatures often find homes and emergencies such as heat stroke are not uncommon. This handbook should be on everybody's list of items to accompany them into any wilderness area. It is light, compact, and should easily find a home in any backpack. I heartily recommend it.