Because we should all be armed with the knowledge “Animal eyes contain water which can be extracted by sucking them.”

The guide’s main uses:

- Learning and prepping your supplies and abilities in advance.
- Gleaning survival tips that might stick in your memory.
- Keeping in a pack to use for reference. This is the only way, for example, that I will remember that blue-green algae in freshwater pools, polar bear liver, and mussels in tropical zones (in summer only!) are all poisonous.

Because it’s an all-encompassing survival guide, the instructions are often brief or vague. They seem most useful for quick reference or as an introduction to prepping/first aid/hunting/bushcraft/wilderness. I found it interesting throughout, but reading and being able to execute are different things. What is relevant to your region, or stands out as useful/feasible is what you can follow up on through practice, classes, videos, a more specific book, etc.

Many of the more complex tasks aren't comprehensive—you’re not going to be able to skin a deer, make rope from honeysuckle, or boil your own soap with no previous experience. Here are the book’s instructions (no pictures, text only) for building a log cabin:

"Log Cabin: Scale it to the number it will house, on a flat site. Size of logs will determine the length of walls. Place first layer of logs in the shape of hut—2.5m (8ft) square is a good size, and easiest to roof. Cut logs to fit neatly on top. Build the front up higher than the back to give pitch to the roof. Make last log front and back project well beyond the walls. These will support the roof."

Descriptions vary from everything you need to know, to incredibly vague. Illustrations are sporadic; the passage on using a flexible saw had 7 illustrations, while building a log cabin had none. People with similar transferable skills can probably manage some of the complex tasks first try. But for the majority of readers, paragraphs like the cabin's will just serve to get you thinking, or pique your interest enough to learn more about certain topics. There are many sections that can be incredibly useful as an on the spot reference—poisonous plants and animals, simple shelters, different knots, where to get water, first aid, etc. Much of the content isn’t just relevant in life or death scenarios—resourcefulness is always handy.