Stay Alive! a Guide To Survival In Mountainous Areas

Other hosts ask the same old questions, but survival expert Preston Westmoreland goes beyond the tried and true: like "are women who are having their menstrual periods more at risk from bears?" Yes, they are, says Al LeCount, who also offers some good tips on handling bear encounters: 1) scream like crazy; bears can't see very well, and you have to let them know you're human, and 2) if that doesn't work: play dead (this is, admittedly, a tough one and requires nerves of steel that most of us don't possess, but it's better than trying to outrun the bear). Dealing with critters is only one of the many subjects covered in this comprehensive follow-up to Westmoreland's Stay Alive! a Guide to Survival in the Desert Southwest (reviewed in our July-August 1993 issue). The guide offers an extensive list of what to include in a survival kit, and a whole passel of lifesaving tips on what to do in various situations. Viewers will learn how to make a snow cave (and other shelters), how to signal, how to start a fire (using a flashlight, for example), how to recognize and protect against hypothermia and frostbite, how to make drinking water using a mountain still, and how to make ant soup ("insects are a distasteful delicacy"). Better than Land of One Season (reviewed in our January 1993 issue), Stay Alive! a Guide to Survival in Mountainous Areas is highly recommended and an Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman)