98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive

by Cody Lundin, Russ Miller

Overview

Cody Lundin, director of the Aboriginal Living Skills School in Prescott, Arizona, shares his own brand of wilderness wisdom in this highly anticipated new book on commonsense, modern survival skills for the backcountry, the backyard, or the highway. This is the ultimate book on how to stay alive-based on the principle of keeping the body's core temperature at a lively 98.6 degrees.

In his entertaining and informative style, Cody stresses that a human can live without food for weeks and without water for about three days or so. But if the body's core temperature dips much below or above the 98.6 degree mark, a person can literally die within hours. It is a concept that many don't take seriously or even consider, but knowing what to do to maintain a safe core temperature when lost in a blizzard or in the desert could save your life. Lundin delivers the message with wit, rebellious humor, and plenty of backcountry expertise.

Watch naturalist Cody Lundin on "Dual Survival" as he uses many of the same skills and techniques taught in his book: 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781586852344
Publisher:	Smith, Gibbs Publisher
Publication date:	06/23/2003
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	488,721
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.04(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Cody Lundin and his Aboriginal Living Skills School have been featured in dozens of national and international media sources, including Dateline NBC, CBS News, USA Today, The Donny and Marie Show, and CBC Radio One in Canada, as well as on the cover of Backpacker magazine. When not teaching for his own school, he is an adjunct faculty member at Yavapai College and a faculty member at the Ecosa Institute. Cody is the only person in Arizona licensed to catch fish with his hands, and lives in a passive solar earth home sixty miles from Prescott, Arizona.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1

Survival Situations: How do they start?

How do survival situations happen? How do they start? These are loaded questions. A more accurate one would be, "How don't they start?" Murphy's Law, remember? That which can go wrong will. Flat tires, freak weather, wrong turns, broken limbs, and a million more scenarios exist for screwing up in the woods. More often than not, life-threatening affairs are the end result of several seemingly insignificant events. Taken one at a time, they would have little effect, but when compounded they can kill. Therefore, a main part of any survival strategy is to recognize danger signs early so corrective action can be taken.

One of the more common ways to meet your maker is couched innocently enough in the simple day hike. Can you guess why? Have you ever heard someone say, "Ain't nothin' gonna happen, honey. We'll only be gone for a few hours. It's just a day hike!"

Day hikes are notorious for compromising lives because they lull people into a sense of complacency in regard to properly preparing for a trip. Phrases like "We don't need that extra sweater," or "Leave the water in the truck!" can end up putting people six feet under.

Table of Contents

Forward 9

Check this Out! 11

Why a Survival Kit? 13

Chapter One: Survival Situations-How Do They Start? 19

Chapter Two: Survival vs. Primitive Living or "Living off the Land" 22

Chapter Three: Survival Psychology and the Importance of Proper Prior Training 25

Chapter Four: Why Fear Sucks 33

Chapter Five: Dealing with the Survival Scenario: Attitude, Adaptation, and Awareness 42

Chapter Six: Reducing the Threat of the Survival Situation-the Seven Ps 50

Chapter Seven: What it Takes to Stay Alive 52

Chapter Eight: The Most Common Way to Push Up Daisies in the Outdoors 60

Chapter Nine: How Your Body Loses and Gains Heat 69

Chapter Ten: Your First Line of Defense 77

Chapter Eleven: About Your Rescuer 107

Chapter Twelve: Helping Rescuers Bring You Back Alive 113

Chapter Thirteen: What is a Survival Kit? 119

Chapter Fourteen: Survival Kit Components (You + the Tool + the Environment = Your Life) 132

Chapter Fifteen: Summary 208

Chapter Sixteen: The Amazing "The drawings and photos are really cool but I''m too lazy to read this book" Cliff Notes 209

Editorial Reviews

… provides practical advice, humorous quips, and entertaining illustrations.

Wild Open Spaces - Emily Kantner

This outrageously straightforward survival book teaches you what you need to know, now, to live through virtually every survival scenario.

From the Publisher

Delivered with wit and humor, the book features peculiar drawings by an expert cartoonist making it an even more interesting read.
It stands out as one of the most celebrated survival books of modern history.

The Coolist - Catherine Nyorani

[This book gives] the no-nonsense approach you’ll use and appreciate, and above all, it teaches you to try and keep your head straight in even the worst of situations.

SPY - Amber Dowling

This outrageously straightforward survival book teaches you what you need to know, now, to live through virtually every survival scenario.

Los Angeles Daily News