Books have played a big part in bushcraft through passing on knowledge and wisdom from the tombs of Camping and Woodcraft by Horace Kephart to the volumes by Mors Kochanski. Not forgetting all the related books on topics that expand and craft your bushcraft skills (too many to mention).
There is no better way of learning that going outside and practicing your skills, but sometimes as the nights draw in and the weather worsens there is nothing better than sitting reading and building your knowledge ready for the next opportunity to get to practice.
Finding a good book to read can be both easy and hard. Typing “Bushcraft Books” into the internet will provide a plethora of results from which to purchase. For me though visiting a second hand book shop to browse the shelves on a voyage of literature discovery is an opportunity not to be passed up.
Why? because you may just find something that you hand not considered and will take you down a route to expand your knowledge that bit wider and further. As an example here are my two latest finds. Both these books combined cost £12. Certainly cheaper than the internet (in some cases) and I had the pleasure of perusing these whilst standing near a roaring fire in the corner of the shop (no books were harmed!).
The first book is Woodlands by Oliver Rackham and is from the New Naturalist Library (NN). I have found the books from NN to be good and informative, sometimes a bit heavy, by still good.
The second book is on Archaeology. Why did this peak my interest? It has a whole chapter on tools and lithics with good illustrations and was £2 out of the £12 spent. I hadn’t really considered looking at any Archaeology books for bushcraft inspiration before, but now I will.
So if you spot a second hand bookshop, go and have a look. You may be surprised at what you find.
Sparrowhawk Bushcraft 