Rating: 
Summary: this is not just a book for camping
Review: This book is super. It has practical and down to earth suggestions for real families, who use the local supermarket for their supplies. Thomas reassures you that you don't have to be a super jock camper or a back packer to enjoy the outdoors in comfort, or with small children. I especially liked her suggestions for adapting camping tools, supplies and techniques to emergency conditions. It cuts through all the hype and doomsday scenario planning for Y2K with thoughtful and sensible suggestions. I found her directions for putting together a family emergency kit with specific suggestions for the amount of food, water and sanitary supplies very helpful. In earthquake country we need to be prepared now. So many of her tips were so simple, but so elegant. The constant hot water tank, the grooming apron and the nifty night time toilet tissue container were worth the price of the book alone. Then add the emergency toilet in a five gallon bucket...and the source phone number for getting a snap on toilet seat, and I was a convinced. This is a must have book...not just for campers but for all of us that need to be prepared to use what we have around the house to keep ourselves and our families warm, fed and clean when our regular services are non-operable.
Rating: 
Summary: not what I expected
Review: This book would be great if you a) had never been camping; b)were trying to spend the least possible amount of money on campingequipment; or c) just enjoyed reading about surviving on little or nothing. But for my family (we're mainly car campers, already outfitted with tent, sleeping bags, and Coleman stove) it is nearly useless. I was mainly looking for creative recipes that are easy to fix outdoors, but there are only a few recipes, and about half of them are impractical for us. Lots of info about cooking without a stove, choosing a tent and sleeping bags, etc. OK, but not very useful to me.
Rating:
Summary: A good purchase
Review: This is a good purchase for families who are hesitant to go "all out" on camping. It's a wonderful start for beginners, and a great source for scout leaders who want to expand their cooking/camping library.
Rating:
Summary: A good purchase
Review: This is a good purchase for families who are hesitant to go "all out" on camping. It's a wonderful start for beginners, and a great source for scout leaders who want to expand their cooking/camping library.
Rating:
Summary: A great guidebook for novice and experienced campers alike.
Review: This little book is filled with information to get novice campers started out on the right foot, and yet has plenty of material to interest experienced campers. It includes the basics of camping, such as equipment lists, meal planning hints, unique outdoor recipes, basic safety, and environment-friendly camping techniques which should be of particular interest to new campers. In addition, it covers topics of interest to seasoned campers - everything from cooking with minimal utensils to creating your very own solar stove. I've been camping with my Eagle-Scout son many times, yet this book suggested some new ideas which made us both say, "Why haven't we thought of *that* before?" This is an excellent companion book for planning a camping trip, whether this is your first trip, or your hundred-and-first, and will give its readers some fun things to try.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, practical, and full of inventive ideas!
Review: What a great camping resource! It's worth it just for the creative recipes and techniques for cooking in your fireplace. The photos and illustrations are helpful. I can't wait to read the "Backyard" edition!
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