The principal audience for this book is the person or persons who wish a camping experience with a minimum of camping equipment. It is oriented for those who go camping with a minimum of food or no food, without a tent, without utensils, etc. It is based on this author's years of experience camping in the swamps of South Louisiana. It covers instructions on how to build shelters, how to minimize biting insects, how to construct a campfire, how to boil water with and without a pot, how to secure food, and many other survival methods. There are, however, many tips in this work for those who may only wish to go on a weekend campout; tips that can make any campout trip more enjoyable. This book also has a wealth of references at the end of each chapter, giving more detail concerning the material covered in each chapter. Just one example of a useful tip; it concerns a simple way to minimize insect bites, especially those of mosquitos and gnats (which are a huge problem in Louisiana). If one significantly increases the consumption of garlic for about a week or two before going camping, mosquitos and other biting insects will pretty much leave you alone. Although I do not have any specific scientific evidence concerning this, the experiences of many, many camping trips in the Louisiana swamps attest to its effectiveness. Also, the type of shelter you build can have a major impact on minimizing most biting insects.
This author hopes that everyone from the casual camper to the very ambitious camper will find some useful nuggets within the pages of this book, which will make any camping trip a more enjoyable experience.