The Natural Navigator: The Rediscovered Art of Letting Nature Be Your Guide Paperback – January 1, 2012

Sams as above. Bigger Print

He's totally engaging. Remember your first trips as a chile into the woods or wandering at the shore...watching clouds come and go, looking for moss on the North side of trees, seeing trees and landscapes sculpted by the wind. Well, Tristan's books will rekindle the "child of discovery" in you. I have six of his books, there is some overlap, but in each, you learn so much from how he watches and sees, and reminds us what we can do. He is an invigorating and inspiring author. I love in one of his books (not sure it was this one, he was hiking from Edinburough to a town in middle England using trails and back roads. At one point he bumped into a couple of hikers with all the "gear" they could carry, while he and a companion had just had their knapsacks, hats and comfortable walking shoes. The "well-equipped" couple passed Tristan with a haughty attitude and said they'd just hiked fifteen miles. They asked him what he was doing (implying someone so ill-equipped couldn't do much). He said he'd left Edinborough fourteen days before (about 280 miles ago) just walking and camping along the way. Take that Yuppie! He's the real deal. So engaging and a great sense of humor. Go out, enjoy.

after reading two of Tristan's other books first, this one was not as comprehensive in giving examples of things to look at. I'd recommend The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs as the one to go to for more practical advice. This book did have some tips about reading the sea, the sun, the starts etc, but The Lost Art and to a certain extent The Nature Instinct are both more about providing tips to help you if you were in the wilderness trying to get to a destination. Overall, still an enjoyable read, but don't read it with the expectation of a dense amount of instructive navigational practices.

This book is one of my favorite books of all time. This is the stuff you discuss on a camping trip, and despite discussing it at length, no one can quite remember the actual facts and rules of thumb that actually get you through. This is ancient wisdom we have lost. Could you sail across the ocean without modern devices and find your way? Could you hike miles and days through the woods with cloudy skies and find your way? People have done this for literally ever, yet we have all lost this ability in modern times. The usefulness of the stars might have been what originally interested humanity in them, rather than what they really are. Sand dunes, snow drifts, moss, puddles, stars, the sun, and even city buildings can all be used by us to get our bearings. I highlighted this book, then wrote notes in a little carry booklet of my own to take with me. This is invaluable information, all in one place.

OK, this is a book that I bought as a resource not expecting it to be anything more than a dry read. However, I've been pleasantly surprised to find that useful information has been presented in a way that makes the information entertaining and interesting to learn. I highly recommend this to anyone who would like to learn to navigate without having to rely solely on a GPS.

Let me mansplain how to predict the amount of daylight left before the sun sets while quoting Robert Louis Stevenson, but wait! Now we're in South Africa! Yay! Talk about a jumble.

About a quarter of the book contains useful information. The other three quarters is the author rambling on, and on, and on...... He gets rather long winded with non-technical non pertinent information. I found myself loosing interest fast. You will spend most of your time filtering through the nonsense to extract what useful information is actually in the book. The technical information that IS in there is great.........when you can find it. If you like history and a story line to read, and have time to waste, this might be your book. If you are purchasing this thinking it will be a technical or a how-to manual, look elsewhere.

This book will not turn you into a natural navigator after you read it. A s some reviewers wish it would. Rather it is a book that teaches you how to teach yourself to navigate without gps or compass, etc. It takes work, lots of it. And this book shows you how to get there. Its similar to the kamana program. Your not gonna be a naturalist just by buying and reading the material once and thats it. But you WILL if you work the program. Can you learn this stuff else where? Of course you can. But since we bought this book, we obviously are in need of finding this information. To sum it up, the book is excellent, but you have to work hard to get the benefit.

I bought this book as a present for my husband who is into outdoors and exploring things. He loved it!

bought as a present , he loved it

Bought as a gift but very well received

Ich habe dieses Buch verschenkt und es kam sehr gut an.Es sind viele Tipps und Tricks enthalten, von denen man noch nichts gehört hat, und auch wenn es für Kinder zu kompliziert geschrieben ist (auch für Englisch Muttersprachler) , kann man es sicher gut in Beisein eines Erwachsenen gemeinsam erproben.Tolles Buch und absolutes Must-Have für Wanderer, Erkunder und Entdecker!!

The author writes as if I have way too much time to read. He just doesn't get to the point fast enough for me BUT that's me and I do find his subject very interesting and recommend this author.