Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Camping and Woodcraft by Horace Kephart

In 1906, Horace Kephart published The Book of Camping and Woodcraft. In 1916, he published the second edition under the name Camping and Woodcraft; a Handbook for Vacation Campers and for Travelers in the Wilderness. Both editions contain huge amounts of information of camping and general outdoor activities, with the second edition expanding more on issues concerning the casual camper.

The book is very comprehensive, and as a result, large sections have become largely irrelevant. For example, he goes into great detail about tents and sleeping bags, technology which has been outdated by about 100 years. There is however a lot of very good and relevant information on the subjects of woodsmanship.



As far as I am aware, the publication is in the public domain. A copy of The Book of Camping and Woodcraft can be obtained here, and a copy of Camping and Woodcraft; a Handbook for Vacation Campers and for Travelers in the Wilderness can be obtained here, and a number of other places online.