Wilderness Survival

I am going to keep my political views on the Dorner case to myself. I did, however spend time thinking about wilderness survival when I realized he had probably retreated into the Big Bear wilderness.

I have a copy of an old military field manual (21-76) which focuses on wilderness survival and escape. Even though it adds to the weight of my hiking pack, I can't imagine another instance of a time where I may need it more than when I'm alone on a wilderness trek.

The pages which focus on how to get fresh water using condensation and how to build simple lean-to's, and how to tell which way storms typically blow based on the condition of the branches have long ago lost their crispness because I'm not sure that I'll be in the mood for reading on the basics if faced with an emergency.

 I have read "into the wild" and other books of that nature, but I struggle to think of a book that has so much vital information crammed into it.

Does anyone else know of any survival manuals that they don't like leaving home without?

-- Mike