David Wescott Books

The Stone Age is the common denominator of mankind, and through experimental archeology―the relearning and replication of ancient skills―we take a step of discovery and understanding into this rich past. In this collection, drawn from the pages of the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, learn to create tools to fabricate more complex technologies; master the arts of the bow and arrow; build a shelter or fashion clothing from fibers or buckskin. Primitive Technology Ancestral Skills provides the guide to rediscovery of the skills and crafts that bind us all into this great human family. David Wescott is author of Camping in the Old Style and editor of Primitive A Book of Earth Skills. Formerly education director for the Boulder Outdoor School, he has been a leading figure in wilderness education for more than thirty years. He lives with his wife in Rexburg, Idaho.

Back before the days of RVs, nylon sleeping bags, and all the other modern camping conveniences, people still went camping. This updated and newly designed color edition of Camping in the Old Style explores the techniques and methods used during the golden age of camping, including woodcraft, how to set a campfire, food preparation, pitching a tent, auto camping, and canoeing. The book is loaded with nuggets of wisdom from classic books written by camping and outdoors pioneers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as Daniel Carter Beard, Warren H. Miller, Ernest Thompson Seton, Horace Kephart, and Nessmuk, and author David Wescott includes his own methods, techniques, and philosophies as well. A generous addition of color photos of present-day classic camping enthusiasts supplements many of the fascinating archival black-and-white photos. David Wescott is the author of Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills. He has been a lifelong enthusiast in primitive technologies and a leading figure in wilderness education for more than forty years, including as the managing editor of the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, the director of Backtracks, and the education director for the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. He lives in Rexburg, Idaho, with his wife, Paula.