"When All Hell Breaks Loose"

(MCT) - Every few months, an inspiring story of survival hits the news. A lost Boy Scout survives in the mountains without a coat for a week. Four trapped mountain climbers huddle in a cave with a loyal dog until rescuers arrive.

And then it hits you: There is no way you would survive in the wilderness. Cry under a tree? Yes. Keep cool and go into survival mode? Not so much. At least there are books aimed at helping readers develop their non-existent survival skills.

Cody Lundin is a specialist in wilderness survival skills and runs the Aboriginal Living Skills School in Arizona. He has a new book, "When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes" (Gibbs-Smith, $19.95).

Learn basic first aid, how to find or create potable water and catch rodents for food. And should other members of your lost party die, Lundin also offers tips on how to safely dispose of their corpses. No, really.

The book also offers insight on survival psychology, storing nutritious food and finding shelter.

Available at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com.

© 2007, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.