If you are ever out in the woods at sunset--lost, cold, and hungry--you'll be glad you read this book. Participating in Nature teaches you how to stay warm and comfortable without a sleeping bag, how to start a fire by friction, and how to build a reliable shelter from natural materials. But it's more than just a manual of survival skills; learning to live primitively enables you to understand and participate in the natural world. Thomas J. Elpel extensively researched self-reliance skills, including fishing by hand, cooking edible plants, felting with wool, and making stone knives, wooden containers, willow baskets, and cordage. Though many of these skills were perfected centuries ago, modern students and teachers will find them innovative and fresh. Nearly 200 photographs and sketches demonstrate these outdoor skills.