The following books are recommended and frequently used by the staff of the Maine Primitive Skills School. Many of these books are also available for browsing in our library.
Birds
- National Audubon Society, Field Guide to North American Birds
- National Geographic, Field Guide to Birds of North America
- Peterson, Roger Tory, Eastern Birds (Peterson’s Field Guides)
- Ehrlich/Dobkin/Wheye, The Birder’s Handbook
- Sibley, David Allen, The Sibley Guide to Birds
- Wheeler/Clark, A Photographic Guide to American Raptors
- Stokes, Donald and Lillian, A Guide to Bird Behavior, Vol.1,Vol. 2, Vol. 3,
- Stokes, Donald and Lillian, Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region
Bows
- The Bowyer’s Bible, Vol. 1
- The Bowyer’s Bible, Vol. 2
- The Bowyer’s Bible, Vol.3
- Hamm, Jim, Bows & Arrow’s of the Native Americans
- Waldorf, D.C., The Art of Making Primitive Bows and Arrows
Brain Tanning
- Richards, Matt, Deerskins Into Buckskins – Book, DVD, and Video (Wet Scrape)
- Riggs, Jim, Blue Mountain Buckskin (Dry Scrape)
- Edholm, Steven & Wilder, Tamara, Buckskin: The Ancient Art of Braintanning (Wet Scrape)
Flintknapping
- Ratzat, Craig, Caught Knapping (Video)
- Waldorf, D.C., The Art of Flintknapping
- Whittaker, John C., Flintknapping
Natural Navigation
Works by Tristan Gooley, The Natural Navigator
New England
- Haines/Vining, Flora of Maine
- Maine Forest Service, Forest Trees of Maine
- Seymour, Tom, Foraging New England
- National Audubon Society, Field Guide to New England
- Wallner/DiGregorio, New England Mountain Flowers
- Halfpenny/Bruchac, Scats and Tracks of the North East
- Georgiady/Brockmann, Prehistoric Lithic Types of New England
- Hunter/Calhoun/McCollough, Maine Amphibians and Reptiles
Plants
- Gibbons, Euell, Stalking the Wild Asparagus
- Foster/Caras, Venomous Animals & Poisonous Plants (Peterson’s Field Guides)
- Newcomb, Lawrence, Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide
- Peterson, Lee Allen, Edible Wild Plants (Peterson’s Field Guides)
- Brown Jr., Tom, Field Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants
- Brill, Steve, Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants
- Elpel, Thomas J., Botany in a Day
- Duke, James, The Green Pharmacy
- Hoffman, David, Complete Illustrated Guide to the Holistic Herbal
- Reader’s Digest, Magic and Medicine of Plants
- Embertson, Jane, PODS: Wildflowers and Weeds in Their Final Beauty
- Wood, Matthew, The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicine
- Christopher, John R., School of Natural Healing
- Edwards, Gail, Opening our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs
- Thayer, Samuel, The Forager’s Harvest
- Schmid, Ronald, Traditional Foods are Your Best Medicine
- Couplan, Francois, The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America
Primitive Skills
- White, George M., Craft Manual of North American Footwear
- Mason, Bernard S., Drums, Tomtoms & Rattles
- Society of Primitive Technology, Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills
- Society of Primitive Technology, Primitive Technology II: Ancestral Skills
- Laubin, Reginald and Gladys, The Indian Tipi
- Dina, James, Voyage of the Ant
Scout
- Brown Jr., The Way of the Scout
- Goodwin, Grenville & Neil, The Apache Diaries
- Ball, Eve, In the Days of Victorio
- Carter, Forrest, Watch for Me on the Mountain
Spiritual
- Mails, Thomas, Fool’s Crow
- Mails, Thomas, Fool’s Crow: Wisdom and Power
- Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks
- Brown Jr., Tom, Awakening Spirits
- Green, Glenda, Love Without End
- Andrews, Ted, Animal Speak
- Brennan, Barbara Ann, Hands of Light
- Edwards, Betty, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
- Powell, M. Norman, Ingwe
- Carter, Forrest, The Education of Little Tree
- Reitze, Raymond, And We Shall Cast Rainbows Upon the Land
- Pennell, Kevin, Two Feathers – Spiritual Seed Planter
Survival/Bushcraft
- Mears, Ray, Bushcraft
- Olsen, Larry Dean, Outdoor Survival Skills
- McPherson, John & Geri, Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills,
- McPherson, John & GeriPrimitive Wilderness Skills: Applied & Advanced
- Brown Jr., Tom, Field Guide to Wilderness Survival
- Brown Jr., Tom, Field Guide to Living with the Earth
- Kochanski, Mors, Bushcraft
- Elbroch, Mark & Pewtherer, Michael, Wilderness Survival
- Conover, Garrett & Alexandra, Snow Walker’s Companion
- Hjellstrom, Bjorn, Be Expert with Map & Compass
- Lundin, Cody, 98.6 Degrees: Keeping Your Ass Alive
Tracking
- Elbroch, Mark, Bird Tracks & Sign
- Elbroch, Mark, Mammal Tracks & Sign
- Rezendez, Paul, Tracking & The Art of Seeing
- Brown Jr., Tom, The Tracker
- Brown Jr., Tom, Nature Observation and Tracking
- Brown Jr., Tom, The Science & Art of Tracking
- Brown Jr., Tom, Case Files of the Tracker
- Murie, Olaus, Animal Tracks (Peterson’s Field Guides)
- Kays/Wilson, Mammals of North America
- National Audubon Society, Familiar Animal Tracks of North America
- McDougall, Len, The Encyclopedia of Tracks & Scats
- The Great Dance (video)
- Stokes, Donald & Lillian, A Guide to Animal Tracking and Behavior
- Benyus, Janine, Northwoods Wildlife- A Watchers Guide to Habitats
- Benyus, Janine, A Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States
- Kearney, Jack, Tracking: A Blueprint for Learning How
- McDougal, Len, The Complete Tracker
- Scott-Donelan, David Tactical Tracking Operations
- Elbroch, Mark, Animal Skulls: A Guide to North American Species
Trees & Shrubs
- The Audubon Society, Field Guide to North American Trees
- Little, Charles E., The Dying of the Trees
- Symonds, George W.D., The Tree Identification Book
- Symonds, George W.D., The Shrub Identification Book
- Wessel, Thomas, Reading the Forrested Landscape
- Geisel, Theodor Seuss, The Lorax
- Sutton, Ann, Eastern Forests (Audubon Society Nature Guides)
- Eastman, John, The Book of Forest and Thicket
- Eastman, John, The Book of Swamp and Bog
Magazines
- Bulletin of Primitive Technology
- Primitive Archer
- Wilderness Way Magazine