Backwoods Surgery & Medicine

An unflinching look at the realities of injury far from a clinic, this manual draws on decades of life in remote mining, logging, and mountain camps. The author recounts stark incidents—riders lost to untreated thigh fractures, a leg amputated to halt gangrene, a drowning that might have been reversed—with a calm, matter‑of‑fact style that makes the stakes clear without sensationalism. From these stories emerge a set of concise, easily remembered rules for anyone who spends time in the backcountry.

The book concentrates on the most common wilderness wounds—broken legs, fractured forearms, sprains and dislocations—explaining how to recognise a fracture by pain, loss of motion and the distinctive crepitus sound. It teaches how to improvise splints, bandages and basic immobilisation using only simple, carry‑light tools, letting readers act confidently even when a full medical kit is out of reach. Readers will finish with a practical toolbox of techniques that can mean the difference between a temporary setback and a permanent tragedy.