The Lost Ways Review – Is it Worth Your Time?

“The Lost Ways” is a survival handbook that has generated a great deal of buzz online. To call it polarizing is perhaps a bit of an understatement. Many survivalists love it and swear by it. Those that disagree are passionate about it and will tell you of a guide that does it much better. Interested in the topic for several years now, I felt it was time for me to actually read it and chime in with my own take.

What Is The Lost Ways?

The Lost Ways by Claude Davis is a book that poses a question and then answers it through solutions, including step-by-step guides. The question is what do you do if the modern conveniences you take for granted suddenly go away. What is your first move? How long do you think you can survive? As Mike Tyson famously said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Author Davis covers the measures you can take today so that you are in the best possible position to survive should the worst ever happen. It also reviews the steps you should follow in the minutes, days and weeks after.

Claude Davis: About the Author

Who is Claude Davis? This is an important question since the answer informs you whether The Lost Ways really is worth your time. Davis is a historian and in particular an expert on the Old West. He is also a survivalist with more than 15 years of practical experience. Davis has an interesting perspective on modern life, which is that the old ways—as in the days of the pioneer—are better. Whether you agree with that premise, what makes Davis and his works fascinating is that he takes his expertise on practical knowledge from that time period and teaches it in a way that the modern person can put it to use. Click here to Visit and Watch Video on the Lost Ways Official Website

The Lost Ways in a Nutshell

The focus of The Lost Ways by Claude Davis is learning how to survive from our forefathers: both the American pioneer and the Native American. The three core focal points—or kernels—are:

Kernel #1: Food and Herbs

A great deal of the book deals with acquiring food and water and storing it using tools and techniques the pioneer had available. It also discusses herbs for medicinal purposes, such as acquiring and growing wild lettuce, which is a natural painkiller effective for headaches, arthritis and so forth.

Kernel #2: Shelter

Davis discusses shelter exhaustively. Topics range from the makeshift lean-tos that will help you make do to the material acquiring and construction techniques for cabins and other permanent structures.

Kernel #3: Survival Techniques

Interspersed throughout those main subjects are kernels of information on survival, such as how to filter dirty water, create bullets, preserve meat and so on all with the natural materials you have available.

Bonus Books

One of the neat aspects of purchasing The Lost Ways survival guide, which is the author’s most popular book, is that you receive three more books from Davis at no additional charge. Although I did not make the initial purchase with the bonuses in mind, they added a considerable amount of value in the end.

Bonus #1: “What Every Survivalist Should Grow in His Backyard”

As the title suggests, this book explores what a survivalist should grow in his or her garden. It provides information on planting and organizing the vegetables and herbs, growing them and protecting them. While it covers staples like beans and sweet potato, it also serves as somewhat of a companion to the main book in that it covers less obvious plants discussed in it, such as wild lettuce as a painkiller.

Bonus #2: “How to Outlive an EMP the Early Pioneer Way”

This book explores much of the information discussed in The Lost Ways but does it through a very specific lens: an EMP doomsday scenario. While the main book is a better read overall, this handbook is nonetheless thought-provoking and expands on much the advice by putting it into a different context.

Bonus #3: “Building Your Own Can Rotation System”

The book I never knew I needed but ended up loving and reading multiple times. I keep a supply of cans, water and other perishables just for common emergencies let alone true survival, and it has always been a hassle. The strategies provided by Davis were immediately useful to me, and that eventually motivated to follow this guide and build my own can rotator, which did not take long and cost me less than $100.

This Book Is Not for You If…

I think this a book that just about anyone can enjoy and learn from. Even if you have no plans to be a survivalist and will not act on the advice, Davis will introduce you to intriguing concepts that you have never considered before. What I found really compelling were these skills that the pioneers took for granted but that are now practically lost except among the most ardent of modern survivalists. That said, this is above all else a very functional book. There is no fiction, anecdotes and or even humor. It focuses on providing as much as actionable information as it can within its pages. The information dump can seem a bit overwhelming at times—as if you are never going to remember it all.

What I Loved About The Lost Ways

Despite the wealth of information, this is an easy read. The author discusses these topics the way you would with a buddy in the garage sharing a beer. The guides are all well done, and I have already implemented a handful and had no problem doing it. I have read a number of survival guides that expected you to spend an amount of money that an average guy like me just did not have. That is not the case here since everything is discussed from the perspective of what a pioneer could accomplish. I think it is the pioneer angle used throughout the book that really resonated with me the most.

What I Disliked About the Book

As mentioned earlier, the information dumps can be a bit intense, and there were times I put the book down because I needed a mental breather. Also, what I loved about the book worked against it at times for me. Everything is written from the perspective that you live a true survivalist lifestyle. I, on the other hand, do not live off the grid. I am just a normal guy interested in this topic in the event I need to help my family survive, and there are times in the book where it feels as if Davis is not talking to me.

What Others Are Saying

I would say that reception for The Lost Ways book is mixed leaning toward favorable, and I knew this going in because I had researched it a bit before ordering it. Readers who like it really like it. My feeling about this is that people enjoy the view of homesteading skills through the lens of modern survival. I have read a number of books in this genre at this point and none that are quite like this. There are some legitimate issues with the book that are deal-breakers for some critics. The book lacks a glossary, which I agree is an unfortunate oversight. Many of The Lost Ways reviews that are negative cite inconsistencies, such as Davis mentioning that some related information is found on a certain page or in a specific chapter only to find that the details are not there but rather somewhere else.

Key Takeaways From The Lost Ways

Claude Davis is an interesting person with interesting things to say along with skill and experience that translate to true insight. There are more than 300 pages in the book, and at no point did any of it feel like filler. As I have mentioned earlier, there is so much information that at times it overwhelms. Yet, I absorbed more with my first reading than I initially suspected. I have updated my garden. I have built a can rotation system and implemented strategies for rotating my stored water. I have also implemented some of the perseveration concepts, which have resulted in real savings toward my monthly budget.

My Favorite Chapters

Cast Iron Cooking
How Our Ancestors Made Herbal Poultices…
How Our Ancestors Navigated Without Using a GPS System
Hot Smokin’!
How to Make Tasty Bread Like in 1869

There are many great chapters in the book. Here are five that really stood out to me. Perhaps not surprisingly, these are all chapters with information that I could and have put into use right away. In fact, my next project will be to replace my old smoker with cold and hot ones I build by hand.

How to Purchase The Lost Ways Book

The best way to purchase this book is directly through thelostways.com. While you can find the book secondhand elsewhere, you do not receive the three additional books. I also like the idea of the proceeds going toward Claude Davis and any future works that he may produce. In addition, most of the digital copies floating around are pirated, in which case author Davis receives nothing at all. Through the main website, you have several options: digital book, physical book or both. In all three case, you pay a reasonable $37. If you want either option with the hardcover, you pay an additional $8.99 for shipping and handling. From what I understand, you can opt for digital product, and then, upgrade to the hardcover later simply by paying the extra $8.99. But I did not do that myself. I bought the combo package so I could begin reading right away and still have the hardcover for my shelf.

The Lost Ways Review – Final Verdict

I read often. I rarely read a book twice anymore, but I have ready through The Lost Ways twice and continue to refer back to it. The hardcover is on my shelf, but the e-book is now thoroughly annotated. I have read numerous good survival books—bad ones too—by the likes of Cody Lundin and Jim Cobb, and I rank this book by Claude Davis among them. I think the pioneer perspective is really what sets this read apart from the others and is why it deserves a spot on your shelf and among your collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the three most common questions I encountered when researching prior to purchase and continued to see during the process of writing my own The Lost Ways review.

1.Is The Lost Ways a Scam?

In researching The Lost Ways prior to purchasing it, I was truly surprised how often I came across this question and felt compelled to include it here. Perhaps that is why it crops up so much. At any rate, I am not sure how a book could be a scam. You may decide you do not like it, but a lot of effort went into writing it, and it contains a great deal of knowledge and personal experience. That said, if you are concerned, take comfort in knowing that the book comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

2.Has the Lost Ways Been Well Received by Critics?

If you limit reviews to professional critics who work for magazines and websites of interest to survivalists, then yes, the book was very well received when it was first published in 2015. A number of tuned-in journalists at the time lauded it for the hands-on advice it provided when it came to storing water, foraging for food, using traps for food, building shelter in the short and long term and so on.

3.Is The Lost Ways Website Reliable?

Yes. Many people have ordered their digital and physical books without issue. That includes myself, and I had actually emailed a question and received a fast response. Note that the site does share your details with related companies, and you must opt out via the site if you do not want your info shared. Try The Lost Ways (Official Website) By Claude Davis Special Offer

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