|  But perhaps the reason for this love of nonhuman nature is that communion with it restores to us a level of our own human nature at which we are still sane, free from humbug, and untouched by anxieties about the meaning and purpose of our lives. For what we call “nature” is free from a certain kind of scheming and self-importance. The birds and beasts indeed pursue their business of eating and breeding with the utmost devotion. But they do not justify it; they do not pretend that it serves higher ends, or that it makes a significant contribution to the progress of the world.
— Alan W. Watts Environmental illnesses in the wilderness include the adverse effects of heat, cold, altitude, envenomation by venomous insects or reptiles, lightning, avalanches, poison ivy, and prolonged submersion in water. It is almost enough to make you want to stay home, where you can die by slipping in the shower. Many of these problems are discussed in the general texts on wilderness emergencies and first aid. The following books treat specific issues in depth.
 Stephen Bezruchka, Altitude Illness: Prevention & Treatment (Seattle WA: Mountaineers Books, 1994), ISBN 0-898864-02-X. Dr. Bezruchka – author of such books as Trekking in Nepal: A Traveler's Guide and Nepali for Trekkers – provides a thorough and practical discussion of altitude illness. The book describes the acclimatization process and what can go wrong with it, presents simple methods of diagnosis and treatment, addresses preexisting health conditions, and provides practical information on preparing for and adapting to altitude – all in fewer than a hundred pages and, last time I looked, for less than seven dollars.
 Carl H. Ernst, Venomous Reptiles of North America (Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992), ISBN 1-560981-14-8. This is the standard reference on the subject. It is a solid, scholarly natural history of all venomous reptiles north of Mexico – twenty snakes and the Gila monster – and it covers external morphology, venomology, and conservation, with an identification key, range maps, and color photos. Each entry gives a physical description of the reptile, the fossil record, distribution, geographic variation, habitat, behavior, reproduction, growth and longevity, food and feeding, venom and bites, predators and defense, and population. Just so you know what it is that is clinging to your leg.
 William W. Forgey, The Basic Essentials of Hypothermia (Merrillville IN: ICS Books, Inc., 1991), ISBN 0-934802-76-9. Dr. Forgey is one of the pioneers of wilderness medicine, and he is both the author of Wilderness Medicine and the editor of the Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for Wilderness Emergency Care. This little 72-page book gives a very clear explanation of acute and chronic hypothermia, as well as the physiological effects, prevention, and treatment of cold injuries. It discusses nutrition, heat loss, the shivering reflex, and insulation. Highly recommended.
 William W. Forgey, Hypothermia: Death by Exposure (Merrillville IN: ICS Books, Inc., 1985), ISBN 0-934802-10-6. This is a more detailed examination of generally the same areas discussed in Dr. Forgey’s Basic Essentials of Hypothermia, listed above. The book discusses protection from core heat loss while outdoors in any season, the physiological effects of the cold and of cold adaptation, the difference between rapid-onset and slow-onset hypothermia, the most efficient techniques to rewarm and treat a hypothermia victim, and proper clothing and insulation. It also provides useful and interesting material on the science of hypothermia.
 Steven Foster, et al., Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants: North America North Of Mexico (Boston MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998), ISBN 0-395936-08-X. This is one of the excellent series of books published as Peterson's Field Guides. Within its geographic area, it deals with both venomous animals and poisonous plants. It is very helpful when you are trying to figure out what it is you ate that made you sick, or what it is that just bit you.
 Peter H. Hackett, Mountain Sickness: Prevention, Recognition and Treatment (Golden CO: The American Alpine Club, 1980), ISBN 0-930410-10-6. This book is truly small – it will easily fit in your back pocket – but it contains a very thorough and clear discussion of all types of altitude sickness. Highly recommended.
 Charles Houston, Going Higher: Oxygen, Man, and Mountains (Seattle WA: The Mountaineers, 1998), ISBN 0-89886-580-8. This is now the book on altitude illness. It is thorough, readable, and sophisticated. The author – a former mountain climber as well as a practicing physician – discusses causes, symptoms, treatment, training, and the underlying science. He discusses how oxygen is inhaled and distributed to the tissues of the body, describes the processes by which the body acclimates itself to extremely low levels of oxygen, tells tales of climbing misfortunes related to hypoxia, and explains the evolution of our understanding of what goes wrong. The book contains just about everything you might want to know about mountain sickness. Very highly recommended.
 Robert L. Smith, Venomous Animals of Arizona (Tucson AZ: The University of Arizona College of Agriculture, 1982), ISBN 0-932913-03-2. This is an excellent text about a wide variety of venomous snakes, scorpions, spiders, lizards, and other animals, with application far beyond the borders of Arizona. It is well illustrated with line drawings, with sections on treatment of envenomations as well as on the appearance, habits, and life cycles of the animals. Highly recommended.
 Roger S. Thorpe, Venomous Snakes : Ecology, Evolution and Snakebite (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1996), ISBN 0198549865. Thorough, dense, comprehensive, and expensive, this book addresses both the medical aspects of snakebite treatment and the ecology and evolution of venomous snakes, along with an accessible introduction to venomous snake research. Not all of the articles are of equal interest; I probably will find little use for the chapter on reproductive strategies and sperm competition in the adder, for example. But other chapters, such as the one on geographical and intraspecies variation in the clinical manifestations of snake envenomation, are definitely worth working through. This is without a doubt the book to have, if you can persuade your spouse it’s worth the money.
 James A. Wilkerson, Hypothermia, Frostbite, And Other Cold Injuries: Prevention, Recognition And Pre-Hospital Treatment (Seattle WA: Mountaineers Books, 1986), ISBN 0-898860-24-5. Dr. Wilkerson is also author of the well-regarded Medicine For Mountaineering. In this hundred-page book, Wilkerson and his coauthors – a doctor and a biologist – expand on his discussion of hypothermia and provide detailed information on cold injuries of all kinds. Brief, clear, and recommended.
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