Basic Illustrated Books in Order
Basic Illustrated contains 24 books, published between 1990 and 2019. The first book is Basic Illustrated Knots for the Outdoors (1990) and the newest is Basic Illustrated Medicinal Plants (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 24
- Published
- 1990–2019
- Pages on record
- 2,371 in 23 of 24 books
- Reading time
- 40–59 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,371 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 23 of 24 titles with a page count on record.
Basic Illustrated is a line of outdoor-skills handbooks. Of the 24 recorded books, 23 are credited to writers other than the entity author: Lon Levin on 9, Cliff Jacobson on 5, Jim Meuninck on 4, William W. Forgey on 3, Harry Roberts and Molly Absolon on 2 each, and Beth Habeishi and Stephanie Mallory on one each. Camping, hiking, canoeing, wilderness first aid, hypothermia and equipment supply the recorded subjects, and the volumes are short, at a median of 97 pages. The listing runs from Basic Illustrated Knots for the Outdoors (1990) to Basic Illustrated Medicinal Plants (2019).
How many Basic Illustrated books are there?
Basic Illustrated has 24 books, released between 1990 and 2019.
Basic Illustrated Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 24 Basic Illustrated books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Basic Illustrated Knots for the Outdoors1990 · 64 pages · confirmed 1/41990641/4
- 2Basic Illustrated Canoeing1997 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/41997961/4
- 3Wilderness First Aid1999 · 65 pages · confirmed 1/41999651/4
- 4Hypothermia1999 · 90 pages · confirmed 1/41999901/4
- 5Basic Illustrated Cooking in the Outdoors2008 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/42008961/4
- 6Basic Illustrated Archery2008 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/42008801/4
- 7Basic Illustrated Backpacking2008 · 64 pages · confirmed 1/42008641/4
- 8Basic Illustrated Canoe Paddling2008 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/42008961/4
- 9Basic Illustrated Weather Forecasting2008 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/42008801/4
- 10Basic Illustrated Camping2008 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/42008961/4
- 11Basic Illustrated Map and Compass2008 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/42008961/4
- 12Basic Illustrated Cross-Country Skiing2012 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/420121121/4
- 13Basic Illustrated Snowshoeing2012 · 102 pages · confirmed 1/420121021/4
- 14Basic Illustrated Winter Hiking and Camping2012 · confirmed 1/42012–1/4
- 15Basic Illustrated Guide to Frogs, Snakes, Bugs, and Slugs2013 · 107 pages · confirmed 1/420131071/4
- 16Basic Illustrated Freshwater Fishing2014 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/420141121/4
- 17Basic Illustrated Poisonous and Psychoactive Plants2014 · 104 pages · confirmed 1/420141041/4
- 18Basic Illustrated Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms2015 · 97 pages · confirmed 1/42015971/4
- 19Basic Illustrated Bike Touring and Bikepacking2015 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/420151441/4
- 20Basic Illustrated Wilderness First Aid2015 · 101 pages · confirmed 1/420151011/4
- 21Basic Illustrated Sea Kayaking2016 · 161 pages · confirmed 1/420161611/4
- 22Basic Illustrated Alpine Ski Touring2016 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/420161281/4
- 23Basic Illustrated Edible Wild Plants and Useful Herbs2018 · 168 pages · confirmed 1/420181681/4
- 24Basic Illustrated Medicinal Plants2019 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/420191121/4
Where to start with Basic Illustrated
Start with Basic Illustrated Knots for the Outdoors (1990), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Basic Illustrated book?
Basic Illustrated Medicinal Plants (2019) is the newest Basic Illustrated book released so far.
Is there a new Basic Illustrated book coming?
No next Basic Illustrated book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Basic Illustrated at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Basic Illustrated title on record dates from 2019, 7 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Basic Illustrated books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 2,371 pages across the 23 of 24 books with a recorded length, a median of 97 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Basic Illustrated books, 13 of 24, were published in the 2010s.
- Attribution
- Of the 24 titles, 9 are credited to Lon Levin, 5 to Cliff Jacobson, 4 to Jim Meuninck and 3 to William W. Forgey. A further 15 writers are credited. One title carries no credit.
What the Basic Illustrated books are about
All 24 Basic Illustrated books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: first aid in illness and injury is tagged on 3 of 24. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- First aid in illness and injury 3 of 24 books
- Identification 3 of 24 books
- Medical emergencies 3 of 24 books
- Outdoor medical emergencies 3 of 24 books
- Wilderness areas 3 of 24 books
- Camping 2 of 24 books
- Canoes and canoeing 2 of 24 books
- Equipment and supplies 2 of 24 books
- Hiking 2 of 24 books
- Hypothermia 2 of 24 books
- Pictorial works 2 of 24 books
- Skis and skiing 2 of 24 books