“More Valuable Than Gold” Ethnobotany textbook

Page updated 9/14/2023 by Sondra Wilson.

    This well-organized, easy-to-use ethnobotany textbook was written by wilderness survival expert and former US military survival trainer Richard Lonewolf between 2010 and 2016 alongside longtime student Sondra Wilson in the lower Sierra Nevada Mountain range:

Beyond Mere Survival:

     More Valuable contains more than 180 identification-friendly color photos, as well as step-by-step instructions for processing more than 50 common plants, shrubs, trees, and vines for their edible, utility, and (historically) medicinal uses. Many of the organisms in this book grow coast to coast throughout North America, and several other countries throughout the northern hemisphere. Learn to make acorn bread, buckeye nut flour, sycamore syrup, how to harvest and prepare the six edible parts on cattail plants, and many everyday uses for plants and trees you probably see every day and had no clue had so many uses. Several highly-efficient ancient cooking techniques are also covered (and beautifically photographed), such as the steam pit, blast oven, and more.

    “I remember walking to school as a kid and seeing acorns all over the ground. I was always told that humans can’t eat them! When Lonewolf showed me how to turn them into flour in just 20 minutes, and learned that my European ancestors ate them as well, I developed Wild Willpower to help support Native American teachers in a way that gets this vital knowledge back to the people.” – Sondra Wilson

About Richard Lonewolf:

     Lonewolf is an incredible human being with an interesting family history. His family arrived in Kern County, California during the Great Depression, when there was a mass migration of Cherokee to the Kern River Valley. Originally consisting of mountain-dwelling tribes around what is now North Carolina, the Cherokee nation was relocated  to the flat lands of Georgia and Alabama before being marched to Oklahoma on the infamous (and unconstitutional) Trail of Tears.  The goal of many Cherokee during this migration was to get back to a mountainous ecosystem like their ancestors lived in.

     Since he was a young boy Lonewolf continued to practice and develop upon the ancestral skills his grandparents instilled into him. As he grew older he continued to integrate into his repertoire any knowledge of plant uses and other survival skills he could find in books, and from speaking with other native people who preserved this sacred knowledge. While serving in the US Army, his superiors realized he knew more about survival and ethnobotany than their current instructors, leading them to offer him a role in training US military units.  He went on to teach at multiple schools and universities , from kids to adults. Now in his late 60s, More Valuable Than Gold marks his first book to help spread his life’s work to people around the world.

“I was so moved by Lonewolf’s story and the story of his ancestors, I felt called to help him create this book. I hitchhiked around California for 8 years taking photos of plants and trees, street performing with my guitar and foraging to survive, then hitchhiking back to Lonewolf’s to sit next to him and write as he’d look through my photos and dictate.  Although we spent time performing hands-on training in the Sequoia National Forest, the fact that he was a disabled veteran not receiving his benefits didn’t make things easy for us. I’m really proud of we accomplished.” – Sondra Wilson

   “If I had one book to take with me in a real survival situation, this would be it – and I’m really not saying that just because I wrote it! This is the type of book I wish I’d been able to learn from when I were younger.” – Richard Lonewolf

Preview Photos – scroll down to order your copy:

Preview page – Oak trees:

Preview pages – Oak:

Preview page – bow and drill for fire making:

Preview page – Cattails:

Preview page – Steam Pit cooking technique:

There’s also a 6-page Traditional Medicines Index & Quick-Reference Guide: 

Pre-Order More Valuable Than Gold:

     Wild Willpower PAC is currently trying to raise enough overhead to get these printed. To do so, we are currently taking pre-orders.  We don’t know how long this fundraiser will take, but we will contact you as soon as we have a date. To pre-order, donate via PayPal ([email protected]) or Venmo (@Wild-Willpower) and write “More Valuable” in the subject line:

hard cover – $40

soft cover – $30

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Learn More About Richard Lonewolf & Watch Videos of Him Teaching

View Some of His Credential Letters

Return to WildWillpower.org