Fear of arms races, fear of deforestation and nuclear power, fear of growing social insecurity. Amidst the climate of doom and doubts about civilization that dominated the 1980s, millions of anxious contemporaries were captivated by reports and guides in which survival pioneers, equipped only with a knife and a loincloth, fought their way through the jungle. The stunted survival instincts were to be reactivated, and affluent citizens were to be prepared for the struggle for survival in an urban world threatened by collapse. Through the peculiar genre of survival literature, Philipp Schönthaler explores the bizarrely threatening mood of the 1980s, which also manifested itself in pop culture, cinema, and leisure trends. In doing so, the adventure narratives and life instructions of survival are connected with survival reports from Daniel D.