This summer I was at a secondhand bookstore in Penticton, British Columbia.  I was looking for some resource books for homesteading and I was pleasantly surprised, well down right jubilant to find a book I had been seeking for over five years.  The book ...

Reader's Digest Back to Basics - How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills
The find was well worth the wait.  I can't recommend it enough, and for twenty dollars for a comprehensive homesteading and sustainable living guide, it was well worth what was paid.  The book is broken down into six parts:

Part One:  Land: Buying It - Building On It
Part Two:  Energy From Wood, Water, Wind And Sun
Part Three:  Raising Your Own Vegetables, Fruit And Livestock
Part Four:  Enjoying Your Harvest The Year Round
Part Five:  Skills and Crafts for House and Homestead
Part Six:  Recreation at Home And in the Wild

This book has everything and is a comprehensive guide on how to live the simple life.  It takes the reader on a journey of how to homestead and enjoy it.  From selecting your land, producing your own energy, producing and preserving your own food, to traditional crafts and recreation activities.  All this in less than 500 pages!

In fact, I have challenged friends to bring up a homesteading topic that was not in this book.  So far no one has been able to defeat the book.  It has become my 'go to' resource for initial information on any topic.  In many instances I have not needed to consult other references.  Quilting, tin smithing, furniture building, winter camping, milking goats, amending soil, baking bread, welding, butchering, home brew are just a few of the multitude of topics covered.  This book is suprisingly comprehensive on the topics it covers and provides enough information to get started.

The book contains recipes, comprehensive diagrams and illustrations.  If you are serious about homesteading, this book is a must have for your library.  Five Stars!

You will have to seek it out though, as this book sadly is no longer in print.  Add it to your list of hard to find books that are certainly worth the search.

 


Comments

Angela
12/10/2011 12:49

Heya, Jays. I have this book!! I saw this picture and smiled and had to run and check my shelf to see if it's the same one, and indeed, it is! :) My mother bought this book when it was brand new in 1981 (4th printing), and eventually gave me all of her craft and home-type books when I was a young teenager (maybe 13?) because they no longer interested her. The book still looks brand new, and there is a paper marking the part about butchering rabbits. Of course, all those baby bunnies I was raising as a young child just kept "running away", you know! :) Anyway, this entry made me smile. Do you have the Crafts and Hobbies book by them? I think it was the same year, but I'm not sure... It's worth a look too! :)

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Jayson
12/12/2011 09:24

Hi Angela,

I love that your mother bought this book when it was brand new! My book is still pretty newish it too and my spine tingles each time I open it ... I just want to try everything in it (well maybe with the exception of processing animals for meat). Poor baby bunnies running away to the rabbit hutch in the sky --- lol. Thanks for the recommendation of the Crafts and Hobbies book ... a new book to search for!!! All the best to you!

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Matt W
02/11/2012 04:55

I believe this book has been reprinted here: http://www.amazon.com/Back-Basics-Complete-Traditional-Skills/dp/1602392331/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328964628&sr=8-1

We don't have the original Reader's Digest book, but he remembers it being almost identical. That reprint is available in pretty much every big-ish bookstore around (they had it at Barnes and Noble). If you have a chance - it would be worth comparing!

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