General Books

The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It

John Seymour

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A perfect source for dreaming of self-sufficiency 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

For those wishing to find an overview of what it means to live a self-sufficient life, look no further than this text. Engagingly written and bursting with relevant information, Seymour's volume covers just about every topic with the fundamental information you need to properly evaluate your current situation and plan for the future. It is sure to be well-worn and dogeared before too long.

Editorial Review:

The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more. This new edition includes 150 new full color illustrations and a special section in which John Seymour the father of the back to basics movement explains the philosophy of self-sufficiency and its power to transform lives and create communities. More relevant than ever in our high-tech world, The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the ultimate practical guide for realists and dreamers alike.

American Farmer: The Heart of Our Country

Katrina Fried

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When photographer Paul Mobley set out to capture the soul of America's farming communities, he discovered a culture defined by tradition, integrity, and hard work, and comprised of the most authentic and generous individuals he's ever encountered. Traveling across the country from Tennessee to Montana, Mobley and his camera were welcomed into the homes of over one hundred farming families, who graciously shared their personal histories along with the fruits of their labor. To spend time with them was to turn back the clock--to an era when there were no locks on doors, no urban sprawl, and no virtue more prized than common decency. Children still move across the street and not across the state when they grow up, and parents move back in with their children whern they grow old. Story after story, visit after visit, Mobley slowly came to know the independent farmer's spirit both from behind the lens and over the dinner table.

The result is a stunning series of portraits and direct quotes that collectively chronicle the life of the American farmer. Each image offers an unvarnished and intimate look inside the hardships and joys of a quickly disappearing lifestyle--one that once defined our national identity and now struggles just to keep a foothold. And even as encroaching cities threaten their livelihoods, these men and women continue to find sustenance in the same basic human values they were raised with. American Farmer is an inspirational reminder of what it means to live with simplicity and contentment, in a world that is driven by excess. This vivid portfolio is accompanied by anecdotes and memories in the farmer's own words that are both a testament to their enduring hospitatlity and a moving glimpse into their daily routines and family histories. But what you will read first, and foremost, are their faces. From Bruce Crump, a citrus farmer in Florida; to Patsy Fribley, a stockyard dealer from Montana; to Thurston Wilber, a Maine lobsterman, Mobley's intense and beautiful portraits capture the furrows of fields lining their brows, the crevices of drought creasing the corners of their mouths, and the grains of truth in their squinted eyes.

35 states included: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming

Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses

Ricki Carroll

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The classic home cheese making primer has been updated and revised to reflect the increased interest in artisanal-quality cheeses and the availability of cheese making supplies and equipment.

Here are 85 recipes for cheeses and other dairy products that require basic cheese making techniques and the freshest of ingredients, offering the satisfaction of turning out a coveted delicacy. Among the step-by-step tested recipes for cheese varieties are farmhouse cheddar, gouda, fromage blanc, queso blanco, marscarpone, ricotta, and 30-minute mozzarella. Recipes for dairy products include crFme frafche, sour cream, yogurt, keifer, buttermilk, and clotted cream. There are also 60 recipes for cooking with cheese, including such treats as Ricotta Pancakes with Banana Pecan Syrup, Cream Cheese Muffins, Broiled Pears and Vermont Shepherd Cheese, Prosciutto and Cheese Calzones, and Grilled Vegetable Stacks with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. Profiles of home cheese makers and artisan cheese makers scattered throughout the text share the stories of people who love to make and eat good cheese. Plus information on how to enjoy homemade cheeses, how to serve a cheese course at home, cheese tips, lore, quotes, cheese making glossary, and more.

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens: Care / Feeding / Facilities

Gail Damerow

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 63 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This is the one you need 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

If you do not know anything about raising chickens, this is the book for you. Easy to read and understand. Good discreption of possible problems with your flock. I have raised chickens for 6 years and this was even good for me as a refresher.

Good Comprehensive Information on Chickens 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I would suggest this book to anyone who is just thinking of getting started raising chickens. It's a good book and covers a wide range of topics.

A Must Read for Chicken Owners 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is very useful and full of information that is very vital and helpful in raising chickens from start to finish.

Excellect Reference Book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful reference book on everything you need to know about raising chickens. It would have been nice if there was more information on the different breeds of chickens.

I love chicks! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I grew up raising poultry but I haven't kept them as an adult. This guide is great. Very much as I remember keeping chickens, also a great guide to remember other things I may have forgotten.

Editorial Review:

Expert advice on selecting breeds, caring for chicks, producing eggs, raising broilers, feeding, troubleshooting, and much more.

Silent Spring (Perennial Bestseller Collection)

Rachel Carson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 136 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

What about malaria in Africa? 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

While Rachel's theories were ahead of her time 40 years ago, many now believe DDT is not the toxin/poison that her book helped label the chemical as. One thing is for SURE: malaria kills millions, including children, in Africa each and every year. DDT could prevent those deaths at a very affordable cost. Malaria in Africa -- one of those unseen ripples in the pond....

the beginning of environmental science 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

An amazing woman and book: the beginning of the us taking responsibility for pollution thanks to this book.

Excellent! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book was delivered in good condition and in a timely fashion. I am very pleased with your services.

Editorial Review:

Now recognized as one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, "Silent Spring" exposed the destruction of wildlife through the widespread use of pesticides. Despite condemnation in the press and heavy-handed attempts by the chemical industry to ban the book, Rachel Carson succeeded in creating a new public awareness of the environment which led to changes in government and inspired the ecological movement.

Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting (Third Edition) (Storey's Down-to-Earth Guides)

Stu Campbell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Creating the best garden ever starts at the bottom 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 16 people found this review helpful.

Composting, in case you aren't terribly familiar with it yet, is simply the practice of allowing waste matter to rot and decompose until it's fit to be tilled right into the soil. However, while the basic concept is as old as mother nature and often very easy to execute, it also helps to know more about it. What materials should you compost, and which should you avoid? Do you have to worry about animals or flies in your compost? How do you make sure your compost will turn into dirt and not a slimy, stinky sludge?

While nearly every gardening book these days has a section on composting and most of these are enough to get you by, Stu Campbell's Let It Rot! is an entertaining, folksy and in-depth take on the art that will see you through nearly any foreseeable difficulty. I was certainly able to successfully compost with the simpler directions in other books, but there's information in here I wish I'd had back when I first started. For instance, now I know the cobweb-like stuff that I feared was mold was the natural activity of Actinomycetes, a part-bacteria, part-fungus organism that aids decomposition in certain parts of a compost pile.

Mr. Campbell's book also introduces a great many different types of compost piles and composters that you can use, depending on what you're trying to accomplish, what area you have to work with, or what you're trying to decompose. He also suggests many ways to use compost in and around your garden, and how to get the most out of it. I'm glad I picked up Mr. Campbell's book, because I learned an incredible amount of new material!

Editorial Review:

In 1975, Let it Rot! helped start the composting movement and taught gardeners everywhere how to recycle waste to create soil-nourishing compost. Contains advice for starting and maintaining a composting system, building bins, and using compost. Third Edition. 267,000 copies in print.

The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants

Samuel Thayer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

It fills the void! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is unique in that it fills a big void in the other wild edible books out there. This void is filled mainly by the chapters entitled "Harvest and Preparation Methods for Wild Plant Foods" and "Storing Wild Foods". Thayer wrote this book with his experience and not what he has compiled from other books like so many others. It covers only 32 plants but they are very useful plants and it covers them in detail. I agree with other reviewers in that the book may only cover plants that are more common in the eastern U.S. but the author makes recommendations for other books that will cover what his book does not...and I can vouch that his recommendations are worth while. Great pictures, a useful glossary and the verbal content is not only an enjoyable read but overwhelmingly informative. Despite the fact that this book is a softcover, the quality of the pages and binding will seemingly make it a durable guide for field use and the repeated referencing I intend to give it. Regardless of where you live, if you are a serious forager or survival enthusiast your library should not be without this book!

Editorial Review:

A practical guide to all aspects of edible wild plants: finding and identifying them, their seasons of harvest, and their methods of collection and preparation. Each plant is discussed in great detail and accompanied by excellent color photographs. Includes an index, illustrated glossary, bibliography, and harvest calendar. The perfect guide for all experience levels.

Handy Farm Devices And How to Make Them

Rolfe Cobleigh

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Archaic, I would not recommend. 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

If by "how to make them" you were thinking of a blueprint or plan, forget it. You will have to intuit construction from a sketch. Many of the projects/ideas were applicable in days gone by, but worth a read now only for the charm.

Very Basic, but good ideas 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

So far i have only read about a 1/4 of the way through it, but as a machinist/welder by trade, i was expecting a little more detail on the plans and directions. i am not saying it is not a worthwhile book. With a little imagination and the basics that are stated throughout the book you can probably be inspired to make quite a few useful items. If you are looking for IDEAS to make your chores a bit easier then check it out. It is a good book as far as basics and LOTS of ideas.

Wonderful old farm devices 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful old farm devices, I am very happy I purchased this book. It is very simple and reminds me of how simple yet hardworking farmers were before modern inventions that make farming easier today. I think anyone that wants to still use the old way of doing things should check out this book. It is a basic book of basic tools that can assist the small farmer in their homestead. I would suggest it to anyone that wants to know more about old country living tools. This is a very basic foundation of information on old farm tools, their applications, and drawings to assist in actual building of the device. No schematics or anything complex, just drawings and informative accompanying paragraphs about the tool. I love it!

Editorial Review:

Practical projects as useful today as when first published 75 years ago.

Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game

John J. Mettler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This is the book for anyone who hunts, farms, or buys large quantities of meat. The author takes the mystery out of slaughtering and butchering everything from beef and veal, to venison, pork, and lamb. The text is clear and easy-to-follow. Combined with 130 detailed illustrations by Elayne Sears, the reader is provided with complete, step-by-step instructions. Here is everything you need to know: ; At what age to butcher an animal ; How to kill, skin, slaughter, and butcher How to dress out game in a field ; Salting, smoking, and preserving ; Tools, equipment, the setup ; More than thirty recipes using all kinds of meat An Outdoor Life Book Club Selection "Provides clear, concise, and step-by-step information for people who want to slaughter their own meat." (Mother Earth News) Author Biography: John J. Mettler, Jr., D.V.M., is a retired large-animal veterinarian in upstate New York and has written several books on animals, including Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game and Horse Sen

Beekeeping for Dummies

Howland Blackiston

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Believe it or not, bees are one of the oldest species of domesticated animals. Archeologists have found evidence of beekeeping, or apiculture, in the Middle East dating back more than five thousand years. If you’ve ever tasted good clover honey, it’s not hard to understand why. But it’s not just for the honey that more than 125,000 people (and growing) in the United States, alone, keep hives. Anyone interested in nature can’t help but be fascinated by those buzzing yellow bundles of energy and the exotic world they inhabit, with all its weird rituals and incredible efficiency. Also, dedicated gardeners appreciate the extra bounty that pollinating bees bring to their fruits, flowers, and vegetable gardens.

In this easy-to-follow guide, Howland Blackiston, one of the nation’s most respected authorities on the subject, takes the mystery (and the sting) out of beekeeping. Taking a step-by-step approach to successful backyard beekeeping, he gets you up and running with all the information you need to:

• Build a hive
• Establish your first colony
• Inspect your hives with confidence
• Maintain healthy colonies
• Deal with pests and fix common problems
• Harvest and enjoy fresh homemade honey
• Bottle and market your honey

Howland Blackiston covers all the bases, from bee anatomy, society, and behavior, to identifying and healing common illnesses afflicting bees. He also offers inventive solutions to most common and many uncommon problems you’re likely to run into. Among other things, you’ll discover:

• Where to put your hive, basic equipment you’ll need, and how to assemble a hive
• The best and safest way to inspect and enjoy your bees
• Year-round tasks a beekeeper must perform to maintain a healthy colony
• How to recognize and deal with common problems with brood production and the precious queen
• How to harvest honey and decide what kind of honey you’d like to make
• Making products from beeswax and propolis

For both fun and profit, beekeeping has become a booming enterprise. A real honey of a book, Beekeeping For Dummies gets you on the road to enjoying this ancient, highly-rewarding, and oh-so-tasty hobby.