I'm wondering if any of you have read any informative books on homesteading that you would like to recommend to me? Non-fictional books only please.
Where are you located and what kind of book buying / borrowing ability do you have? The first place I would start at for getting the books is your local library - look at the real history books of homesteading in the 1800's. The books that were written from your local area will help you better than books written for other zones. I live in Canada. Some of the books that I have read describe sod-homes, burrows, igloos, etc. Each style of home has its advantages and disadvantages. Homesteading also includes tilling the land, planting and harvest. It also can include husbandry (taking care of animals). Do you have specifics behind homesteading?
NaeKid--Please share some of your titles on the books you listed..."Some of the books that I have read describe sod-homes, burrows, igloos, etc. Each style of home has its advantages and disadvantages" I have been looking for books on sod houses... made the old ways... if you have any titles you can share I would definately appriciate... Avarice--Carla Emery's book on homesteading, Storys book, there are many others. Look on amazon for one of the above and then look down on the page for their related titles.. there is a bunch out there.. different things.. depends what your looking for specifically. There is old ones that relate to gardening that I have in my library. I specifically look for the stuff that was published in the back to the land movement in the early 1970s. I have found that to have most of the best information.
back to basics which is a readers digest publication and the encyclopedia of country living by carla emery are two homesteading books i highly recommend to everyone . If there is something specific that you are looking for on a subject say so and i can recommend something more specific but most definitely if i had to choose one book to have it would be Carla emery's
Backwoods Home is a good homesteading magazine; homesteading, self reliance, self sufficiency, country living, how-to, alternative energy
The other book I was trying to think of the other day was The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour. Amazon.com: The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It: John Seymour, Deirdre Headon: Books Scroll down to the customers that bought this book also bought area. The books listed above plus quite a few more are in that list if you scroll through it... The john and Geri Mc Pherson book that includes the one listed is their book called Naked into the Wilderness... that is basically their part one and part two books together.... Some of it is usable up here in AK but I am still looking for information for cold weather survival.. I realize the Govt runs a lot of the military personal through Fairbanks for that specific learning and if any one has any info on books, titles, etc... I would be interested... thanks.
The books that I read were "reprints" from the ancient days. I found them at Lee Valley Tools. I don't know if there is such a store in the US close to you or not. Some of the titles that I have at home (going by memory here) include black-smithing, blade-smithing, farrier, camp-food (with things like using ashes as a leavening agent in bread), shelter building, using chain-saws, using axes, building trailers (that one might have come from Princess Auto) and such. Some of the current titles that I think I might just pickup (their Calgary store is really close to my work) is "Stone Building", "Rustic Carpentry", "The Craft of Log Building" and "Windmills and Wind Motors". If you click on their "search" button and put in "book" as the search term - you will see their 400+ books available. As far as I know, their reprints are for sale through their stores only - either online or in person.
Country Wisdom and Know How by Storey Books Back To Eden by Jethro Kloss The New Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour The New Self Sufficient Gardener by John Seymour And the Foxfire Books These are my bibles.
