The Encyclopedia of Country Living

• Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance
• Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables
• The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It
• Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)
• Handy Farm Devices And How to Make Them

The Encyclopedia of Country Living is very interesting to reading, but when it comes to looking up information it is really not written like an encyclopedia. Though it's very informative and the information is very useful, the writing style is more conversational.I am enjoying and using the information, but have found myself seeking more in depth books on a few topics, understandable though, to be in depth on all topics this book would need to be thousands of pages long.

This book is the most informative, easy-to-use book of its kind that I've found. The author has spent 30 years collecting local rural knowledge and writing about her own trials and errors -- truly an irreplaceable collection of knowledge. It's laid out like a true encyclopedia -- just look up "tomatoes" or "goats" or whatever interests you, and learn everything there is to know about growing, keeping, and using them in the home/farm.

I would suggest it to anyone that wants to know more about country living. It is very informative, and I will be honest I have not been able to read all the way through yet. I am very happy I purchased this book. The foundation of information is just what I need to determine my country needs and where I want to focus more (buy more books, sign up for newsletters etc.). This is a very in depth foundation of information and personal experiences (not just the authors) to build on when planning to move or if you are already in the country living lifestyle. and in what areas I have an interest.

You will find yourself picking it up often. She doesn't claim to know everything. It has been updated many times. It's here. One thing that I'm aware of being left out because she mentions it is raw egg recipes. The author makes no pretenses. This truly is a must have. Even giving birth alone.

She says she was requested to leave them out for food saftey reasons. Look it up in her book, learn the basics (or sometimes much more than the basics), & then use her references to guide you.From farm animals, to gardening, to canning, to flowers, to recipes, to you name it. :o( Anyone country living can usually trust that their backyard eggs are safe. She gives TONS of information for outside sources so you can further your knowledge in the vast areas. This massive book is many many years worth of information. I cannot beleive the amount of information this book contains.

I'm pretty sure she doesn't leave anything out from the older versions, explaining why the book gets larger and larger. This was very dissapointing to me. Outhouses, water issues.on and on it goes. This books makes a fantastic starting point or reference point to whatever it is you are looking for more information on. She bases her knowledge on her experiences, letters, & information gathered over the years from others. No Egg Nog, No Mayonaise.

It's like curling up to read the letter of a long distance friend.sort of. Just about anything you can think of regarding the "simple life" is noted in this book.

definitely has a bunch of homesteading info. should not read from start to finish, pick a chapter about something you want to learn and read that. probably could use some editing, but overall a very good resource to learn from.