The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 50th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual for Living Off the Land & Doing It Yourself (Homesteading & Off-Grid Survival)

The 2020's have not been kind. If you aren't already trying to be more self sufficient, then you might want to get on it. Though I imagine you are, if you are sniffing through books like this. This is an encyclopedia, by design it isnt all inclusive but its an impressive start. Are you old enough to remember encyclopedias? Little bit about everything, right? You can expect that here, except for a little more detail PLUS relevant links and addition resources. So would say it is a pretty good resource. I have lots of books, and I am super pleased with this so far. I am not at all disappointed. Very glad to have added it to my "prepper library". Because you know what? If power goes out, all digital resources become unavailable. So have an assortment of books. Use this as a solid starting point, learn what you can, add mote books to your library, print some info out and stuff into a binder, take notes, etc. But, if you ONLY had this book? It is going to make you more confident in having a go-to resource for a whole slew of information across all the things you may need to do in a self sufficient lifestyle. Neat little add on: there is a short "achievement checklists". 25 or so tasks that you may come across, and you can check if you have done them. Not all relevant to your situation, but it could be a starting point to see where your abilities and comforts are, and what you need to work on. If you havent done them, but want to.. maybe scout out your community and see if anyone is willing to show you. Volunteer to learn these skills! Then, " a final exam for you", which asks about what you learned. ie, What is basic bread recipe? How do you make cottage cheese? How do you plant potatoes? It's jam packed full of into. Small-ish print, so get out your glasses, a good light, and a notepad and sticky notes since you will want to jot down info or make bookmarks to special info. That being said, the info jumps out easily. It is well organized looking, and I can take it a paragraph, or section at a time. I think the lay out is good. You have no idea how many cruddy books I have because I bought them online and couldnt look at them first. I am really drawn to this books. All pages appear to be there. Each section has a quick list of what it covers, then its own specific table of contents. The beginning of the book has a general table of contents. Each section can be easily found because there is a darkened color to the page, like a tab. Then at end of book is the usual appendix, and some other bits of info. Learn now, research now, take down notes now, ask questions now, watch videos now, buy supplies now, stock your pantry now. Best $22 I have spent. My book came in excellent condition, no problems.

Carla Emery's Country Living Bible - Worth Its Weight in Gold! I just turned 66 and finally bought myself the 50th Anniversary Edition of "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" after eyeing it for years. I wish I'd gotten it sooner! This thick book (900+ pages and over 2 inches thick!) has become my daily companion as I plan my "escape to the countryside" retirement dream. Why This Book Changed My Life When I retired, I started seriously considering moving to that little piece of land my husband and I had talked about for years. But Lord knows I didn't inherit my grandmother's knack for self-sufficiency! This book fills that gap perfectly. Carla Emery wrote it while raising seven children on her homestead, and her practical wisdom shines through every page. I love how she covers EVERYTHING—from picking the right piece of land (which saved me from making a terrible mistake on that "bargain" property with no water rights) to raising chickens (which I'm starting this spring). The canning instructions helped me preserve my tomatoes without poisoning myself! Not Just For Youngsters Don't let my age fool you - this old dog is learning new tricks! I've already made my first goat cheese (delicious!) and started planning my first serious vegetable garden using Carla's detailed growing guides. What makes this book special is that it feels like having a patient friend teaching you—not like those fancy homestead Instagram accounts that make everything look perfect. Carla tells you when things are hard and exactly how to fix your mistakes. Some nights when I can’t sleep, I just flip through random sections. Last week, I learned about foraging for wild mushrooms and making natural cleaning supplies. My grocery bills have already dropped! If you're serious about country living at ANY age, trust me - this book is the best investment you'll make. I keep it right on my kitchen counter where I can grab it daily. After 50 years and a million copies sold, there's a reason this is still the country's living bible. Worth every penny and then some! This grandma gives it five enthusiastic stars!

This book is great and packed with all kinds of helpful information. I can’t wait to try out some of the ideas to help develop my little homestead. It’s a wonderful resource for anyone looking to live more self-sufficiently!

HUGE book with tons of info. I got this as a gift for someone and I am impressed at the size of this tome!

Very informative book with basically everything you need but would recommend getting a separate book on water filtration/purification

This Encyclopedia of Country Living is honestly one of the best resource books I’ve ever read for practical life skills. It breaks everything down in a way that feels friendly not overwhelming, whether you’re learning about gardening, preserving food, raising animals, or just living more self-sufficiently 🌾💡. It’s packed with real, usable information that doesn’t assume you already know all the lingo, which I really appreciated. I’ve flipped through it again and again because there’s always something useful and interesting in here, whether you’re prepping recipes or planning out a project 🍅🥖. If you like books that are both educational and genuinely enjoyable to read — not just dry info — this one is definitely worth having on your shelf 📖✨.

The book ingrate I found out about this book after reading your review that was talking about the book The Lost ways and they basically boiled it down to The Lost ways is nothing more than a series of I recommend this product and doesn't have hardly any information as Dual Survival living off the land and the reviewer of the Lost ways book said it was basically crap mentioned they used to get this book instead and I got to be honest I'm glad I did the writer of this book is a great source of information. I like this book it's a hell of a lot thicker than I expected and I've hardly had time to crack it and read a bunch into it but I have read the introduction to the offering stuff and I like how she and her husband got their start into homesteading in self-reliance the only other couple boats I can think of other than this one a couple books I got one and I really need it because it's really helpful to raise animals and it's call butchering by Adam Danforth and it's for butchering poultry rabbit lambgoat and pork and it's a comprehensive photographic guide to Humane slaughtering and butchering because trust me butchers are expensive the only other one that I need to get is for butchering cows and I don't know if this encyclopedia country living has it in it but if it doesn't I'd suggest buying a book on how to build a salt room smoking room for curing meat that does not have to be refrigerated and also a book on digging a root cellar my grandma grew up without Refrigeration and electricity whenever they were kids her and my PawPaw both taught me alot but it always helps to have some written documentation as well to refer to in the event power is going to be off for an extremely long extended periods of time. But this Encyclopedia of country living is a very large book I'd say it's at least 2 in thick and it's got a lot of information like how how to get started in homesteading play the very first few pages it describes what kind of land and locations which will be different for everybody based on what you're trying to go for. but it's a great book I am definitely damn sure glad I bought it!!! for twenty bucks or however much I spent on it, the value against nation in it is definitely more valuable. and the husband and wife the wife wrote the book but they were both living in the city and they decided that they wanted to go and live and enjoy homesteading so anybody can do it basically but it is a lot of hard work but rewarding work

I have the original of this book from the 70's and have always loved it. A treasury of cooking and living. Well written, informative, useful and entertaining. My niece picked it up one day and fell in love with it. I surprised her with her own copy. If you are living in the country or just wish you were; if you have a garden or raise chickens; if you like to cook; if you like to read. This book is for you. A real pleasure for many years guaranteed.