Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69549 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 864 pages

Amazon.com
For twenty years people have relied on these hundreds of recipes, instructions, and morsels of invaluable practical advice on all aspects of growing and preparing food. This definitive classic on food, gardening, and self-sufficient living is a complete resource for living off the land with over 800 pages of collected wisdom from country maven, Carla Emery--how to cultivate a garden, buy land, bake bread, raise farm animals, make sausage, milk a goat, grow herbs, churn butter, catch a pig, make soap, work with bees and more. Encyclopedia of Country Living is so basic, so thorough, so reliable, it deserves a place in every home--whether in the country, the city, or somewhere in between.

From Publishers Weekly
The updated ninth edition of this compendium of food production information is the hefty result of over three decades of intelligence-gathering by Emery, whose initial encyclopedia project was designed to help newbies in the "back to the land" movement of the early 70s learn self-sufficiency. Tasks Emery covers run the gamut from the simple to the complex, and from the common to the strange, and include how to: bake bread, make seed milk, sew a cornhusk bed, dry flowers, prune kiwi vines, culture yogurt, plant beans, keep bees, build a fish pond, artificially inseminate a turkey and help a cow who's eaten nails. In chapters such as "Grasses, Grains & Canes," "Food Preservation" and "Goats, Cows & Home Dairying," Emery offers advice, recipes (including many that are vegan), folk wisdom and plenty of hard facts. Though it's definitely not aimed at them, urbanites will find the recipes and resources lists (of herb periodicals, nurseries, organizations dedicated to simple living, etc.) useful, the trivia interesting ("catsup" was originally a thick sauce made from any fruit or vegetable), and Emery's personal reflections ("Once upon a time, in the bad old ways when the Communists and the Western countries were poised on the brink of mutual nuclear annihilation...") compelling. Even readers with no plans to raise sheep, sell homemade cheese or plant millet will find this a fascinating cultural document.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Mother Earth News
Carla Emery is certifiably one of the craziest, warmest, (sometimes unintentionally) funniest, wisest, most lovable, and idealistic zanies now walking the face of the earth and we think this old world would be a lot better off if we had a few more people like her.

Customer Reviews

Interesting Reading
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.

An outstanding book of country living skills.
This book is the most informative, easy-to-use book of its kind that I've found. 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. The author has spent 30 years collecting local rural knowledge and writing about her own trials and errors -- truly an irreplaceable collection of knowledge.

Great amount of information
I am very happy I purchased this book. It is very informative, and I will be honest I have not been able to read all the way through yet. 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...) and in what areas I have an interest. I would suggest it to anyone that wants to know more about country living. 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.