Book Review Monday

Last week’s Book Review Monday was in response to a reader question: “My daughter and her husband have purchased small acreage and are beginning their homestead journey. Both are city kids with no gardening or farm experience. Can you recommend a good book for beginners? Thanks.“

We recommended several books, but decided to space out additional recommendations since we didn’t want to overwhelm people. But needless to say, we have an extensive library of homesteading books.

Which is why I found it so funny when one reader commented as follows: “Another good reference is the old ‘Back to Basics‘ book by Readers Digest, it’s been republished since by another place, but full of good info.“

I found this funny because this was one of the books we’d pulled out to review, then put back on the shelf until this week. But this reader is correct: “Back to Basics” is a phenomenal book. I’ve owned this copy since the 1980s.

It’s kind of the “Ball Blue Book of Canning” of homesteading books: Beautifully illustrated and thorough, but not as intimidatingly comprehensive as Carla Emery’s “Encyclopedia of Country Living.”

Reader’s Digest no longer prints this book, but it’s now available in another format. The contents are identical.

Here is the Table of Contents (in my older copy):

See? Just beautiful.

Highly recommended.

Our next suggested reference is a new addition to our homesteading library, although it was published in 2011. This was a book we picked up at a tiny spot on the map called Silver Star, Montana at a place called Granny’s Country Store. At the time we stopped in, Granny was out, and her son (whose name we regrettably missed) was packing up a significant portion of the inventory to attend a show, but the book selection in the store was still excellent.

One of the books we purchased is called “Homesteading in the 21st Century: How One Family Created a More Sustainable, Self-Sufficient, and Satisfying Life” by George Nash and Jane Waterman.

This couple has an impressive background in hippie living (interpret that as you will), but unquestionably their book is highly informative and reflects an imposing range of skills.

I would recommend this book without hesitation to beginning homesteaders.

Don’s book recommendation is a practical manual called “How to Build Animal Housing: 60 Plans for Coops, Hutches, Barns, Sheds, Pens, Nestboxes, Feeders, Stanchions, and Much More” by Carol Ekarius.

Don’s observations: “I own a lot of books about building construction, including those books dedicated to farm and ranch construction (I’ll post more of these if you want). Some are just picture books for ideas, and others require that you understand construction at a more advanced level. This book fits well in between those extremes. It makes understanding the basics easy: Simple to complex foundations, small projects (from hutches to pens), all the way up to milking barns and stables. It also provides instructions on layout, air flow, simple electrical systems, and a lot more.”

“Every homestead need outbuildings. This book will be a big help in deciding what you want.” 

(Obligatory disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, if you purchase through those links, I earn a small commission.)

Happy reading!

Source: http://www.rural-revolution.com/2025/03/book-review-monday_24.html