Book Review: Encyclopedia of Country Living
Whether you are a homesteading wannabe or have years of experience in self-sufficiency, this book is a must-have resource.
Oct. 8, 2008
By Heidi Hunt
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Meander through the pages of The Encyclopedia of Country Living to discover the satisfaction of becoming self-sufficient.
TALAVIETIS/FOTOLIA.COM
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If you have ever contemplated moving to the country, homesteading or simply becoming more self-reliant, The Encyclopedia of Country Living will inspire you to make the move and give you proven advice. This tenth edition contains 922 pages of recipes, resources, and firsthand experiences of the author — and many of the 650,000 who have purchased previous editions of the book.
The Beginning
Emery grew up on a Montana ranch and was already familiar with many of the farm and self-sufficiency skills needed to raise a family in rural Idaho. She and her husband, Mike, were also committed to providing as much of the family’s food as possible and raising their five children with a strong work ethic and an appreciation for thriftiness. Carla wrote the first edition of the book over a period of four years, starting in 1970, then published (using a mimeograph machine) and marketed the book herself.
She conceived the contents of the book after reading letters to the editor in Organic Gardening requesting information on canning, raising chickens and milking a cow. In a May 1975 interview, Carla said, “What these people needed was a book. A great, large book like an encyclopedia that tells everything you need to know to raise your own food and process it and raise food for animals and so on. A big, dependable guide to self-sufficiency that's written simply and clearly.” And that is what she did — while raising five children and helping her husband run the farm.
3 Cents a Page
The “Table of Contents” is a sedate list of topics that does nothing to alert the reader as to the depth of the content found in each chapter. The first chapter, “Oddments,” covers choosing and buying land, schools of country living, looking for love, home births, caring for your dead, backwoods (primitive) housekeeping, quilting, candlestick making … and more.