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Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills (Second Edition) | 
| Author: Reader's Digest
Publisher: Reader's Digest Association
Category: Book
Buy New: $51.99
New (2) Used (9) Collectible (2) from $38.99
Rating:  73 reviews
Sales Rank: 432590
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 456
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.3
Dimensions (in): 11 x 8.7 x 1.1
ISBN: 0895779390
Dewey Decimal Number: 640.973
UPC: 789112051376
EAN: 9780895779397
ASIN: 0895779390
Publication Date: March 17, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
"Voluntary simplicity" has become a catch phrase for what seems to be a yearning for a simpler, more self-sufficient and economical way of living in the late 20th century. This book, first published in 1981 and recently updated, was probably many folks' first in-depth exposure to the idea of a simpler life, making things by hand, and enjoying a stronger sense of control over personal budgets, home projects, and lifestyles. Hundreds of projects are listed, illustrated in step-by-step diagrams and instructions: growing and preserving your own food, converting trees to lumber and building a home from it, traditional crafts and homesteading skills, and having fun with recreational activities like camping, fishing, and folk dancing without spending a lot of money. This book will have you dreaming and planning from the first page! -- Mark A. Hetts
Product Description
This how-to, user-friendly guide teaches self-sufficiency-covering all of life's essentials: shelter; alternative energy sources; growing and preserving food; home crafts; directions for making herbal remedies; and even home-grown entertainment.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 68 more reviews...
Excellent December 28, 2008
This book is jam packed with very useful information and lots of pictures. My son-in-law and his mom love it. She and I grew up on farms where much of this information was common practice. I'm glad to see people trying to regain the natural and healthful ways of farming. This book covers absolutely everything you need to know to survive and thrive.
 good overview December 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book provides a great overview of a lot of things, but doesn't get too much into the weeds. As the daughter of a contractor, I'll tell you that the book leaves a LOT out of building your own home. But I'd like to build a stone cottage some day, so i appreciate the ideas it offers. I'm not all the way through, but I like how they offer other books to read if you are interested in one specific activity, allowing you to gain more knowledge than the general overview the book provides. Good overview, but if you want to do something on your own, you're going to have to purchase a lot of specialty books in each area.
Very informative November 30, 2008
This book has some interesting things for the diy type of person that I never considered doable on a small scale before.
Back to Basics October 28, 2008
This particular book is as it's title implies Back To Basics. It is an excellent book which will give you a historic view of how things were done in the past and give you a foundation to build your skills on.
In the event of a disaster, it will give you guide lines on how to do tasks and build skills to help you come out on top of many situations that can result from a natural disaster, a financial disaster and hone your survival skills. I recommend it for this reason.
While the book is out of print, it is still available at a reasonable cost through the connections that Amazon.com offers.
 Some good information, but unfocused (details) October 24, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
This illustrated book has been published chiefly for those who are new to country living, and/or who have an interest in self-sufficiency and in retrieving some of the "lost arts" which are appurtenant to traditional country life. The information is mostly introductory and rudimentary... a good start for most folks new to these areas of interest.
I have lived in the foothills of rural Appalachia for 55 years and have been involved in carrying out nearly all the construction, activities, arts, and crafts found within this text. Some of the text, (along with the accompanying drawings and photos), is quite good. The information is solid and one can get started along the right track; however, the work goes astray (the publishers sort of "threw in the kitchen sink"), into areas which are not particularly relevant to traditional country living. The editors simply went too far afield when they got into topics such as "Winter Sports," "Kayaking and Rafting," "Foraging for Flour and Emergency Rations," and so on. Most of these subjects are tagged on at the end, I felt just to make the book longer, (it's plenty long enough at 456 pages!)
Additionally, on topics such as "Emergency First Aid," "Fly Fishing" (and fish identification), and "Recipes," there are obligatory sections, none of which are all that useful since these are subjects, any one of which could fill volumes. Had these areas of specific interest been omitted, the more appropriate topics could have been somewhat expanded, such as "Barn Building" or "Preserving Meat and Fish".
There is a far superior (albeit, much older) version of this sort of book which was published by Reader's Digest some years ago: READER'S DIGEST BACK TO BASICS. I can highly recommend it and I've referred to my worn copy time after time.
While there is quite a great deal of quality information in this Skyhorse Publishing Third Edition (2008) for those seeking a new or improved life in the rural countryside, I still feel that the editors strayed off-base to the point that I cannot heartily recommend the work.
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