A new staple to anyone's bookshelf!

[methusaleh]

I buy, read, and stockpile LOTS of books about survival-related topics, so it takes a LOT to impress me, but today my fiance brought home a brand new book that knocked my socks off. This is probably going to be among my "top ten" books very soon, and although much of it is aimed at beginners and people with limited land and resources, it is chock-full of info that we all could use.

The book is "The Backyard Homestead" edited by Carleen Madigan. Itis the 2009 edition and includes things from other, older books, but is in itself a goldmine of information.

I will let the reviews and stuff speak for themselves:

http://www.examiner.com/x-711-Oklahoma-Gardening-Examiner~y2009m4d3-Garden-book-of-the-week--The-Backyard-Homestead

http://cookingupastory.com/show/5504/

[ryantx23]

Methusaleh,

What are your top ten book favorites?

[Skyowl]

Now you've gone and done it. I now have to inventory all the various "type" books I have on hand. Two of them include the Soldier's Manual of Common Tasks (Skill Level 1) and the Boy Scout Handbook. Will let you know others when I get the inventory done.

Thanks for the ehadsup on this one though. I will look into getting it soon.

[Skyowl]

Okay, just completed the inventory:

US Army, STP 21-1-SMCT, Soldier’s Manual of Common Tasks, Skill Level 1, 1994 & Dec 2007 Editions
US Army, FM 21-31, Topographic Symbols, April 1961
US Army, FM 3-25.26, Map Reading and Land Navigation, January 2005
Cold Storage for Fruits and Vegetables, © 1978
Build Your Own Underground Root Cellar, Phyllis Hobson, © 1981
Handy Farm Devices & How to Make Them, Rolfe Cobleigh, © 1996
Square Foot Gardening, Mel Bartholomew, © 1981
Wells and Septic Systems, 2nd Ed, Max and Charlotte Alth, © 1992
US Army, TM 5-725, Rigging, Oct 1968
Outdoor Survival Skills, 6th Ed, Larry Dean Olsen, © 1997
Bush Craft, Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival, Mors Kichanski, © 1987
Root Cellaring, Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables, Mike and Nancy Bubel, © 1991
Back to Basics, How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills, Readers Digest, © 1981
Making the Best of Basics, Family Preparedness Handbook, James Talmage Stevens, © 1997
Solar Living Source Book, John Schaeffer, © 1996
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emery, © 1994


Can't find the Boy Scout Handbook right now but you know the book I mean.

[mountainman28713]

GOT IT!!! have not finished it though,
I work alot. but none the less it is in or survival library.

[musselwhite]

excellent inventory of books. if i can find them at the library i'll check them out. i am not in a financial position to purchase anything other than absolute necessities. party raised in the land of cotton (dixie) i have some knowledge of growing and am familiary w/root cellars.

i have my son's boy scout book which has taught me to tie certain knots. didn't realize how important a knot could be in the wilderness.

spend 31 days in the ozarks recently and found i was very much unprotected, w/out transportation and 16 miles from the nearest town and no communication. learned just how unprepared a old woman can be......

i did start a garden and it was looking so good until plans changed quickly.

learned mucho but need to learn a whole lot of hands on.

thanks for the wealth of info.

[cbprice797]

I was just looking at Backyard Homestead at the local Barnes and Nobles.

[Skyowl's Wife]

Have you read/obtained the Foxfire series?

[cbprice797]

I realize that this is over a year in coming Skyowl. I actually own the entire series and it is not all it is cracked up to be. There is really very little usable info in them. Most of the time it is interviews with people that know someone that was a blacksmith and tells you about the person. Very seldom does the book give any detailed info about something. When it does you can tell there are missing steps and the description is not complete. THis is definitely the kind of resource you want in a survival situation. I would recomend getting books on subjects that you are interested in and bypass the expense of the Foxfire series, and they have rereleased these books btw. Please do not waste your time and shelf space on these. They are very interesting to read though, I got my set when I was in college for a research paper. But for pure info these are not worth it.