Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills (Second Edition) [Hardcover]

Reader's Digest (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 1997

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.

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

From the Back Cover

"Open the book at any page and there's something of interest." -Chicago Sun-Times

"...it would be an asset to anyone's personal library at home. We recommend it highly." -Kansas City Times

"It is a superb reference book, better than any number of those that pretend to teach you survival skills by concentrating on just a few crafts." -Survival Tomorrow

"This is really an encyclopedia and, like a good encyclopedia, the narrative is clear and complete, the illustrations are plentiful and the whole thing is thoroughly indexed. You can spend a fortune on a library of neo-pioneer books or you can buy BACK TO BASICS." -Times & World News, Roanoke, VA

"If you're going to go back to the good old days you'll need something the good old days didn't have...an instruction manual." -Cincinnati Enquirer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 456 pages
• Publisher: Reader's Digest Association; 2nd edition (March 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895779390
• ISBN-13: 978-0895779397
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

304 of 311 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A traditional skills primer., October 31, 1999

By 

GENE GERUE "Author, Find Your Ideal Country Home" (Zanoni, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills (Second Edition) (Hardcover)

A primer on self-reliance and rural skills, this is a large-format book of 456 pages lavishly illustrated with photographs and drawings, about half in full color. Here are 57 subjects, many with subsets, as in gardening, which includes information on soil, cultivation methods, making and using a greenhouse, and specific information on many veggies, herbs, fruits. Some presentations are simplistic, like telling you how to find and evaluate a farm or can produce in only four pages. Building and using a smokehouse gets one page. Using dairy products butters ten pages. Woodworking and furniture making nail down thirty pages. Build and decorate a house and the chairs, tables, beds to furnish it. Build a springhouse, a dam, a well, a water system. Grow vegetables, fruits, grains. Raise bees, fish, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, hogs, sheep, goats, cows, horses. Make cheese, maple syrup, beer, wine, bread, soap, candles, baskets. Cook with wood. Spin yarn, use natural dyes, make cloth, quilts, rugs, hammocks. Learn tanning and leather work, tinsmithing, blacksmithing, toolmaking. Celebrate harvest and holidays with traditional decorations, recipes, toys, games, dances. Learn camping, hiking, fishing, canoeing, snowshoeing, skiing. Whew! This book will keep you happily occupied for several decades.

68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars back to basics, February 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills (Second Edition) (Hardcover)

i was given this book over 15 years ago. it has become my "bible" for basic skills. we refer to this book at least once a week for advice and instruction - and always manage to find what we're looking for! it does more than touch on subjects! you get in-depth instructions with pictures to guide you through such things as building a foundation and canning your own garden goods. my copy is well-worn from much use! i treasure this book and all the things i've learned from it. for those out there who wish to live more self-sufficiently, you must have this book.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great get-started book on many basic self-reliant skills., November 9, 1999

By 

ybl_8257 (Lansing, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills (Second Edition) (Hardcover)

This book touches on so many practical skills, it's terrific! You'll learn everything from soap making to building your own rough-hewn cabin by hand -- and what to look for when picking the best site for your homestead. There's something for everyone.