Customer Reviews

Country Wisdom & Know-How

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you could gather up the wisdom of the many generations of farmers, ranchers, outdoorsmen, homesteaders, and mountain-men and put it into a book you would end up with a book like this. While this is not as thorough as the multi-volume sets like the older Foxfire series, it is one of the most complete single-volume works available. The text is small in order to cram all the information into this oversized almost 500 page book but it is still readable and very interesting. The book is divided into the six major sections of animals, cooking, crafts, gardening, health and well-being, and home. Each of these major divisions is subdivided into multiple more detailed sections. For example, the animals section includes information on attracting desirable animals such as humming birds, building bird shelters, feeding birds while preventing squirrels from robbing the feeder, getting rid of problem animals, taking care of your pets, herbal treatments for dog problems, rabbit husbandry, horsemanship, raising chickens and ducks, beekeeping, and butchering. Each section is similarly detailed with the gardening section being particularly large. Country Wisdom and Know-How is an indispensable reference volume for anyone interested in country living and is highly recommended.

This is an odd book for someone to buy that lives in a major metropolitan area. However, if you are interested in how things used to be done, and/or are looking for more control over the products that affect your family this is an interesting read.

PROS:
1. Nice collection of feline information. From building a cat tree, to giving your cat pills, and teaching your cat tricks.
2. Very detailed information on gardening.
3. How to make homemade candy including salt-water taffy. Who knew?
4. Significant section on Preserving, pickling, canning and distilling.
5. Natural Home Remedies for many common ailments.

CONS:
1. The print is very, very, very small. Expect to use reading glasses.
2. I would have preferred a hardback, but that wasn't an option.

Overall, a highly recommend for those that are lacking in how to do things that our parents and grandparents took for granted.

I originally intended to leave a scathing review, but held off until I was in a better mood. There is a lot of good information in this book - printed in tiny text on very large pages. This is not a problem for my 20/10 vision, but may be an issue for some. I really like the info about cheese and yogurt making. The gardening and animal sections are good solid starting points although leaning a little more towards conventional methods. There are lots of good recipes. (Perhaps a few too many.)

My problem is that in between the good information, there are a lot of perfectly useless topics such as training your cat, feeding birds, stenciling, busy-work crafts, etc. These are not awful subjects to read about, but this text devotes way too much time to such superfluous pursuits. Before you think I'm cold-hearted, consider the fact that there is 3 times as much material about feeding birds than there is on raising chickens. Then consider the title of the book and you tell me...

Great if you are looking for a overview of many subjects to get started with.

Just bought the book and seems to contain allot of useful information. One thing I did note in the animal section is the part about alternative treats for dogs on page 55. The book advises to feed seedless grapes as a low calorie snack. This is dangerous information in that grapes are toxic to dogs and can cause renal (kidney) failure. It does not happen in all cases and the mechanism of action for the kidney failure is not known at this time. Being a veterinarian and dealing with theses cases in the past, it can be not only a life threatening condition, but also a very expensive one. I have informed the publisher, but it should be public knowledge as well.

I am sure that the information in this book is excellent, as I have read other Storey guides before and found them very helpful. However, when the other reviewers comment on the size of the font and the quality of the paper, they have a very legitimate complaint. The font is miniscule, and the paper is thin and flimsy. Also, the large size of the book makes it difficult to pick up and flip through. As someone interested in the aesthetics of a book as well as the content, I would have to say this is a very poor design. I would rather pay more and get a book I could read more easily.

Our copy of Country Wisdom & Know-How is very worn and tattered but still remains the focal point of our coffee table.
I discovered this book at a Barnes & Noble while living in the city. Was attracted to it because of it's paper-bag-like cover. Even though I lived in the middle of a city, in an apartment, I bought it anyway. My wife and I became hooked! Fell in love with the idea of having a hobby farm because of this book and packed up and moved to the country.
Everything you could think of is stuffed into this book, from Beekeeping to butchering chickens to building a compost bin. The book it's self is huge, but the print is very small. The "organic" looking cover doesn't last long. But the material inside is awesome.
Since this book, my wife and I have started a small side business keeping honeybees and selling our honey at farmers markets. We also enjoy making pickles, canning, raising chickens, and watching our daughter grow up in a world much richer than what we had in the city.
Highly recommend this book for any city dweller interested in starting a life in the country. It's a reference you'll never live without!

A huge compendium of information from animal husbandry to construction and crafts to gardening...even how to recipes. That's the good news. I have great admiration for Storey Books and own many of their products. This book, however, is not up to par with their other products.

The publishing (not by Storey itself) leaves much to be desired. I'm surprised Storey put their name to it. I'd have gladly paid triple the price for a better quality soft-cover or hard-cover books with good quality pages and larger print...even if in several volumes. In fact, that's exactly what Storey should do with this and the similar "Survival Wisdom" book. They would be great hits and huge sellers. So what if it's a collection all in one book. The brown paper cover and lighter-than-newsprint pages require extremely delicate handling, and the tiny print is almost painful to read.

Much, if not all, of this book's contents are from the Storey "Country Wisdom Bulletin" series. It would ceratinly cost more, but a set of the bulletins may be the better option.

Overall, I'm disappointed. Regardless how potentially useful the information in its pages, this book is not a prudent buy.

I got this for xmas 04. I have looked at a few subjects and the amount and depth of facts on so many subjects is very impressive. 500 pages and the book is huge. The font/type size is really small which adds to the size of the info but it is really kind of small to read. Its a good thing Im nearsighted..

I read about raising ducks. It was so much info - very interesting and complete.

Recently I bought Readers Digest Back To Basics at a library book sale. It is also really good although maybe not as in depth it is really good and the illustrations are better. I like both books.

I agree with a lot of the reviewers that the print is small. But this book is packed with tons of info about country living. After having lived in the city for years we now live in the country and have found a lot of helpful hints. It's divided quite well and particular topics are easy to locate.

This book is filled from cover to cover with great information on how to do things yourself. I love learning about how to do things the old-fashioned way. With modern technology so easy to crash, I feel safer knowing that I can survive on my knowledge a little better after having this book. Some of the ideas my grandma could even remember doing with her grandma. There is something to say about the strength of time honored tradition.