Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance [Paperback]

John Storey (Author), Martha Storey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

This is the book for anyone who wants to become more self-reliant, from suburbanites with 1/4 of an acre to country homesteaders with several. The information is easily understood and readily applicable.

More than 150 of Storey's expert authors in gardening, building, animal raising, and homesteading share their specialized knowledge and experience in this ultimate guide to living a more independent, satisfying life.

Readers will find step-by-step, illustrated instructions for every aspect of country living including:

• Finding country land
• Buying, building, and renovating a home
• Developing water sources and systems
• Understanding wiring, plumbing, and heating
• Using alternative heating and energy sources
• Vegetable, flower, and herb gardening
• Traditional cooking skills such as baking bread and making maple syrup
• Preparing and preserving meat, fruits, and vegetables
• Building and maintaining barns, sheds, and outbuildings
• Caring for common farm and ranch animals, and pets

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Basic Country Skills lives up to its billing, although why "country" is chosen might be debated by any delighted city gardener who receives this almost 600-page tome as a gift. Over a third of the book concerns gardening, pure and simple, but the home maintenance and cooking sections are of value, also." -- The Toronto City Gardening Monthly Newsletter, December 1999

"Edited by Deborah Burns, subtitled "A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance," this encyclopedia is big enough for the coffee table but better suited to the tool shed. In addition to providing bushels of advice on gardening, it's a manual for everyday survival in rural America. Come to think of it, "BCS" may be required reading between Christmas and Y2K. Some skills you might pick up: how to build a garden shed, caring for pet llamas, techniques for building a stone wall and making your own preserves. Even if you only use 1 percent of the information in it, BCS is fascinating reading." -- The Boston Herald, Andy Tomolonis 12/19/99

"From Fighting Flu to Cleaning Your House...What Country Folk Know that You Don't." Now your audience can learn all the wisdom and secrets that have been passed down from generation to generation of folks living in the country. Tips on how to use rubbing alcohol, lighter fluid and vinegar when cleaning, and how to plant a cold and flu garden to make your winter healthier and happier." -- Radio-TV Interview Report, Mid-January 2000

"I could easily spend my whole column on this complete, modern encyclopedia to the art and science of country living...I wish I'd had Storey's Basic Country Skills 25 years ago!" -- The Patriot News, November 30, 1999

"Since 1983 the publisher (Storey) has produced more than 500 titles about country living. Now, it has boiled down this vast library of knowledge and placed it in one giant 3 pound, 576 page book. Even if you are a city dweller, without chickens or sheep, you will find a wealth of information about maintaining a home and garden." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer 11/26/99

From the Publisher

A Selection of Country Homes & Garden Book Club --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580172024
• ISBN-13: 978-1580172028
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Home Repair

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

199 of 200 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The bible (small-b) of rural living, February 29, 2004

By 

Greg Perry (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance (Paperback)

We bought this tome just a few weeks before moving from the city where we'd lived our entire lives to a 20-acre rural country place miles and miles from any city limits.

For the first year especially, we kept this book out. You would be astonished at its contents. It describes the pros and cons of water wells, reusing dirt, planning land for gardens and barns, chicken problems, keeping goats, arranging around weather, tanning leather, insect control, tree problems to watch out for and their solutions, energy in places where the lines don't run, getting water from point A to B, storing grains and other foods, and... you NAME IT!

This made our lives so much better. We didn't even use all the advice we read simply because one family can only do so much the first year they move into the country for the first time but this book was our comfort book in knowing that if we had problems, we'd find the solutions here.

65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little bit of EVERYTHING!, August 24, 2005

By 

Wabi Sabi "bona-fide bibliomaniac" (rural USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance (Paperback)

If you are looking for one book to serve as a comprehensive guide to nearly every aspect of living in the country and fending for yourself, then you atleast owe it to yourself to browse through this book atleast once; at a minimum, you should borrow it from the library for a peek. This book takes you from start to finish; dawn to dusk; season to season. It may not be as detailed in some areas as you may prefer but you can always find a book dedicated to areas in which you require more information. As a general resource, this book won't be perched on your bookshelf long enough to collect dust since you'll be picking it up on a regular basis.

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Storey's Basic Country Skills, March 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance (Hardcover)

This is a GREAT resource book. It contains a little bit of info on just about anything you could want to know about. It is amazing how much it covers--and how well. It is full of very good advice, techniques, and practical skills and solutions for not only country dwellers, but for anyone interested in being able to rely on themselves--inside the home (covers anything from electrical help to help in the kitchen with recipes and canning/freezing) to the great outdoors (covers decks, gardening & tree houses to caring for livestock). I just recently moved to the country, and I will be using this book as a primary reference and guide for many of the projects I have planned. Thank you, John and Martha Storey!