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

~ Reader's Digest (Author)

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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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: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #208,745 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

167 of 169 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)

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.

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good information, but unfocused (details), October 24, 2008

By	Patrick W. Crabtree "The Old Grottomaster" (Lucasville, OH USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition (Hardcover)

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.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.