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Product Description

Reminiscent in both spirit and design of the beloved Whole Earth Catalog, Country Wisdom & Know-How is an unprecedented collection of information on nearly 200 individual topics of country and self-sustained living. Compiled from the information in Storey Publishing's landmark series of "Country Wisdom Bulletins," this book is the most thorough and reliable volume of its kind. Organized by general topic including animals, cooking, crafts, gardening, health and well-being, and home, it is further broken down to cover dozens of specifics from "Building Chicken Coops" to "Making Cheese, Butter, and Yogurt" to "Improving Your Soil" to "Restoring Hardwood Floors." Nearly 1,000 black-and-white illustrations and photographs run throughout and fascinating projects and trusted advice crowd every page.

Customer Reviews:

• This book is responsible for me moving!
  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!...more info
• Fantastic All-Around Book for Living off the Land, getting back to basics, etc
  I've had a copy of this book for several years. Just bought another copy for a relative as a gift. If you are interested in getting back to basics, living off the land, cooking like your grandmother, raising stock, etc, this book is the best I have found thus far. It is easy to understand, well organized, and has just about everything you can image from how to build a chicken coop, to butchering a hog (I used the book to do that recently), to canning, and much, much more. I suspect I will have this book the rest of my life and refer to it often. As the economy continues to worsten, this book is a good source for studying how we used to survive off the land as a nation. It's comforting to know we can do it again if necessary, and this book will certainly give you a head start in the knowledge area....more info
• Country Wisdom & Know-How
  My daughter is really into reading about homesteading, and hopes to eventually find her own little slice of heaven. This is an excellent book, with lots of information. Although it's a very large book- which I wasn't expecting (approx. 11x17 soft cover), I do give it a good rating, because it's the information that counts.
  
  2 other books we also purchased: Five Acres and Independence & The Modern Homestead Manual
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• Wisdom Is In Its Pages
  If you want a great book to help you simplify your life and begin to wean you and your family off the rampant consumerism of today, THIS IS IT. I actually bought it a couple of years ago, but with today's oil crunch and people trying to save money and produce more, thought it would be a good time to recommend such a book to my friends.
  
  "Country Wisdom And Know-How" from editor's publishing covers everything from caring for animals, to building suitable gates, to caning chairs, pest proofing your garden, growing food, canning food, and cooking food. It even teaches you how to make wine! This book covers EVERYTHING you need to know to start on the road to live more off the land and your own two hands than depending on others to do everything for you.
  
  It is an oversized paperback book, the cover seems to be made out of old grocery sacks (it has that look and feel) and may even be made of recycled material. I have used this book a good bit over the past two years and found the advice is sound, practical and easy to understand. I recommend that EVERYONE interested in getting their lifestyle simplified buy this book.
  
  You won't regret it.
  
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• very informative
  I like this book. it holds a lot of information, some of which i would have liked to see expanded. The recipies and herbal use are very good and consistant with what i have already learned, so i feel that this is an accurate book. thanks...more info
• Excellent book.
  This is a great book. I think I like "the encyclopedia of country living" better but I waffle back and forth. In this book you'll find all you need to know about living in the country and plenty of info that will be usefull even to those who don't. I should mention to those of you with poor eyesight that this book has very small print so have your glasses handy. That however is the "only" downfall to this book and I really don't see it as a problem at all. If you buy this book you will not be dissapointed....more info
• Everything You Would Ever Need to Know and Then Some~!
  I Love this book though its sheer size is gigantic so it's a bit difficult to get on a standard size book shelf use it constantly as a reference for everything and everything planting preserving, Cooking, animal care crafts, building green houses to bird houses practical instructions I use every day out here on my 7 ac. Any thing and everything you would every wonder about out here and then some. I Excellent buy for a well used over and over reference book!
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• Great
  This book has a little bit of everything. I am young and trying to start off on my own in the country. I refer to this book often. Great gardening section and animal tips.Use this as one of your main reference materials....more info
• Great Info but Greatly Disappointing Book
  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....more info
• Great Book
  Excellent source of knowledge for anyone who lives in the country. Loads of information. Only con is that the print is very small....more info
• Good information.. although directed towards more modern "country" and doesn't contain all the pamphlets..
  Good book. Lots of great information, and fun ideas.. except that I was disappointed when I got it, as I though that ALL of the Storey's Pamphlets.. and it didn't. Also, it is directed towards more modern 'country'.. requiring most products and materials to be purchased from hobby stores and such, and doesn't really empasize the country aspect to me. Although it does have wonderful information, and really neat projects, I would have liked to see more..
  
  Another thing.. if you have bad eyes, or wrists I would suggest getting a good pair of reading glasses and/or a magnifying glass along with this book, and for those with Carpal Tunnel or Arthritis.. Definately break out the wrist braces for holding this HUGE book upright while reading. I've found that by sitting in the recliner and propping the book up against my thighs or on a pillow, it eases the strain of holding such a large book.
  
  Aside from all this, I would definately reccomend buying this book, and also, I bought this normally $20 book, for only $4 used through Amazon, and was VERY pleased with the condition.. If it had more information I would probably be willing to pay more..
  
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• Parts are great, parts are cheesy
  Okay, I live the city and I get a kick out of this book. Will I use much of it? Probably not. But it's fun. Except some of this material is just thrown together and printed so small that no one is likely to call the authors on it....more info
• The Best 20 bucks I've Spent!
  This book is not only full of useful information; it is also helping to preserve country wisdom. If you are interested in more sustainable existence or just interested I the simpler side of life - this book is a must have. I have used it countless times and have given it as a gift. ...more info
• Wisdom
  This is a very thorough and concise book. Everything that I want to know about butchering chickens, building a rock wall, and cleaning squirrel was in there. It is wonderful....more info
• A must have for independent or green sustainable lifestyle.
  We don't live on a farm, but we make every effort to shop, stock, and hand make many of the items we use in our lives. It is really the only way to avoid many of the herbacides, pestacides, and hormones prevelent in our food and other household products. On our tiny town lot, we garden as much as we can, and I do put seasonal organically grown produce by. If you are a fan of Carla Emery, this book is written in the same vain but with additional and different suggestions on the same subject matter. I was especially fond of the "make it yourself herbal pet care products." and the home made gift ideas I have gleaned are whirling in my head for the holidays. I have already saved much more than the cost of the book!...more info
• Learn to be on your own
  This book has everything you need to know on how to survive on a farm. Do it yourself type of information. Helps out a lot to see and do things that don't come from a store. A healthy way of life and understanding....more info
• everything you ever wanted to know but afraid to ask.
  I purchased this book and later had to buy 3 more for friends and family that were impressed by it too. it is truly a wealth of information. we have used it for many projects. sometimes i go to the book when i have a question sometimes i pick up the book and look for something interesting to try. ...more info
• all the information in one place
  I love this book! My husband purchased it for me as a gift and it has been a wonderful reference manual for so many things. It has given me great ideas on how to expand the self-sufficiency of my home. I can't wait to build the compost frames from the plans in this book. My family has enjoyed some of recipes for thanksgiving dinner and preserves put up for the Winter months. The only negative I could name would be the index is not always as complete as I would like. I have written in what page the tomato sauce recipe can be found next to Tomatoes entry, since I don't usually think to look for it under Pasta Sauce. Regardless, the tomato sauce is delicious....more info
• Country Wisdoms & Know-How
  Homesteaders this is a must have book. This book is a wealth of information. It's a book that you have to have around all the time to refer to on anything in your country life. I use this book frequently and I'm so glad I have it!...more info
• Interesting and fun
  My husband and I have a farm and love to see how things were made before there were stores to get things. We try some things for fun and also work. ...more info
• Interesting and fun
  My husband and I have a farm and love to see how things were made before there were stores to get things. We try some things for fun and also work. ...more info
• Great Wealth of Information!
  Contains a great wealth of information! I absolutely love this book but I do agree with others about the print being SO SMALL. I would be willing to pay more for the same book with larger print and also in hardback so it would last longer as mine is beginning to show some wear due to constantly reading through it and others reading it....more info
• Great coffee table book
  This is one of the best, most entertaining books that you'll ever own. It's packed full of interesting topics that you couldn't imagine being in print, let alone in one book.
  Great bathroom, cabin and other illogical places.
  I completely enjoy just picking it up and killing some time. Ever have to wait for someone?...more info
• Whole Earth Catalog for the 21st century
  A book for the 21st century in the spirit of the Whole Earth Catalog. Big and thorough, it goes into detail upon detail of the stuff you aunt or uncle would have told you if they lived in the country.
  
  While they don't tell you where to buy stuff (WEC did), it does tell you what to look for when you buy, so maybe a better deal?
  
  My only complaint is that the type is so small I've had to order a magnifier to read it. ...more info
• What a wonderful reference!
  This is such a wonderful little book! Well, it's hardly little, but given that you *really could* live off the land based on the information inside, it's awfully condense. It contains information on everything from homeopathic remedies for minor health ailments to very, ahem, thorough instructions on how to kill livestock to making a scratching post for your cat! I received this as a graduation present from my favorite old hippie in the whole wide world, and I will keep it forever. It has already served me well troubleshooting my vegetable garden's pests, and I am confident that it will be an invaluable resource when I finally do get some space in the country. This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone who is sustainability-minded or just simply laments that their city upbringing has left them a bit less mindful of the Way Things Work than they would like....more info
• Getting back to what I was taught, filling in the details.
  I was raised on a hog farm, and as a child worked the land and raised the animals as I was directed. After the farm went under in the 1980s, I was sent to live with my father in the city. It has taken me 21 years to get back to my roots, and work the soil.
  
  I remember many things about my way of life as a child, but this book filled in many questions I had not been taught. Mom has long been gone, Dad is a slicker, Grandpa has passed away.
  
  Planning our chicken coup with my son, what a great guide to pass it down.
  
  From canning, gardening, harvesting meat, to making your own soap. Slickers can even use this guide.
  
  The only down fall is the small print, old eyes don't see so good. But for 20 bucks, with all the reading and learning, it is a wonderful tool.
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• Good Book, Small Print
  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. ...more info