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The Encyclopedia of
Country Living 864 Pages Paperback, Published 1994 revised edition Sasquatch Books List Price |
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A reader from Eastern Shore, Maryland, January 20, 1999:
It's like being able to talk with my grandmother!
Growing up in New England, we were quick to accept the "modern" life styles. I never had
the opportunity to sit with my grandmother and gather all the valuable wisdom from her
life - how to live a simple life close to the land. How I could sustain my family off the
land. In 1977, I purchased my first copy of this book. It has been greatly USED and
ABUSED! The front cover has since fallen off, along with the first few pages. It is
tattered. Notes have been scribbled in it. Pages are spattered with stains. And I would
NOT trade it for anything. If my grandmother could have written me a book, covering ALL
areas of daily life, I believe this is how she would have written it. When I get stumped
by something, my husband says, "Well, what does Carla Emery say. She could tell you what
to do." And he's right, she does. "How to" - just about anything! I have recently
purchased my second copy, as a spare in case one gets destroyed. I definetly wouldn't want
to be without a copy when the year 1999 roles over. For my family's well being, I consider
it a very crucial tool.
amazonred@webtv.net from Wakeman, Ohio USA, January 7, 1999:
Excellent for anyone that wants advice on primative living
This is the best book I've found yet offering everything imaginable for "country living".
I have used it many times for recipes from soap making to planting guides. Their candle
making section is excellent. They have the most informative book that I've found yet
covering a very broad spectrum without being too vague on any particular topic.
A reader from The Bayous of Louisiana, December 15, 1998:
The most comprehensive choice for self-reliant living!
This book covers everything from gardening to cooking to takng care of your animals. She
also has a section of encouragement at the beginning (actual testimonies) for those who
are trying to get off-the-grid so to speak. It has very detailed information on the
various breeds of livestock so you can make an educated purchase, as well as how to raise,
butcher and cook them. Ms. Emery also has a very inclusive section on gardening and
harvesting the various grasses and grains and vegetables. The recipes include soap making
as well as tasty dishes from your pantry. An excellent all around choice!
Pat Hoffman (burenh@tstar.net) from Tow, TX (pop. 500), December 9, 1998:
There's no book like it!
I have an older version,'70's (currently looking for an updated copy) and have always
asked "Carla" when I need to know something from milking goats to making snow ice cream.
She was the ONLY one who knew what snow ice cream was. We are getting ready to move to
Guatemala and "back to the land" and Carla absolutely has to go with me!!
tannis@elko.net from Elko, Nevada, December 8, 1998:
The way to step back in time in memory as well in actuality.
I am a friend of Carla's but have lost touch with her over the years. I was a pen pal for
many years and finally in 1992 I got to meet Carla at the North Fork Barter Faire. She was
working on this edition and adding some first hand stories from the mountain people who
were vendors at the Faire. Carla if you read this, know that you are loved and it sure is
good to have another edition out. Love you girl, Tannis
A reader from America the Beautiful, December 3, 1998:
A necessity for the year 2000+
I bought this book years ago when it was first published. I learned all the lost arts my
grandmother lived by. Now that we face uncertain times with the new millenium, I'm buying
this book for family members who may need to know how to survive if our government fails to
protect us.
masonpamela@sprintmail.com from Aromas, California on five acres, November 17, 1998:
A Great Book, But...
I received this book two days ago and already I've learned that my beets might cross
pollinate and that my Hampshire Reds are heavy layers. BUT - and this really worries me -
this book is printed on paper like newsprint. This is a book I mean to go back to time and
time again. I'm really sorry it's not built more substantially.
A reader from Yakima, WA, USA, November 16, 1998:
The style in which this book is written makes it delightful
Mrs. Emery has done a wonderful job of bringing practical advise in an entertaining style.
In many ways it feels like reading letters from a good friend. The information is general
for the most part but detailed enough to be very usable.
A reader from Middle Tennessee, November 11, 1998:
Best darn encyclopedia/how-to diary available!
I thought I'd do Carla a favor and tell the world what a wonderful book she'd written. Too
late! The whole world aleady seems to know! This book truly is an Encyclopedia! It's
crammed full of how-to information that I refer to as the lost arts. Unlike most books,
it's not generic information, but instead, step by step useful stuff and little known hints
from folks who've spent a lifetime learning it! In addition to being all enclusive, it's
also her life's work.... A personal diary of her triumphs and heartaches as she worked on
this masterpiece. When you finally put this book down, you feel like you really know her
personally. As a mother of 4 small children, all close in age, I have been inspired by her.
As a homemaker, I have learned a great deal from her. Thank-you, Carla for being true to
your inner voice and putting down on paper a thousand lifetimes worth of knowledge.
My family is better prepared and living a simplier, happier life because you've
enlightened me! Nashville, TN
Lynette(lynylooper@juno.com) from southern California, November 9, 1998:
No back to the land manual is more comprehensive
I purchased this manual in 1978 & still refer to it regularly. Its just like the old five and
dime - there's nothing you can't find there. We are living a very different life than we
would have had we not found this treasure.
A reader from Reddick, Fla, October 23, 1998:
I LIVED IT!
Unlike the previous reviewers, I lived this book. I was raised in a big city in Florida and moved
to a small country town (pop. 181) in the Arkansas mountains. I was in my late 20's and imagined
myself as part of the back-to-the-earth movement. A friendly librarian pointed me to this book,
which I bought after checking it out so often.
Since we moved to a small community where "everyone was related" except us, we did not get much neighborly help at first. The first week there we bought baby goats (which rode home in the front seat with me), 2 pigs (which didn't), and planted our garden. Using Carla's book we mail-ordered baby chicks who lived in our bathtub until the weather got warmer. We bought a wood stove and learned to can and dry vegetables. I tried most everything, using Carla's book as a reference.
When it came time to butcher our hogs, we could not get anyone to help us, even for $$. The closest we had been to a hog before moving to Oden was in the grocery store. So we checked out Carla's book and I sat on the cab of the truck reading the instructions aloud while DH took aim and shot the pig. We were both very nervous, so we went inside (it was very cold) and had a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, when we went back outside, the pig was up and boy, was he mad! I won't go into any further details except to say we had funny looking meat that winter, but it was tasty. By the way, the townsfolk treated us differently from then on.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that you can really do what she says and make it happen. Carla gives you practical backyard-to-table "hands-on" advice, and I've recommended it to may people.
A reader from USA, October 22, 1998:
Great resource that Carla keeps up-to-date
This is an awesome guide for many country skills and a great starting point for the rest. Carla
covers best the skills she's experienced in and gives a very thorough introduction and references
to other resources to get you going on just about anything else. For more involved skills that
you are really interested in, you should also get a book that is specifically about that subject.
Some suggestions include "Deerskins into Buckskins" for hide tanning, "How to Grow More Vegetables
Than You Thought Possible" on gardening, any of Michael Moore's guides for herbalism, and
"The Natural Pregnancy Book" and "Spiritual Midwifery", for home birthing. Amazon.com sells
all of these.
A reader from Kansas City, KS, September 27, 1998:
THE MOST COMPLETE, HELPFUL BOOK IN TEN YEARS OF SEARCHING!
Carla's priceless collection of country living wisdom from all over and from all ages has been the
most valuable, practical, and utilized in our home, after a ten-plus year of collecting such
back-to-basics publications. Her down-home presentation doesn't leave you feeling like you
just walked out of a city classroom. Folks from the city and life-long country-dwellers alike
find the Recipe Book a delightful resource.
kgilles14@aol.com from Alta Loma, California, August 11, 1998:
The most complete and thorough book ever!
When I purchased an 8-acre ranch in 1985 I had a six-month old baby one on the way and had never been
off of concrete in my life. Now I had 8-acres, goats, chickens, rabbits, ducks, geese, pigs, 60 fruit
and nut trees and an acre garden. I had no clue how or what to do! I learned everything from reading
that book. How to harvest, can and cook up your garden & orchard harvest, feed and butcher animals, all
kinds of doctoring for kids and animals, crafts, and even how to cut hair. That book is so dog-eared
with tape from all of my years of use. I owe my sanity to that book. It has every scenario imaginable.
I recommend it to anyone living in the country or on a farm or thinking of it. What I learned from Carla
Emery's book will stay with me forever! The knowledge is priceless.
Dawn Feken (dawny8671@aol.com) from Lakewood, Illinois U.S.A, June 16, 1998:
One book I dont want to live without!
Ms. Emery has truly been an inspiration in my life. This book has everything from making soap to Butchering
hogs! I use it in my everyday life. I would love to her write even more so I can get more information on how to
live a pure and Natural life! The chapter on Poultry I have found to be very useful. Many things that are in
there I have never heard of before. But now thanks to this book I have. I have told many of my friends of this book and convinced a few that they shouldn't be without it either. To sum it up if all people lived their lives as Carla and her children do there would be alot more peace in the world!
A reader from Albuquerque, June 1, 1998:
A great book for everyone!
Even though I am a confirmed city dweller, I enjoyed this book. I read it more as an encyclopedia, rather than a how-to manual. It was great!
Have you ever wanted to know how women fed their families hundreds of years ago? This book will answer all your questions. It explains all about country living and gives some incite into the struggles and the many rewards that come with that kind of life. It is a must for any reference library!
Rambler@pop.skyenet.net from Indiana, USA, May 16, 1998:
A "MUST HAVE" for anyone interested in "country"living!
I read this book quite a few years ago. I borrowed it so much from my library, I got others hooked on it! So much so, I soon was unable to check it out because someone else always had it checked out!!!
Silveroak.@centuryinter.net, February 25, 1998:
What a Great Book
This big, thick book is full of all kinds of wonderful information. I love it! I use it as a reference all the time. It includes almost everything to do with farming and "doing things the old-fashioned way" as well as references on where to go if you desire still more information and a helpful list of contacts and books for each subject. I think it has something to teach everyone. I farm as a hobby and have found the book indespensible and my relatives, who are homesteaders, found lots of new and helpful information in it. This book would make a great gift and is a must-have for a library. It's like a country friend that sits on a shelf, ready to give answers when you have a question!
A reader from Washington, USA, November 24, 1997:
My Wish Book!
The Encyclopedia of Country Living is the essential wish book. I never imagined dreaming of hard work, but Carla has me dreaming it. Through my correspondance with Carla, I've learned the woman in the book is the real Carla. She is a warm, caring, knowledgeable person. If she were to write 3 more books that were twice as long, I would read them all. Carla writes with such detail and such truth. She doesn't try to make country living sound easy or glamorous. My wish is that there were more Carla's and more books with the honesty of her's.
A reader, July 31, 1997:
Carla Emery fills in where our grandparents have failed us!
As someone whose grandparents grew up on farms but abandoned the rural life and neglected to pass on family traditions and wisdom, I am grateful to Carla Emery for spending almost 30 years compiling this wonderful collection. As my generation rediscovers herbs, natural foods, organic gardening, frugal living, recycling/reusing, home births, home education, home health care, and the importance of family ties, we need something like this book to get us started on our quest for information. So far our family has used it to build a chicken house, select chicks for our flock of laying hens, build a rabbit hutch, can bread & butter and dill pickles, plant, harvest and dry herbs, and much more. Reading this book is the next best thing to asking Mom or Grandma how the old-timers did it, including the warm, folksy, conversational style.
A reader, February 16, 1997:
The most complete book for countryfolk ever published
If you have ever wanted to get back to nature and live in a self-sufficient environment, this encyclopedia is a must!
Carla Emery has grown up living off the land and explains how to do everything from growing your own food and butchering
your own animals to birthing babies at home. It is chock full of delightful recipes and antecdotes. Once you read her book, you will feel a part of Ms. Emery's life and literary success.
A reader, August 28, 1996
THE "BACK TO THE LAND" BIBLE OF HOW TO DO ANYTHING
Carla Emery started out peddling recipes by mail to make ends meet and gradually expanded them, by answering questions
sent to her, into a telephone book size compendium of everything you might need to know in order to live in the any
country with little money. It tells how to do everything from locating your land, digging a well, growing, canning,
preserving, storing, pickling, your food, raising, birthing, milking animals, making cheese, making do, and surviving
in the country. There are a few recipes included. Buy two copies! The first you will wear out the first year. The
second will be a reference. You will know Carla as a friend with her personal story intertwined with a book as enjoyable
as it is informative.
