We wanted to share our new eBay purchase. It holds some resonance in the current economy. Check out what's inside...
OK, so maybe you don't exactly need to figure out use the lay of the land or you're not going to make a cheese basket or your own broom. But we just loved the inspiring optimism that we found in these pages. Back to Basics was published by Reader's Digest in 1981 and contains information on everything from gardening in limited spaces to patchwork quilting and braided rugs. The food sections are particularly interesting with information on baking bread, homemade beverages, and regional cooking.
So if you want to join us in getting back to basics, we saw 8 copies of the 1981 version on Ebay (all for less than $20) or the 2008 edition is for sale on Amazon. Let us know, if you make something.
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Comments (15)
That looks like such a great book! I actually would give the cheese basket a shot.
Awesome! Going to buy it now!
Reminds me of my Mother baking her own bread and making her own jams, relishes and preserves from produce grown in our own yard back in the 70's and 80's.
Hmm, how about not spending the money and looking up how to do some of this stuff online for free?
Yeah, my parents lived that life in the late 70s! Inspired more by the Firefox series than the Reader's Digest book, though. It brings back some good memories! I remember the moccasin making phase ... and the canning, the woodworking, the gardening ...
Does it tell how to make shoes? I'm dying to learn shoemaking, but information is SO hard to come by!
We have a slightly newer version of this! It's nice to see others so captivated by it, as we are. Lots to learn from these.
Over the years I've bought this book every time I come across it. It is one of my favorite gifts to give to friends. This book and the Firefox series.
This was one of my favorite books at my grandmother's house growing up. I finally snagged one at a yard sale last year. This is a very popular book. Reader's Digest was supposed to put out a updated version this year but i haven't seen it yet.
Ahhh. I grew up with this book, and found it so deeply inspiring. :) It made me want to raise sheep and braid my own rugs. My parents threw it out. :(
Everyone needs the book. It is full of interesting tidbits, whether or not you get around to doing the projects. Guests love to browse this one too.
Neat-o! If anyone is interested in the nitty gritty practical aspects of canning and preserving foods, I highly recommend "Putting Food By" by Greene, Hertzberg & Vaughan.
Our computer consultants at the office think I'm some whacked out survivalist because I bake bread and make pickles and cheese. I keep telling that when the apocolypes comes, I won't need them and their fancy iphones anymore. - I'll have bread, pickles and cheese. :)
i want this book so badly now. and i want a life where i can sit in my log cabin home making brooms and cheese baskets...one can dream...
This looks great. Who knew Reader's Digest was in the back-to-the-land business? I'd buy it for the illustrations alone -- love that dulcimer on the cover!
That said, my friends who are actually living the dream -- sold their condo in the city, bought eight acres in the country, kidded their first goats this spring -- said the book they consult the most often is The Encyclopedia of Country Living. It's a classic.
I've got this book, it's full of great information.
Doesn't exactly have enough info to, you know, move out to a piece of land, build the house, plant the garden, raise the livestock and everything else, but it's a great start. Lots of great crafts, too.