John Miedema

This is a first effort at cataloguing my back-to-the-land collection. Not everything here is collection-quality necessarily, but it’s a start.

The notation is simple for now: title, author, publisher, ISBN unless noted, brief comment.

A first thought, should I call it a “Back-to-Basics” collection? Some do. I think they do that because “Back-to-the-Land” sounds like too much work; no doubt it is. Other variations: “Back-to-Earth”, “Simple Living”, “Scratch”. What do you think?

Soon I will be posting a list of titles recommended by others. I heartily invite your recommended titles.

GENERAL PRACTICAL GUIDES

Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Our Traditional Skills, edited by Norman Mack, Reader’s Digest, 0-88850-098-X. About a hundred articles on homesteading and wilderness recreation.

Cloudburst: A Handbook of Rural Skills & Technology, collection — no editor indicated, Cloudburst, 0-88930-008-9. How to build a dome, juice press, etc. Practical with photos and illustrations.

Farming for Self-Sufficiency: Independence on a 5-Acre Farm, John and Sally Seymour, Schocken, LCCN: 73-81384. An old favourite, charming illustrations; see newer title below by this author.

Living on the Earth, Alicia Bay Laurel, Random House, 0-394-71056-8. “Hello Sun! You came up! We knew you would! You always do! Hooray for you!” Delightfully written and illustrated, still in reprints. See the author’s site.

Living the Good Life: How to Live Sanely and Simply in a Troubled World, Helen and Scott Nearing, Galahad Books, 0-88365-236-6. Related post.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-to-Basics Guide, John Seymour, Penguin, 978-0-7894-9332-3. 2003 work by long-time author on the subject, contemporary, beautifully illustrated. See The John Seymour School for Self Sufficiency.

SPECIALIZED SKILLS

The Art of Blacksmithing, Alex W. Bealer, Castle Books, 0-7858-0395-5. Seen in many used book stores.

Christmas Trees for Pleasure and Profit, Chapman and Ray, Rutgers, 0-8135-1074-0. Not entirely sure this fits the collection. I bought because it was the only kind of crop I thought I could manage on the three acres I had while I still worked full-time.

The Renewable Energy Handbook for Homeowners, William H. Kemp, Aztext, 0-9733233-0-2. This very current book taught me to think energy efficiency first, energy generation second.

Windmills and Wind Motors: How to Build and Run Them, F. E. Powell, Spon & Chamberlain (reprinted by Algrove Publishing), 0-921335-84-9. Originally published in 1910, simpler technology than today.

SHELTER

Log Construction Manual, Robert W. Chambers, Deep Stream, 0-9715736-0-3. Lots of practical information, but not quite for the novice.

From Log to Log House, Sven-Gunnar Hakansson, Algrove, 1-894572-72-6. A very collectible book, but the text assumed more knowledge than I have.

Tree Houses You Can Actually Build, David and Jeanie Stiles, Houghton Mifflin, 0-395-89273-2. I have not built a log home, but I have built a very fine treehouse.

BREWING

I brewed some very good batches, especially red ales. These books are still widely available as paperbacks. Maybe not collectibles exactly, but I’ll include them for now. I made a brewing website for a course; it’s still up.

Brewing Made Easy, Joe Fisher and Dennis Fisher, Storey, 0-88266-941-9. An easy introduction when I started brewing.

Dave Miller’s Homebrewing Guide, Dave Miller, Storey, 0-88266-905-2. Took me from the simplest steps to brewing with grains, my very best batches.

The Homebrewer’s Garden, Joe Fisher and Dennis Fisher, Storey, 1-58017-010-2. When I get back to brewing, I look forward to consulting this guide. I would like to use homegrown hops.

IDEAS, BIOGRAPHY, FICTION

The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Eating Locally, Alisa Smith & J.B. MacKinnon, Vintage, 978-0-679-31483-7. I think of this as a back-to-the-land book. It is powerful to me because it embeds older world skills while being completely forward looking, contemporary. See my review.

The Holding, Merilyn Simonds, McClelland & Stewart, 0-7710-8065-4. A powerful novel about a dialogue between a pioneer woman and a contemporary back-to-the-lander.

The Pelee Project: One Woman’s Escape from Urban Madness, Jane Christmas, ECW Press, 1-55022-547-2. Signed copy by local author.

Sources: An Anthology of Contemporary Materials Useful for Preserving Personal Sanity While Braving the Great Technological Wilderness, edited by Theodore Roszak, Harper & Row, LCCN: 77-183200. Got to love that title. A piece by Merton on the rain in the woods has stayed with me for many years.

Walden, Henry David Thoreau, Modern Library/Random House, no ISBN or other number found in this 1937 edition. A classic.

World Made by Hand, James Howard Kunstler, Atlantic Monthly Press, 9780871139788. See my review.