Rating: 
Summary: One of the best
Review: "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" is an expansive volume of collected wisdom, techniques, recipes, and other information for living in the country. To a great extent it is a volume on self-sufficiency without harming the environment in any substantial way. The only assumption that seems to be made is that the land you purchase will have a house on it or you will have one built. Everything else, from buying the land, to what plants to plant, when to plant them, where to get them, how to grow them, and how to harvest them to what animals to raise, how to raise them, how to use them for food and dairy to how to deal with child birthing in the wilderness (where you may be alone when it happens), dealing with pollution, enriching your soil, and even worm farming. This is an exhaustive study in country living with very detailed and thorough sections on farming. In addition the author includes page after page of other sources of information, where to purchase things, catalogue sources, websites, and just about every other conceivable way to get the items mentioned in the text. If there was a way to take all the old-timers in the country, get them all together, draw out all the skills they have learned over the years and distill it into a book this is the book that you would create. "The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 9th Edition" is a very highly recommended read not only for those looking to move to the country after a lifetime in the city, but also for those who, like me, have that backyard garden and could use the extensive information presented here to make it even more successful and fun.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worn in Our Country Home
Review: As a city girl who moved to the country 5 years ago I have been 'lost' numerous times in this farm life.What to feed the baby ducks? How to milk the goat? ...dry herbs? ...preserve all the produce from the immense garden? The list of questions goes on, and the answers are all within the book! This book is my most recommended book to friends, family and visitors to my website GoodbyeCityLife.com. Carla's personality is within every paragraph on every page. She's a wealth of information, a friend you haven't made yet, but get to reap the benefits of knowing.
Rating:
Summary: Please understand the purpose of this book.
Review: I have the first, home-printed edition of this book, as well as the latest edition.When I read the various comments, I see some misunderstanding of the nature of this book.Carla's book is not just a reference (there are better ones in specific areas)but an autobiography as well. We learn about a lifestyle many of us will never know, but find facinating. We learn of the struggles and successes of one family. And along the way, we learn a great deal about small subsistance farms (not hobby farms). Use Carla's book for reference, but also entertainment and education. It's a fun read, and need not be done in one sitting or in any order. Just enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Bible of Country Living
Review: If you can only buy one book on country living, buy this one.
I have read all the books for 30 years. I actually could have saved a lot of money and just bought this one.
She writes like you are sitting at her kitchen table with her.
Anything that you want to know is in there. I could toss a lifetime collection of how-to books and keep just this one and get by.
Rating: 
Summary: Religious Jargon
Review: If you want to be preach at, Read this book!! If you want relevant country life information, get a different book. Carla has a hidden agenda to convert everyone...I wanted a country living reference guide, not the bible reprinted.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent information, consise & easy to understand!
Review: many years ago a friend lent me a copy of her book. I loved the book so much that I ordered my own copy and her the newest edition. This book is excellent for the layperson who wants to know how to do anything from canning to buying land to making soap to easy toys for the kids. Its complete and definately a labor of love. When hard times hit my family financially in the early 1990's this book was a "Godsend", without it we would not have made it. Then a few years later when we started out all over again, this book gave us the inspiration and help we needed to survive on our homestead for 2 years without electricity and make it! By choosing to live that way we were able to pay off our farm and now are blessed! I highly recommend this book and cannot say enough about it. It should be on the top ten sellers list if you were to ask me.
Rating:
Summary: Crammed from cover to cover with a wealth of tips and ideas
Review: Now in a completely updated and expanded ninth edition (including the introduction of websites and new mail-order sources), Carla Emery's The Encyclopedia Of Country Living is much more than just an ordinary recipe, notions, and activities book. The Encyclopedia Of Country Living is crammed from cover to cover with a wealth of tips and ideas for people inclined toward a country living atmosphere for their homes and lifestyles -- no matter whether their home happens to be located in the city, in the suburbs, or in the countryside. From the basics of raising chickens, pigs, and other livestock; to making a quilting frame; to pruning a tree; to recipes for homemade food with flair, The Encyclopedia Of Country Living is a handy, comprehensive, useful and "user friendly" 896-page reference.
Rating:
Summary: A Dissenting Opinion
Review: This book appears to have a devoted following so I'm sure I'll arouse some ill will with this, but here goes. There are several things potential readers need to know about this book. The first is that, as the other reviewers suggest, the author comes across as very friendly and sincere. Another is that it has been around in some form or another for a long time, long before many "hobby farm"-type books were available, and for that reason has many devoted fans, at least some of whom appear to be unaware of more modern reference books that have superceded this one in many respects. The next is that if you have a lot of free time, and you like nine hundred page books whose author is in no rush to get to any of its thousands of points, you'll love it. The most important, though, is that if you would like the best, easiest to understand advice available on raising sheep, keeping chickens, growing a garden, and all the other fun but challenging aspects of hobby farming, you will be far better served by other books out there. I have a hobby farm on seven acres with fruit trees, vegetable garden, livestock, etc., and own many of the hobby farm books available. We have had the opportunity to consult them as we have learned from direct experience, and have found that there is a wide variety in usefulness. While The Encyclopedia of Country Living contains good advice, this book has features that I believe the average modern, would-be hobby farmers will be put off by. One is its overwhelming, unnecessary, and frustrating length. It wouldn't be so bad if each paragraph was a sparkling, concise gem of practical wisdom, i.e, if it really were written like an actual encyclopedia, but core information is often clouded with anecdotes, nostalgia, sermonizing, etc. If you are the kind of person who likes reading books about country life, but who doesn't actually live in the country and doesn't plan to, this may be something you enjoy, but it made this book difficult to use for me. Moreover, the author regularly feels obliged to list the many and disparate views on a particular topic held by her friends, or by people who have written her letters over the years. A number of these printed comments are either pointless or really daft, and are liable to confuse more than enlighten the would-be hobby farmer, especially since the author often does not make clear which ideas have most merit, scientifically or from her own personal experience. I believe the average person who plans on "country living" or hobby farming will find other books far more useful. The updated and revised "Backyard Livestock", by Steven Thomas, is absolutely brilliant for beginning hobby farmers serious about keeping animals for food, eggs, milk, etc. It is concise while still telling you everything you need to know. For those wishing more detailed information on livestock, the various Storey's guides to raising farm animals are also excellent. If you are interested in fruit or berry cultivation, you will find the Stella Otto books far more valuable than this one. For vegetable gardening, "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" by Edward C. Smith is the best. I could go on, but my personal experience is this: if you would like to hobby farm, be successful at it, and have fun doing it, you'll need the best information you can get. For most of us, this means a few A-list, reliable, practical, concise, understandable reference books. Despite its length and sometimes charming autobiographical features, there's no reason why you should buy "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" when so many other books on country living now are superior to it.
Rating:
Summary: The most comprehensive choice for self-reliant living!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Long term evolution
Review: This is a book that started out as a mimeographed collection of articles that the author distributed out of the trunk of her car. It is anectdotal and random and very HUMAN and I love it. Some have complained that it isn't concise...that it is hard to find only the hard info in all the stories and observations and shared information from readers over the years...and for those people I am thankful that they are able to find some of the more focused works to serve their needs. This is a life's work for Carla Emery...and a continually evolving thing. She has been through a lot and shared much of it with her readers...like a helpful neighbor with some vital chicken info or soap making advice to relay over the backyard fence...and I have appreciated this book for years. It's not perfect...but it's very good and fun to read and worthwhile. This book is a good investment.
|
