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Self-Sufficiency

The term "self-sufficiency" often conjures images of gun-toting non-tax-paying militiamen in an Idaho compound on one end, and docile unlettered Foxfire-penning Appalachian hillbillies on the other. For the folks at Skyhorse Publishing (and others in the growing movement), self-sufficiency is less radical because it's adherents manage to maintain their sanity, and more radical because it requires a lot more self-discipline. It's easy to rely on your own wits and resources if you abandon civilization altogether, less so if you simply try to reorder your life in its midst.

There's a green element here—conservation is key to maintaining healthy levels of energy and resources. And there's a communal element—cutting oneself off from all human interaction is unfulfilling and makes becoming self-sufficient (somewhat ironically) much more difficult. But this isn't some free-love psychedelic anti-authoritarian head trip; while there are certainly neo-hippie aspects to the movement, its proponents are primarily pretty even-keeled people who simply want to be able to do things for themselves....and then do them.

Probably the self-sufficiency bible (at least among the Skyhorse canon) is Self-Sufficiency edited by Abigail Gehring, a compendium of actually useful information to help you achieve a measure of independence from the crushing modernity of contemporary existence (manifesting itself in ever more insidious ways, like store-bought bread, genetically-altered vegetables, and furniture you might have assembled but in no sense made). Full-color photographs, drawings and diagrams make doing these things for your self achievable.

Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre and The Self-Sufficiency Handbook are perhaps lesser scriptures, but no less helpful in converting your house and whatever land you have at your disposal into food- and energy-generating resources. Animal husbandry, gardening, small farming, butter churning, waste disposal, solar power, geothermal heating, organic crop production, preserving and pretty much anything else you need to know are covered concisely yet comprehensively.

Then there's the Self-Sufficiency series, a collection of single-volume explorations of everything from Home Brewing to Household Cleaning to Beekeeping and Cheesemaking. Each book is illustrated with full-color drawings and takes you step-by-step through each skill in clear language that explains technical terminology and difficult procedures rather than simply (as is the case with so many similar treatments) avoiding them. These are the kind of guides that, when carefully read and followed, can make anyone an amateur expert in the particular skill addressed.

Of course Skyhorse isn't the last word on self-sufficiency. Other publishers have been producing similar manuals for a long time, like Rodale and Cumberland, and many of them are of similarly high quality. What makes those offered by Skyhorse particularly welcome is their up-to-date information helping people in the Digital Age achieve a level of independent living. While not everyone will end up on a farm in the middle of nowhere, anyone can break the bonds of consumerist slavery that have rendered many (most?) of us unable to fend for ourselves. These books will not only encourage and inspire you—they'll tell you what to do and how to do it.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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100 Cross-Stitch Gifts from Nature
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
101 Jumping Exercises for Horse & Rider
in Raising Livestock & Animal Husbandry (Location: SS-FARM)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
America's Knitting Book
by Gertrude Taylor
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 8th-Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
American Patchwork & Quilting
from Better Homes and Gardens Books
for Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Aromatherapy: An A-Z
by Patricia Davis
Revised from Random House
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in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Batsford Embroidery Course
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$5.50 (1 in stock)
Bears in the Woods Quilt
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Better Homes and Gardens: Annuals Perennials and Bulbs
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City Gardener's Handbook
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for Adult
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Classic Knits
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from Interweave Press
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden
by Gertrude Jekyll, introduced and revised by Graham Stuart Thomas
1983 revised edition from The Ayer Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Flower Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Book of Birdhouse Construction for Woodworkers
by Scott D. Campbell
40th edition from Dover Publications
for 7th-Adult
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$1.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Miniature Quilt Book
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Conditioning to Win
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Contained Garden
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Country Flower Drying
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Creative Crafts and Stitchery
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Cross-Stitch Samplers
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David Hicks Garden Design
by David Hicks
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DK Ready Set Grow!
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Easy and Attractive Gifts You Can Sew
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Sewing Machine Techniques
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Adult
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Flower Garden Quilts
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
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Folk Toys Around the World
by Joan Joseph, illustrated by Mel Furukawa
from Parents Magazine Press
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Fruits & Berries of the Pacific Northwest
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Garden Flowers Iron-On Transfer Patterns
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Garden of Quilts
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Gardener
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from Sunburst Book
Realistic fiction for Kindergarten-4th grade
1998 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Gardening With Children
from Brooklyn Botanic Garden
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Gardening with Emma: Grow and Have Fun
by Emma Biggs, with help from her dad, Steven Biggs
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Green Thumbs
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from Chicago Review Press
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$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Greenhouse Gardener's Manual
by Roger Marshall
from Timber Press, Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Growing Roses in the Pacific Northwest
by Nita-Jo Rountree
from Sasquatch Books
for Adult
in Flower Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades
by Steve Solomon
6th edition from Sasquatch Books
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Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Handknits For Kids
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Handmade Skateboard
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Here and Now Stitchery from Other Times & Places
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Horse Care Tips from A to Z
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Guide to Embroidery
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Imprint Training of the Newborn Foal
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Irish Chain in a Day
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Kid's Guide to Keeping Chickens
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Lola Plants a Garden
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Made with Lace
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Make a Quilt in a Day
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Making Miniature Chinese Rugs & Carpets
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Mary Engelbreit: Christmas Ideas
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More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
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More Sewing Machine Fun!
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My Grandmother's Patchwork Quilt
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Naming of Flowers
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National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms
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$26.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Needlepoint
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Needlepoint 1/12 Scale
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New Ideas for Lap Quilting
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
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Omiyage
from Contemporary Books
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Orchard Mason Bee
by Brian L. Griffin, illustrated by Sharon Smith
1st edition from Knox Cellars Publishing
for 10th-Adult
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Perfect Fit
from Creative Publishing International
for Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Perfect Piecing
Rodale's Successful Quilting Library
by Karen Costello Soltys, editor
from Rodale Press
for Adult
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Plain & Fancy
for Adult
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pulled Thread Embroidery
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1993 reprint from Dover Publications
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Quck-Method Liberty Quilts
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Quick Rotary Cutter Quilts
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Quilter's Companion
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Quilting Bee
by Gail Gibbons
from HarperCollins
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Quilting School
by Ann Poe
from Reader's Digest
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Quilts for All Seasons
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Rabbits for Dummies
by Connie Isbell and Audrey Pavia
2nd edition from Wiley Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Raising Livestock & Animal Husbandry (Location: SS-FARM)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Raising a Calf for Beef
in Raising Livestock & Animal Husbandry (Location: SS-FARM)
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Rock Gardens
Master Gardener
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Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots
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from Workman Publishing
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Saddlery & Horse Equipment
from Lorenz Books
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Samplers & Motifs in Cross Stitch
by Angela Davidson
from Merehurst
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Seasonal Quilting
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Self-Reliance
by Backwoods Home Magazine
from Backwoods Home Publications
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in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Sensational Scrap Quilts
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Singer Quilting by Machine
Sewing Reference Library
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Star Quilts
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Sunflower Houses
from Workman Publishing
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Sunset Western Garden Book
8th edition from Oxmoor House
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Sunset Western Garden Book
from Sunset Publishing Corp.
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Sunset Western Garden Book
by The Editorial Staff of Lane Publishing Co.
Stated First Edition from Lane Publishing Co.
for Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Sustainable Vegetable Garden
by John Jeavons and Carol Cox
from Ten Speed Press
for Adult
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Thimbleberries Book of Quilts
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ultimate Cross Stitch Companion
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Usborne Starting Gardening
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Cheryl Evans, Sue Johnson
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Victorian Alphabets, Monograms and Names
by Rita Weiss, editor
from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Voices of the Past
by Kaye England
from Kaye England Publications
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in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Wild About Wool
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Wonderful Windowboxes
by Derek Nimmo
from Ward Lock
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Writer's Garden
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Your Goats
by Gail Damerow
from Storey Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Raising Livestock & Animal Husbandry (Location: SS-FARM)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
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