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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 is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes 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
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101 Arena Exercises
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101 Jumping Exercises for Horse & Rider
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79 Decorative Alphabets for Designers and Craftspeople
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All New Square Foot Gardening
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America's Knitting Book
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American Patchwork & Quilting
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Aromatherapy: An A-Z
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Art of Manipulating Fabric
by Colette Wolff
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in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Back to Basics
by Abigain Gehring
4th edition from Skyhorse Publishing
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in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$27.95
Backyard Homestead
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$18.95
Batsford Embroidery Course
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Beaver the Tailor
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Best of Sewing Machine Fun for Kids
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Better Homes and Gardens: Annuals Perennials and Bulbs
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bombproof Your Horse
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Botanical Gardens - Coloring Book
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$4.99
Chicken Coops
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City Gardener's Handbook
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Knits
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Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden
by Gertrude Jekyll, introduced and revised by Graham Stuart Thomas
1983 revised edition from The Ayer Company
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Common Arts Education
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$10.95
Common Weeds - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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$4.99
Complete Horse Care Manual
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Miniature Quilt Book
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Conditioning to Win
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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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Cutting Garden
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Dancing with Horses
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$18.00 (1 in stock)
David Hicks Garden Design
by David Hicks
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DK Ready Set Grow!
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Dolls' House Accessories, Fixtures & Fittings
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Down & Dirty
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1st edition from Storey Publishing
for 7th-Adult
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$19.95
Easy and Attractive Gifts You Can Sew
from Dover Publications
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Country Living
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50th Anniversary from Sasquatch Books
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in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$29.95
Encyclopedia of Sewing Machine Techniques
from Sterling Publishing Co.
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in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Essential Guide to Self-Sufficient Living
Back to Basics Guides
by Abigail R. Gehring, ed.
2nd edition from Skyhorse Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$16.99
Farm Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
1st edition from Storey Publishing
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in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$18.99
Favorite Roses - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Ilil Arbel
from Dover Publications
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$4.99
Favorite Wildflowers - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Ilil Arbel
from Dover Publications
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in Flowers & Plants Coloring Books (Location: COL-BOT)
$4.99
Floral Bouquets - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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from Dover Publications
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$3.99
Flower Garden - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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from Dover Publications
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$4.99
Flower Garden Quilts
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Folk Toys Around the World
by Joan Joseph, illustrated by Mel Furukawa
from Parents Magazine Press
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Food Anatomy
by Julia Rothman
from Storey Publishing
for 6th-Adult
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$13.56
Fruits & Berries of the Pacific Northwest
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Garden Almanac
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from Hearst Books
for Adult
in Gardening (Location: SS-GAR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Garden Flowers - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Stefen Bernath
from Dover Publications
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Garden Flowers Iron-On Transfer Patterns
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Garden of Quilts
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Gardener
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Realistic fiction for Kindergarten-4th grade
1998 Caldecott Honor Book
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Gardening With Children
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Gardening Wizardry for Kids
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Gifts from the Heart
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God of the Garden
by Andrew Peterson
from B&H Books
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in Creating Culture (Location: XCU-CRE)
$17.99
Green Thumbs
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from Chicago Review Press
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in Gardening for Kids (Location: SS-GAR)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades
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Handknits For Kids
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Handmade Skateboard
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Hearth & Home
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Here and Now Stitchery from Other Times & Places
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Homemade Uniforms
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for 6th-10th grade
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$5.00
Homesteading
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2nd edition from Skyhorse Publishing
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in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$27.95
Horse Care Tips from A to Z
from EQUUS Magazine
for Adult
in Raising Livestock & Animal Husbandry (Location: SS-FARM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Horse Handling & Grooming
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Horses Never Lie
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Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Costume
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Illustrated Guide to Embroidery
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Imprint Training of the Newborn Foal
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds
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from Salamander Books Lmt.
for Adult
in Raising Livestock & Animal Husbandry (Location: SS-FARM)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Irish Chain in a Day
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Language of Flowers
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from Dover Publications
for all ages
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$6.95
Language of Flowers - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by John Green
from Dover Publications
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$3.99
Lost Ways II
by Claude Davis
3rd edition from AskAPrepper.com
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in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Made with Lace
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Make a Quilt in a Day
3rd edition
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Making Miniature Chinese Rugs & Carpets
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mary Engelbreit: Christmas Ideas
by Mary Engelbreit
from Meredith Press
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in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mini Farming
by Brett L. Markham
from Skyhorse Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Self-Sufficiency (Location: SS-Self)
$18.95
Minidrill Fifteen Projects
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Modern Quilting Designs
by Bethany Pease
from Stashbooks
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in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
More Sewing Machine Fun!
by Lynda Milligan, Nancy J. Smith
from Possibilities
for 1st-6th grade
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest
by Joe Ammirati, Steve Trudell
1st edition from Timber Press, Inc.
for 7th-12th grade
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$29.99
My Grandmother's Patchwork Quilt
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Naive and Country Quilts
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms
by Gary H. Lincoff
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
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$26.00
Needlepoint
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Needlepoint 1/12 Scale
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
New Ideas for Lap Quilting
in Sewing, Knitting & Crocheting (Location: SS-SEW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Omiyage
from Contemporary Books
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Open Door to Independence: Making Money from the Soil
by Thomas E. Hill
from Hill Standard Book Co.
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$23.00 (1 in stock)
Orchard Mason Bee
by Brian L. Griffin, illustrated by Sharon Smith
1st edition from Knox Cellars Publishing
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pacific Northwest Foraging
by Douglas Deur
from Timber Press, Inc.
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$24.95
Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants
by Scott Kloos
2022 printing from Timber Press, Inc.
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$27.99
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