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The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide Hardcover – January 1, 2003

by John Seymour (Author), Will Sutherland (Author)

4.7 153 ratings

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A comprehensive, back-to-basics guide explains how to live independently in harmony with the planet, utilizing natural forms of energy, raising crops and livestock, preserving foods, gardening, carpentry, and other essential skills designed to help build a community and transform one's life. 15,000 first printing.

Length

312
Pages
Language

EN
English
Publisher

DK Pub.
Publication date

2003
January 1
Dimensions

8.8 x 0.8 x 11.3
inches
ISBN-10

0789493322
ISBN-13

978-0789493323
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4,139
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"John Seymour, self-sufficiency guru, offers a wealth of ideas to get you started." -- Sentinel

"This book ... will appeal to those seeking simpler and environmentally responsible ways of living ..." -- Library Journal

About the Author

John Seymour is the author of over 40 books, including The Complete Book of Self Sufficiency, The Forgotten Arts and Crafts, and has made numerous movies and radio programs devoted to rural matters, self-sufficiency, and the environment.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ DK Pub.; First Edition (January 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0789493322
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0789493323
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.25 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.75 x 0.75 x 11.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #171,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #160 in Organic & Sustainable Gardening & Horticulture

Customer Reviews:
4.7 153 ratings

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About the authors

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John Seymour
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John Seymour, the acknowledged founding father of the self-sufficiency movement, was an active campaigner for the countryside, the environment, and above all a sustainable, compassionate way of living. He wrote over 40 books and broadcast widely on television and radio. His farm in Wales and later Ireland welcomed visitors seeking guidance on a more self supporting life.
John lived back on his old Pembrokeshire farm with his daughter's family for his last years. He died on September 14, 2004 and is buried in the top field of his old farm in an orchard that he planted.
His legacy lives on, and his books 'The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency' and 'The New Self-Sufficient Gardener' are still best sellers. His more intimate books about his family's self-sufficient life include the classic 'The Fat of the Land', now in its 50th year in print, and its sequel 'I'm a Stranger Here Myself', which is back in print at last.
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Will Sutherland
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Will Sutherland is a self-taught school bus converter who lives and works in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. He documents his adventures on his Willbillys Facebook page and on Instagram. His conversions have been featured in Road and Track and Popular Mechanics.
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

153 global ratings

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Adam

One of the greatest books you can buy on farming.

Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2012

Verified Purchase

I grew up on a family farm in the "Deep South". I've read so many books on farming that I couldn't begin to list them, everything from technical manuals to the Foxfire books. I'd have to say that this one was my favorite. The techniques herein are fantastic, and address everything from slaughtering hogs to making whiskey.

While this book (and a strong back, some tools, and a desire to better yourself) isn't all you'll need to manage a farm properly, Seymour shares some wonderful ideas, more than I few of which I hadn't read anywhere else. This book focuses on "smallholding", which is the idea of raising animals and growing crops that all support one-another, so as to decrease reliance on outside resources. It's an excellent and functional way to farm. Do be advised that a lot of his planting advice is geared more toward cooler climates, so you might want to have an additional manual for additional plants (ones not covered in-depth) if you live in a warmer part of the world.

13 people found this helpful

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nikki

Totally great buy!

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2021

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I’ve wanted this book for years and I hesitated buying used but was hard to pass up for the price. So glad I bought it, the book is in amazing condition and very well taken care of. Bust purchase I’ve made on Amazon in a long time!

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Wayne Comet

Great Homesteading Reference

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2006

Verified Purchase

This book offers all a homesteader or potential homesteader needs to know to get started. Given from a British perspective many of the techniques mentioned may not be legal or practical everywhere. Despite this, I found this to be a thorough guide that covered many aspects of homesteading that I myself had not thought of. Basket and cloth weaving, beekeeping, raising and butchering animals, fishponds for food and food preservation techniques, it's all here and more. At times it is slow reading as being of the same mind as many readers, I found myself looking more for the fantasy of what being a homesteader is like rather than the reality. This is a complete guide on how to be a farmer! I only regret that Mr. Seymour is no longer with us and that we no longer have the benefit of such wisdom.

16 people found this helpful

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Grant A Balfour

A Do-It-Yourselfer's Virtual Buddy.

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2018

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Everything you should want for doing things the old fashioned way. Blacksmithing? Building a chicken coop? Pasturing a goat? Baking biscuits? Milling flour? There's enough here to get you started and point out some of the beginner's pitfalls. It might seem mostly aspirational for your average suburbanite, but then you find yourself considering a project and saying, "Wait, there's something on *that* in here." Next thing you know, you're gathering eggs from a backyard flock or boiling jam from home-grown fruit.

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Such a great source of information

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2015

Verified Purchase

I love this book! While it might not be as in-depth as other books out there, it gives you a great overview of a ton of things you may need to know on your homestead. Definitely not the end all, be all in homesteading info, but a great source of diverse info. If you need a lot of info on one subject, this book will probably disappoint you. But if you are a bona fide city person and would like to become a homesteader, this will give you a good jumping off point.

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Robert e. Lee jr.

If growing is as complicated as this, I'd rather buy from my local farmer's market!

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book is both interesting and delves more deeply than most books into some of the variants than can wreak havoc on general farming. But it should have been noted before purchase, that the writer is of English descent and his farm is on that island. Their weather is considerably different than that of the Americas, as are the troubles they have with various insects, evil critters (we all agree that squirrels rank highest on our list) and beasts and most of all, never seeing the Sun and dealing with temperatures at least 10-20 degrees cooler than our own! Mr. Seymour's knowledge is tremendous and proves a bit to intellectual to make the book a fun read. It almost became tedious as a real farmer/gardener is/and should be more interested in doing the tasks than in reading someone else's opinions on the proper methodology. I give him high marks because he really does have a solid understanding of running such operation. But if it was as tedious as this read, I would recommend staying at home and watching a National Geographic version of farming, rather than bothering with your own farm! In any case, American farm-real estate has gone the stratosphere as far as property values are considered. You'd be better off with a 'back yard garden' at this point. Just wait for the next collapse-and it is coming-and buy on the down side!

2 people found this helpful

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Sid The Kid

Oe of my all time fav

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book helped get me into self sufficiency and a homestead lifetsyle!! Very informative and a nice one to have in the library.

One person found this helpful

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S. R.

Missing some vital information

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2005

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I am really disappointed with the content of this book. It has beautiful glossy pictures, and a great deal on gardening and livestock - but skips important topics entirely. For gardening, this is the least valuable book that I have ever purchased. I expected this book would include a section on making lotions, but lotions were not covered at all. I use white vinegar extensively for cleaning, preserving, and cooking. The book includes vinegar as a needed ingredient for canning, but it did not go into how to make vinegar - a vital product for self sufficency. I bought a 'how to make vinegar' manual for under $3 from lehman's instead.

35 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer

Great text for learning about many facets of self sufficiency.

Reviewed in Canada on July 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

Excellent resource text. Yes, it doesn't go deeply into things, but enough to give you a flavour and get started. You can't have in-depthon almost everything in one book.

M. Giguère

A good investment, great book

Reviewed in Canada on October 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

Very useful book, filled with great ideas and useful information. Very good buy.

LilRoo

Easy read

Reviewed in Canada on November 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

Fun book to read, back to the basics. I believe its one of the best books I have for self sustainable living.

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The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide Hardcover – January 1, 2003

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