Storey’s Basic Country Skills:
A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance

Edited by John and Martha Storey
Published by Storey Books

This fantastically fascinating text is just what the subtitle states: a guide to living a self-reliant, off-the-grid life. Much of the information is excerpted from other Storey titles, such as The Woman’s Hands-On Home Repair Guide, but this format is extremely convenient and captures the best of the other books in a single volume. This is the perfect book for anyone working to reduce their need for outside help and basically wanting to take care of themselves, as well as for those of us who, for now, can only dream of a home in the country.

This huge tome is divided into four main parts. “Your Place in the Country” has eight sections that demonstrate how to care for your house, including wiring, plumbing, decorating, and other topics of import to homeowners wanting to reduce their reliance upon others. “Your Garden, Yard & Orchard” has twelve sections that cover such things as herb gardens, greenhouses, sheds, and soil--basically anything that you would need to have successful growing things. Part 3 is “Country Cooking & Stocking Up” and covers in five parts such topics as recipes, running a dairy, and how to preserve your bounty. Finally, “Your Barn, Stable & Fields” dedicates five more parts to taking care of farm animals and also covers small-scale farming and tools. In short, anything you might need to know to take care of yourself is explained in this book.

Throughout the book, important passages are often illustrated with helpful, detailed sketches or sidebars of charts. Even city dwellers unused to such things as how to butcher a hog will find themselves understanding this alien technology and the accompanying text. Examples of additions to the text include some stencils, instructions for making your own flower/herb press, sketches of bent willow furniture to build, suggestions for planning asparagus successfully, and a chart of drying times for making dried foods.

The book also contains some helpful end matter sections. There is a huge list of additional books that tackle various subjects more in depth, an index to find those important topics, and an invaluable hardiness zone map to make your plantings much more successful. Even if you don’t dream of a home off-the-grid or a little country cottage, this book is simply fascinating reading. You’ll learn everything from how to differentiate horse breeds by their body shape to how to renovate furniture and a host of other wonderful topics. Useful and entertaining, Storey’s Basic Country Skills is the best of both worlds.

Grade: A+

Review submitted by Dindrane