Book Recommendations? Back to basics, traditional skills, etc.,

[Jack]

I spent some time today researching van life from a 'prepper' point of view.  (Hence the resurrection of that thread.)  What I'm interested in finding is a great book or three about how to go back to basics and live without technology or electricity.

To be more specific, I'm not necessarily looking for a book about how to homestead, raise crops and animals, etc.,  I'm going to be a van dweller.  I'm hoping to find a book about techniques that could come in handy for me in my life on the road in case of an emergency, in a world without apps, electricity, etc.,

For example, there's a book on Amazon by Reader's Digest that's been out for decades.  It's called Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills.  (For the record, I'm not affiliated with any Amazon links I post.  They're just direct links that don't go through anyone's "store.")    When you look down at the recommended books on that page, several look good but I can't see inside them, so...

Any essential books you recommend?

 

[travelaround]

Here's a link to the US Army Survival Manual online ... you can read it free at archive.org.

 

[VagabondWahine]

I spent some time today researching van life from a 'prepper' point of view.  (Hence the resurrection of that thread.)  What I'm interested in finding is a great book or three about how to go back to basics and live without technology or electricity.

Any essential books you recommend?

Jack: Your question made me flashback to my college years when 'The Whole Earth Catalog' was the counter-culture's bible. Here's a link to Wikipedia entry for the book, published between late '60s to early '70s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Earth_Catalog
There are several original copies (at outrageous prices) for sale on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Whole+earth+catalog
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. VagabondWahine

 

[travelaround]

A very popular back to basics book from the 1960s...

Living on the Earth, by Alicia Bay Laurel
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Earth-Alicia-Bay-Laurel/dp/1586853430

 

[travelaround]

Also, Foxfire books...
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=foxfire+books

 

[HalfShadows]

A book I highly recommend is "Shop Class As Soulcraft" by Matthew Crawford. Keep a dictionary by your side. It is about our society's loss of the experiences relating to making and repairing things by our own hands. It is a good motivator to develop self sufficiency. Everyone should read this. I have bought this book for friends and family asking similar questions as you do Jack. Amazing results of self sufficiency once they read it.

 

[Jack]

travelaround:  Thanks so much for all the great suggestions!  I wasn't even thinking along the lines of an army survival manual, but that's the great thing about this forum - fresh eyes and different experiences.  When I saw your suggestion for FoxFire books, I was reminded that my dad had those when I was growing up.  I didn't think anything about them then, of course, but now I want to look them up just to see what they are!  As for Living on the Earth, I thank you for the suggestion and taking the time to tell me about it, but I'm just not into the whole earth worship/flower child thing.  

VagabondWahine:  The WEC seems interesting but I can't tell.  I checked it out on Amazon, Wikipedia, and tried to find images of the inside and/or table of contents to see what it's all about.  For some reason, finding a ToC is impossible and, from all the descriptions, it really tells me nothing about what's in the book.  It's all about the flowery vision of it, which gives me no practical info.  Reading the reviews on Amazon are useless.  They're just folks reminiscing about it.  I guess you have to see one in person to understand it.  

HalfShadows:  Thanks!  At least I was able to view the inside of this book on Amazon!  When it comes to books, I'm too old-fashioned (and loving it).  I have to hold a book and thumb through it to examine it.  

With all of these suggestions, I'm going to head to my library to check them all out in person - the old fashioned way!

 

[Dingfelder]

Jack, remember you can download samples of Amazon e-books. You can also return an e-book within a week and get your money back.

The samples are 10%. In a picture-heavy book that may add up to very little, but in a word-heavy book, like a book of short stories or articles, you might get two or three stories/articles, plenty enough to get an idea of whether you might like the book or whether it is put together properly in electronic form.

If you don't have an e-reader like a Kindle, you can read an e-book on the phone on or your computer, too. Whatever way, the sample is great for checking things out. I've read lots of short stories and articles that way for free.

 

[jacqueg]

The WEC is a catalog. It’s divided into sections, and includes blurbs about books and tools, as well as longer thought pieces. Think Sears catalog, if you ever saw one of those. The book references/reviews are still good, the independent tool companies maybe not so much. Boomers like me treasure our copies, they have huge emotional meaning.

I’m always looking for kind of off-kilter books on subjects like foraging, outdoor cooking, camping, travel, etc. One of my all-time favorites is a book called The People’s Guide to Traveling in Mexico by Carl Franz. It’s now in it’s 14th edition. I have the very first edition and a couple later ones. Not that I’ve ever camped in Mexico, but I just love the attitude.

Also, look up a guy named Christopher Nyerges. He’s an urban homesteader/survivalist in Los Angeles and again his earlier books are the more interesting. Again, it’s more his attitude and perspective than the straight info - more of an attitude toward life than just a regular how-to-do-x book.

Really, all the info you need to live in a van can be easily found on the internet, a lot of it right where you are already. What I am looking for is the quirky folks who really do think different. And who still write books.

 

[Jack]

Yes, when I was researching the WEC, it wasn't long before I learned how treasured every copy is.

As a country kid who's spent far too many years in the big city now, I often wonder how "soft" I've become. I don't want to lose my ability to get by just because the electricity goes out. That's why I'd like to have a book or two to bring with me. (Never e-booked and never will. Gadget screens are nasty, glaring things.)

I've never owned a microwave and still cook from scratch, even making my own bread and butter by hand every week. Having a book or two on hand to remind me how to do 'everything else' would be great.

 

[VagabondWahine]

VagabondWahine:  The WEC seems interesting but I can't tell.   Reading the reviews on Amazon are useless.  They're just folks reminiscing about it.  I guess you have to see one in person to understand it.  

Yes, do see if you can find it at a library, but copies are rare. There is probably a cult-like love for the catalog. Mostly it was a mail-order catalog with all types of tools and products for those who 'turned on, tuned in, & dropped out.' In addition were 'how-to' instructions for constructing water systems, shelters, useful crafts, interviews with cultural icons, and ecologically sustaining practices. There were also articles on the philosophy of rejecting the society of excess and embracing the ethos of self-reliance, while also emphasizing cooperation and community. 
Of course, the information, products, and philosophy can now be referenced, read, and downloaded from the Internet. 
In fact, there is a WEC website: http://www.wholeearth.com/index.php  Under the "Articles" tab, you can click on the area that interests you and read every article from all the issues of the catalog. Groovy!

 

[Dingfelder]

 (Never e-booked and never will.  Gadget screens are nasty, glaring things.)

Turn off the light.  Kindle Fire's, for example, have their own.  This is a pretty big deal, because it means you don't need to lean into the light or have one behind you to read -- GLARE !!! Which means you aren't actively searching out a source of glare for yourself. In fact you don't need a light on at all. A good craftsman never blames his tools, they say, and it's the same with getting yourself set up to read comfortably.

You get far more glare from a PC/laptop screen, a regular book, or your television than you do from a self-lit kindle.  I'm extremely sensitive to glare, for whatever reason I don't know, so I'm well experienced in problems with glare.  I used to buy those 100 buck plus leaded screens for my PC monitors and tape non-reflective cardboard around the top and sides, and keep all glass/reflective things and all lighting sources behind the desk and monitor so they couldn't reflect.  (A good part of this is after all our own responsibility.  What makes glare will make it on any surface.)  Glare makes me squint, blurs my vision, and gives me a headache eventually, so I have always been very keen on controlling it.

There are also matte screens on some readers and screen protectors that reduce glare.  Additionally, you can choose color and intensity of a tablet's background lighting to control contrast and overall intensity.  Add that you can dramatically vary font size, and tablets are by far the easiest on your eyes of any way you can read.  

Well, besides an audiobook ...

And those are only some of the virtues.

 

[Dingfelder]

In fact, there is a WEC website: http://www.wholeearth.com/index.php  Under the "Articles" tab, you can click on the area that interests you and read every article from all the issues of the catalog. Groovy!

Last I saw, you could get it as a CD library too.

 

[Jack]

VagabondWahine:  The WEC definitely intrigues me so I'm on the hunt to check it out.

Dingfelder:  I do agree with you.  There's a fix for almost everything.  And gadgets are handy and useful things.  I'm just speaking personally.  I have no interest in them.  If I could live without a phone, I'd be more than happy to, even though there's a level of convenience to them.  The only thing I find useful about them (for myself) is the maps feature to give you directions.  

The problem with finding the fix for the problems with gadgets, is that the fix ends up costing you more money to fix the expensive gadget in the first place.  I prefer simplicity over convenience or entertainment.  

As for audiobooks, I love them!  I used to go out and walk for hours on end listening to a good audio book!  They were a must on road trips.  So, I'm sure I'll be making use of them again when I start van life.

 

[VagabondWahine]

VagabondWahine:  The WEC definitely intrigues me so I'm on the hunt to check it out.

Just came across a video about Lloyd Kahn, the "Shelter" editor for The Whole Earth Catalog. He shows a copy of the original edition, talks about his own publications, gives a tour of his home & gardens, philosophizes about the benefits of building (owning) your own home and working with your hands. Also the importance of becoming, at least partially, self-sufficient. He's currently editing a book on Tiny Houses.