The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It

The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the only book that teaches all the skills needed to live independently in harmony with the land harnessing natural forms of energy, raising crops and keeping livestock, preserving foodstuffs, making beer and wine, basketry, carpentry, weaving, and much more. Our 2003 edition included 150 new full-color illustrations and a special section in which John Seymour, the father of the back to basics movement, explains the philosophy of self-sufficiency and its power to transform lives and create communities. More relevant than ever in our high-tech world, The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It is the ultimate practical guide for realists and dreamers alike.

Library Journal

When Seymour's The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency was first published in 1976, it became a handbook for those seeking a simple, self-supporting way of life. Now this out-of-print classic is available in a revised edition, which basically contains the same information, namely, lots of advice on growing food, raising animals, and preparing and preserving food. One chapter focuses on crafts; another discusses energy production for the homestead. The two editions have almost the same illustrations, but those in the newer edition are in full color and on glossy paper, making this volume much more attractive. In addition, an updated bibliography includes web sites, associations, and seed suppliers. It would be hard to find another similar book with so much information on small-scale farming in one place. This book, along with Seymour's revised The Forgotten Arts and Crafts, will appeal to those seeking simpler and environmentally responsible ways of living: "This way of life suits me," writes Seymour, "it has kept me fit and at least partly sane into my 89th year, and it has prevented me from doing too much harm to our poor planet." Recommended for all libraries, even if they already own the earlier edition.-Ilse Heidmann, Washington State Lib., Olympia Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

John Seymour is remembered as the "Father of Self-Sufficiency." Educated in England and Switzerland, his worldwide experience of husbandry and the benefits of rural life is unparalleled. After studying at an agricultural college, he worked on farms in England, and then spent some 10 years in Africa, where he managed a sheep and cattle farm and acted as a livestock officer for a veterinary department.

His most influential contribution was to live, teach, and promote self-sufficiency, first on five acres, and then on 62 acres, and then in Ireland, where the School of Self-Sufficiency that he established with Angela Ashe attracts new recruits in increasing numbers.