Best Book For the Modern Homesteader

If there is one book I would recommend that covers almost every subject on homesteading it has to be The Encyclopedia Of Country Living by Carla Emery.  I discovered this book at the local library when we lived in Wyoming and found it so helpful that I had to get it for my own personal reference.  Carla became my friend and example through her writings because as you read it feels like she is chatting with you over a nice cup of tea.  Her book is full of information, recipes, and funny stories that are uncommon or being lost as more people give up on growing their own food.

 Much of the information is unique because it has been compiled from people who have actually done the things that are written about and have vast experience in it.  It was the only book that had a recipe for crab apple jelly when I was looking to find something to do with crab apples.  Just of few of the subjects she covers in great detail and with an entertaining twist are:

 How to raise chickens, goats, cows, bees, and any other farm animal

How to grow most of your own food with sections for every garden variety

How to give birth alone in the wilderness

Keeping children warm in an unheated home

Canning and cooking recipes for every form a produce, meat, and fruit that you raise yourself

Cooking on a wood cook stove

Choosing a place in the country

Stories from other homesteaders and how they adapted and realized their dreams

How to make butter, cheeses, yogurts, and fermented milks

How to bring home a pig

There is just so much more in this book.  Even though I no longer live on acreage (I still am dreaming to someday)  I still use this book frequently for the recipes and ideas.  It is an encyclopedia of frugal living and how to make a dollar stretch.  Almost every library has at least one copy.  Sadly Carla died a few years back.  I had so wanted to meet her and thank her for her book.  What an amazing heritage she passed down to her children.  Their mothers voice continues to speak to us all through this lifework she created.