The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency: The Classic Guide for Realists and Dreamers
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-18 09:53:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：John Seymour
- ISBN：0241352460
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Summary
Embrace off-grid green living with the bestselling classic guide to a more sustainable way of life， now with a brand new foreword from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall。
For over 40 years， John Seymour has inspired thousands to make more responsible， enriching， and eco-friendly choices with his advice on living sustainably。 The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency offers step-by-step instructions on everything from chopping trees to harnessing solar power; from growing fruit and vegetables， and preserving and pickling your harvest， to baking bread， brewing beer， and making cheese。 Seymour shows you how to live off the land， running your own smallholding or homestead， keeping chickens， and raising （and butchering） livestock。
In a world of mass production， intensive farming， and food miles， Seymour's words offer an alternative: a celebration of the joy of investing time， labour， and love into the things we need。 While we aren't all be able to move to the countryside， we can appreciate the need to eat food that has been grown ethically or create things we can cherish， using skills that have been handed down through generations。 With refreshed， retro-style illustrations and a brand-new foreword by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall， this new edition of Seymour's classic title is a balm for anyone who has ever sought solace away from the madness of modern life。
For over 40 years， John Seymour has inspired thousands to make more responsible， enriching， and eco-friendly choices with his advice on living sustainably。 The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency offers step-by-step instructions on everything from chopping trees to harnessing solar power; from growing fruit and vegetables， and preserving and pickling your harvest， to baking bread， brewing beer， and making cheese。 Seymour shows you how to live off the land， running your own smallholding or homestead， keeping chickens， and raising （and butchering） livestock。
In a world of mass production， intensive farming， and food miles， Seymour's words offer an alternative: a celebration of the joy of investing time， labour， and love into the things we need。 While we aren't all be able to move to the countryside， we can appreciate the need to eat food that has been grown ethically or create things we can cherish， using skills that have been handed down through generations。 With refreshed， retro-style illustrations and a brand-new foreword by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall， this new edition of Seymour's classic title is a balm for anyone who has ever sought solace away from the madness of modern life。
Reviews
Suzanne Bhargava
，
A useful and inviting reference book on doing it yourself whether you plan to go totally off grid or not。
Rebecca Arp
，
this book has me unbelievably excited about gardening/farming/being self sustainable and living on a commune w my fellow gays
Paul moved to LibraryThing
，
Wonderful book。 Informative illustrations and wide coverage of topics。 Most topics are covered only briefly and serve more as a starting point than a comprehensive guide。 The writing style is personal and author is very opinionated on everything and not shy of sharing。 I'd prefer the guides to be written more matter-of-factly。The book ends with an admission that living in a group of people who specialise is better。 This doesn't detract from the message: you'll be happier if you do more things fo Wonderful book。 Informative illustrations and wide coverage of topics。 Most topics are covered only briefly and serve more as a starting point than a comprehensive guide。 The writing style is personal and author is very opinionated on everything and not shy of sharing。 I'd prefer the guides to be written more matter-of-factly。The book ends with an admission that living in a group of people who specialise is better。 This doesn't detract from the message: you'll be happier if you do more things for yourself。 。。。more
Elizabeth
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Some things seem a little out of date at the moment， but overall a good read。
Rachael Macgregor
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Love this book for just daydreaming。 I'm not ever going to be fit enough to do this， but it's all great advice。 In a way， you can extrapolate the principles and use them in your own life to increase your self sufficiency。 I have a small veg garden and definitely learned some applicable tips on efficiency， thinking ahead to the various seasons and using space wisely。 Love this book for just daydreaming。 I'm not ever going to be fit enough to do this， but it's all great advice。 In a way， you can extrapolate the principles and use them in your own life to increase your self sufficiency。 I have a small veg garden and definitely learned some applicable tips on efficiency， thinking ahead to the various seasons and using space wisely。 。。。more
CARL BRAMLEY
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Good practical guide to all things self-sufficient， interesting reading。 A good foundation in most areas and some interesting ideas
Joshua Tucker
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Inspirational
Poly
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From setting up Solar pannels to making cheese Seymour provides plenty of different ways to provide for yourself。 Not just this though the book sets forward a philosophy that going back to the land is not going back in time but rather progression。 Instead of buying clothes from sweatshops why not provide for yourself？ Doing so you are not just learning a skill but also helping environmentally and in the process not providing such corporations with a profit。This book is also bolstered by some gre From setting up Solar pannels to making cheese Seymour provides plenty of different ways to provide for yourself。 Not just this though the book sets forward a philosophy that going back to the land is not going back in time but rather progression。 Instead of buying clothes from sweatshops why not provide for yourself？ Doing so you are not just learning a skill but also helping environmentally and in the process not providing such corporations with a profit。This book is also bolstered by some great illustrations。 。。。more
Joel Davis-Ward
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One of my favourite books。 Truly inspiring， especially in terms of how much can be achieved in a small area。 I'd recommend it to anyone considering home/farmsteading， or to those who are already doing it and want to up their game。 One of my favourite books。 Truly inspiring， especially in terms of how much can be achieved in a small area。 I'd recommend it to anyone considering home/farmsteading， or to those who are already doing it and want to up their game。 。。。more
Christine Kenney
，
Awesome reference。 It got a bit bogged down in the gardening section for those of us not gardening in UK soil/climate/prevalent pest conditions， but in general， Seymour has some impressive skills at succinctly summarizing what you need to know to get started in disciplines that have few remaining craftsmen to apprentice with and might take decades to fully master。
Pamela
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Beautiful Hardcover。Loved the contents， but even for its size， I wish it went even deeper on the details of everything。 Probably this is only due to me being content-facts-numbers thirsty and if it was like that it would probably bore other people。 I love the images and drawings too， it sure shows the love we feel for the country。
Patricia
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The Bible of self-sufficiency！ It goes in depth about everything you want to know about the subject。 Yes， it’s a little old， it was written in the 70s。 But it’s better， I think， to see how things were done when we were slightly less dependent on non-renewable resources。As far as I know， there is no other book on the subject that does a better job than this one。 It’s a shame though that there is such an extensive chapter on slaughter。 I feel like self-sufficiency can more easily rely on legumes a The Bible of self-sufficiency！ It goes in depth about everything you want to know about the subject。 Yes， it’s a little old， it was written in the 70s。 But it’s better， I think， to see how things were done when we were slightly less dependent on non-renewable resources。As far as I know， there is no other book on the subject that does a better job than this one。 It’s a shame though that there is such an extensive chapter on slaughter。 I feel like self-sufficiency can more easily rely on legumes and nuts as a protein source。 。。。more
Shirley Revill
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My all time favourite book that is on my to read another day shelf。Packed with knowledge about complete self sufficiency in the garden。From growing fruit and veg to keeping livestock。Really love this book it is a treasure trove of information。Highly recommended。
نونو غودينو
，
Great book teach it a lot you should read it it is ppossible to live out of system
Sofie
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This book is truely a complete book of how to become self sufficient。 It has been and still is very helpful to me and anyone who wants to be self suffient regardless of to what extend should definitely read this book。
JAVIGAVIERO
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versión 2011。
Philip
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This book is wonderful first primer in this fascinating subject。 It is full of invaluable information and wonderful anecdotes。 Beautifully illustrated and a wonderful addition to my library。
Guion Pratt
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This book includes the phrase "The first lion I ever shot。。。" THE FIRST。 And he was just talking about making soap。 This book includes the phrase "The first lion I ever shot。。。" THE FIRST。 And he was just talking about making soap。 。。。more
Polly
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Seriously。 This book is why I can make butter and why I tried it。 This book is why I know how to make lye soap。 This book is how I know what life was like in older times。 This book is how I know how to build a five tree orchard and that pigs like to hang out there and gather the over ripe fruit。 This book is how I know what to feed chickens （if my husband ever lets me get some）。 And this book is one that has a special place on my shelf for any question I may ever have。 The best advice from this Seriously。 This book is why I can make butter and why I tried it。 This book is why I know how to make lye soap。 This book is how I know what life was like in older times。 This book is how I know how to build a five tree orchard and that pigs like to hang out there and gather the over ripe fruit。 This book is how I know what to feed chickens （if my husband ever lets me get some）。 And this book is one that has a special place on my shelf for any question I may ever have。 The best advice from this book: Living a life of self sufficiency is 24/7 hard work。 The author writes to tell readers that after a life's work proving that there is a way to make anything you could ever need from nature; it's okay to stop and just rest awhile with friends-- even if it means buying your own broom to find that time， though you already know how to make your own。 。。。more
Victoria E。 Keen
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This was， in fact， the original "Good Life" book and very much a breakthrough in writing about self-sufficiency。 This is the updated version， which stays very true to the original philosophy - in fact， not that much has changed at all except for the fact that some sections have been updated to fit our newer， more modern lives。This is the first book we bought on self-sufficiency and it's really the only one we still refer to！ I would recommend it to anyone who wants the good life - either complet This was， in fact， the original "Good Life" book and very much a breakthrough in writing about self-sufficiency。 This is the updated version， which stays very true to the original philosophy - in fact， not that much has changed at all except for the fact that some sections have been updated to fit our newer， more modern lives。This is the first book we bought on self-sufficiency and it's really the only one we still refer to！ I would recommend it to anyone who wants the good life - either completely， or just choosing aspects of it that will fit with their life。It teaches everything from growing vegetables and rearing animals， to how to lay out your plot， build shelters and recycle EVERYTHING！ It might not be the only self-sufficiency book you own， but it should be one of the first！ 。。。more
Gaz Watson
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An ace book， one day I hope to be in a position where i can use this book as my guide to life。
Kim
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Too opinionated and too country specific。 （not my country）
Anne
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Brilliant but not 100% practical in Finland。
Marie
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A classic on self-sufficiency。 Has lots of chapters on meat - if you're a vegetarian， only a few chapters of this book will be useful - for example， the chapter on food preserving。 A classic on self-sufficiency。 Has lots of chapters on meat - if you're a vegetarian， only a few chapters of this book will be useful - for example， the chapter on food preserving。 。。。more
Iain Watson
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New Complete Self-sufficiency by John Seymour （2003）
Becky
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This book is crazy - everything you need to know about surviving off of what you can produce yourself。 It's not something you can sit down and just read （well， I guess you could， but it's a lot of info。） I'm excited to study from it more。 This book is crazy - everything you need to know about surviving off of what you can produce yourself。 It's not something you can sit down and just read （well， I guess you could， but it's a lot of info。） I'm excited to study from it more。 。。。more
Martinxo
，
This was a library copy and I must buy one for myself， it's the kind of book one wants to annote， one that will take some wear-and-tear。 A great resource。 This was a library copy and I must buy one for myself， it's the kind of book one wants to annote， one that will take some wear-and-tear。 A great resource。 。。。more
Mirandaash
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Grew up with this book when Mum was starting her small holding and now it's beginning to guide us。 Lessons from the 1st edition still apply today Grew up with this book when Mum was starting her small holding and now it's beginning to guide us。 Lessons from the 1st edition still apply today 。。。more
Tish
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This book covers absolutely everything， with detailed diagrams， from making bricks to slaughtering pigs :（， from building a windmill， to choosing and eating wild plants， milking goats， managing springs， arranging a workshop for maximum efficiency。。。I could go on。 This is an absolute bible for anyone seriously interested in "doing it themselves。" Although I marked this as read， I'll be reading this for years。 It'll sit on the shelf alongside my very battered， very loved， How to Cook Everything。 This book covers absolutely everything， with detailed diagrams， from making bricks to slaughtering pigs :（， from building a windmill， to choosing and eating wild plants， milking goats， managing springs， arranging a workshop for maximum efficiency。。。I could go on。 This is an absolute bible for anyone seriously interested in "doing it themselves。" Although I marked this as read， I'll be reading this for years。 It'll sit on the shelf alongside my very battered， very loved， How to Cook Everything。 。。。more
Kelly
，