Urban Homesteading Heirloom Skills For Sustainable Living Book Review
I haven’t gotten around to doing a book review in quite a while, but I’ve just finished reading Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living
What I Liked
This is a great idea book. It covers a myriad of topics and I was inspired to try a little harder with my gardening/homesteading efforts after reading it. The book is visually stunning, the pictures are abundant and beautiful. The authors really do seem to care about their chosen subject.
What I Didn’t Like
Right off the bat the Table of Contents is a little vague and there is no index. How can a book that is meant as a reference have, no index? The projects are a bit vague and could use more fleshing out. My biggest problem with the book is the tone. The authors are clearly NorCal left over hippies, which doesn’t usually bother me as I figure good content overcomes politics, but not this time. Early on (p. 16) the reader is subjected to “Acknowledging the history of oppression and genocide that has distorted all the systems of our culture, fair share seeks a just outcome.” And it only gets worse from there, at various points the reader is told to build altars of natural objects and conduct homegrown rituals: “Go to the beach or a river or a pond, a place with living water. Declare what you need to shed. Write it down. Burn the paper. Taste the ashes. Scatter the ashes…Take off your clothes. Walk into the water. Submerge yourself over your head. Float. Emerge” (p. 255).
Can I Recommend It?
So all in all, not a bad book just not a book for me, so I really can’t recommend it whole heartedly. A much better book for all aspects of Homesteading is Carla Emery’s Encyclopedia of Country Living, 10th Edition
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I have one of the origional copies of Carla Emery’s book. LOVE that book. Carla has EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about gardening, canning and back to the land subjects. Can’t say enough good things about that book.
It is such a great book! I really wish Carla was still with us, I would have loved to meet her.
Hello Mike
thank you for taking the time to write a review of our book. even a mixed review!
I wanted to let your readers know that we agree- the Table of Contents in the first printing is too vague, and the book suffers terribly from a lack of an index. We have finally prevailed upon our publishers to include an index in the next printing of the book, and in the second printing, the Table of Contents was revised considerably to make it less vague. So that important concern will hopefully be adequately addressed in these next printings of the book.
I do wonder if you would answer a question: What’s the issue with “homegrown rituals”? You aren’t the first reader to voice almost the same concern, and me, as “a NorCal left over hippie” (and btw, not a “left over hippie” at all…) I just don’t get it. I’d be grateful for a real reply as I am not trying to bait you but just trying to understand the issue.
Good luck with your garden this year, and your own steps towards sustainability.
Rachel,
Thank you for responding to my dinky little blog. I hope I didn’t come off as to harsh in my review. I’m glad to hear you are addressing the issues with the index and the table of contents, they can only enhance your book.
I’m guessing the few issues I had with the tone of the book come from me probably not being your target audience. I’m an East Coast suburban construction worker in my late 30’s. When I do get a chance to read up on my hobbies I generally like books that are more nuts and bolts and a little less on Spirituality. I hope I didn’t come off as dis-respectful as I’m deeply impressed with anybody who has written a book.
Thanks again for your reply and keep up the good work.