I read the negative reviews for this book before I purchased it. Nevertheless, I still ordered it. While the book is kinda like a phonebook type of product, the information in it is priceless. It covers so many topics. I strongly recommend it.

This book reads like having your grandmother orate all the great folklore, recipes, and wisdom as garnered from years of living in the country.
Anything from making homemade taffy to choosing livestock.
The book was aimed at transitioning people into country living as if an old friend were showing you the ropes.
Think of this book as getting your medical degree in General Practice as opposed to Pulmonary Medicine. (You won't be an expert in any one thing, but will gleen 80% of what you need to know in all areas).
There are other books that cater to specifics areas, but this one really glues them all together.

Everyone in America should have a copy of this book. You can learn how to do practically everything the old fashioned way from this book. I have been using her original book for 30 years and have learned an enormous amount of information about living close to the land. Fun to read, full of practical information, we always keep it close at hand for reference. We all had better start taking seriously the need to take care of ourselves to some extent and soon. What are you going to do when the grocery stores shut down?

Carla Emery and her book, The Encyclopedia of Country Living, have long been considered a pillar of strength and a fount of knowlege in the homesteading community. This book is full of instruction, advice, and anecdotes on the homesteading lifestyle. Because of the confines of a single volume, it doesn't have the detail and depth of the "Today's Homestead" series of books,Today's Homestead: Volume I, but it is a well-loved and important book in the history of homesteading. It holds an honored spot in my book shelf and is a "must have" for any homestead library.

New to back to basics type lifestyle and still in the city but wanted to get a "head start". Worh every single red penny that I paid for it. It will forever have a spot on my kitchen book shelf and I cannot imagine trying to homestead without it. Fabulous book!

THIS BOOK IS WONDERFUL. IT ANSWERS JUST ABOUT ANY QUESTION THAT MIGHT ARISE WHEN IT COMES TO STARTING A SMALL FARM. WETHER YOU ARE DOING IT FOR SALE OR JUST FOR YOURSELF AND THE FAMILY. IT WILL ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS FROM FROM HOW TO GROW A GARDEN TO HOW TO RAISE ANIMALS FOR A SMALL FARM. A MUST HAVE FOR ALL NOVICE FARMERS OR FARMER WANT TO BE'S. WELL WORTH THE MONEY.

The Encyclopedia of Country Living is very interesting to reading, but when it comes to looking up information it is really not written like an encyclopedia. Though it's very informative and the information is very useful, the writing style is more conversational.
I am enjoying and using the information, but have found myself seeking more in depth books on a few topics, understandable though, to be in depth on all topics this book would need to be thousands of pages long.

This book is the most informative, easy-to-use book of its kind that I've found. It's laid out like a true encyclopedia -- just look up "tomatoes" or "goats" or whatever interests you, and learn everything there is to know about growing, keeping, and using them in the home/farm. The author has spent 30 years collecting local rural knowledge and writing about her own trials and errors -- truly an irreplaceable collection of knowledge.

I am very happy I purchased this book. It is very informative, and I will be honest I have not been able to read all the way through yet. The foundation of information is just what I need to determine my country needs and where I want to focus more (buy more books, sign up for newsletters etc...) and in what areas I have an interest. I would suggest it to anyone that wants to know more about country living. This is a very in depth foundation of information and personal experiences (not just the authors) to build on when planning to move or if you are already in the country living lifestyle.

I cannot beleive the amount of information this book contains! The author makes no pretenses. She doesn't claim to know everything. She bases her knowledge on her experiences, letters, & information gathered over the years from others. This massive book is many many years worth of information! It has been updated many times. I'm pretty sure she doesn't leave anything out from the older versions, explaining why the book gets larger and larger. One thing that I'm aware of being left out because she mentions it is raw egg recipes. She says she was requested to leave them out for food saftey reasons. This was very dissapointing to me. No Egg Nog, No Mayonaise. :o( Anyone country living can usually trust that their backyard eggs are safe.
Just about anything you can think of regarding the "simple life" is noted in this book. She gives TONS of information for outside sources so you can further your knowledge in the vast areas. This books makes a fantastic starting point or reference point to whatever it is you are looking for more information on. Look it up in her book, learn the basics (or sometimes much more than the basics), & then use her references to guide you.
From farm animals, to gardening, to canning, to flowers, to recipes, to you name it! It's here! Even giving birth alone! Outhouses, water issues...on and on it goes!
This truly is a must have! You will find yourself picking it up often. It's like curling up to read the letter of a long distance friend...sort of!

definitely has a bunch of homesteading info. probably could use some editing, but overall a very good resource to learn from. should not read from start to finish, pick a chapter about something you want to learn and read that.