John Shuttleworth

This great little book, picked up for a song at a library book sale, really brought back the memories.

I still have the Original issue of the Mother Earth News from back in the day. Then, everyone was so hopeful. Now, it mostly seems naive.

Anyway, this book explains how to everything imaginable to eek out a (marginal) living while not being caught up in the mindless, day to day, 9-5 grind. Some suggestions include locating old trash dumps from the 19th century and digging for old bottles, and other "antiques". Or (with permission) exploring old abandoned homesteads or barns for old bottles, farm implements, etc. Today, these things have long been salvaged, but perhaps back in the 70's they were still out there for the taking.

Also, there are suggestions a la Ewell Gibbons of how to live off the land, finding and preparing the wild foods available (in season) for the taking.

Some suggestions are still quite current today--how to plant and grow a garden, sew clothes, shop second hand, scavange and resell (called antiquing today). Others are not quite so possible - living with 7 children in a converted over the road bus, traveling around and making a living selling quick drawings and paintings, supporting yourself and your family (with absolutely no experience) on a few acres of land in the middle of nowhere (cheap land). Alas, those days are long gone. Life is much more complicated now. Cheap land fit to raise crops on doesn't exist (in the Mid West anyway), raising cattle proved more complicated than imagined, and so on.

But this little book sure brought back a nostalgic look at the "good old days" -- whether they were actually so or not isn't clear.… (mehr)