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The Half-Acre Homestead
46 Years of Building and Gardening
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The Half-Acre Homestead
$3999
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Ideal for fans of DIY living, sustainable homesteading, and artisanal craftsmanship. Readers interested in self-sufficiency, gardening, and ecological lifestyles will find this book both inspiring and practical.
Lloyd, the former shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, has published seven books on owner building, showcasing hundreds of builders, and this is his first book on his own work.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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Description
Lloyd, the former shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, has published seven books on owner building, showcasing hundreds of builders, and this is his first book on his own work.
Starting with a vacant half-acre piece of land, they built their own home, created a garden with vegetables and fruit, and describe raising chickens, bees, and goats. The book also covers cooking, foraging, fishing, crafts, birds, butterflies, and tools.
Their main theme is that this was all done by hand.
They have never paid rent nor have they ever had a mortgage.
There are over 500 photos illustrating all the above facets of their lives and clear explanations of building skylights, maintaining a septic system, building greenhouses, and raised vegetable beds. There is a section on unique kitchen tools, as well as advice on useful tools used in construction.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Critics praise the book as a captivating and inspiring read. Kevin Kelly of Wired calls it his favourite, describing it as utterly engaging. The San Francisco Chronicle warns it might inspire readers to start their own homestead. The New York Times highlights it as a heartfelt memoir and celebration of craftsmanship. UCLA professor Peter Nabokov terms it a magnificent gift, while photographer Jack Fulton admires its depiction of a harmonious life.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780936070810
Publisher: Shelter Publications Inc.,U.S.
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 16 April 2020
Country: United States
Imprint: Shelter Publications Inc.,U.S.
Illustration: 500 photographs
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 216.0mm
Height: 216.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 168
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About the Author
Lloyd Kahn started building more than 50 years ago and has lived in a self-built home ever since. If he'd been able to buy a wonderful, old, good-feeling house, he might have never started building. But it was always cheaper to build than to buy, and by building himself, he could design what he wanted and use materials that he wanted to live with.
Lloyd set off to learn the art of building in 1960. He liked the whole process immensely. Ideally he'd have worked with a master carpenter long enough to learn the basics, but there was never time. He learned from friends and books and by blundering his way into a process that required a certain amount of competence. His perspective was that of a novice, a homeowner, rather than a pro. As he learned, he felt that he could tell others how to build-or at least get them started on the path to creating their own homes.
Through the years, he's personally gone from post and beam to geodesic domes to stud-frame construction. It's been a constant learning process, and this has led him into investigating many methods of construction. For five years in the late '60s to early '70s, he built geodesic domes. He got into book publishing by producing Domebook One in 1970 and Domebook 2 in 1971.
He gave up on domes (as homes) and published his company's namesake Shelter in 1973. Since then, Shelter Publications has produced books on a variety of subjects and returned to its roots with Home Work in 2004, The Barefoot Architect and Builders of the Pacific Coast in 2008, Tiny Homes in 2012, and more.
Building is Lloyd's favorite subject. Even in this day and age, building a house with one's own hands can save a ton of money and-if you follow it through-you can get what you want in a home.
Lesley Creed (19472023) moved out of San Francisco in the early '70s, intent upon a back to-the-land lifestyle. She worked with Shelter Publications as a consulting editor, while maintaining a vegetable and flower garden and pursuing an interest in how things are made. She lived with her husband and co-author, Lloyd Kahn, in West Marin County, California, until her death in 2023.
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