Best five books for living off the grid | Living Off the Grid: Free Yourself

5 books for living off the grid
by ELENA on AUGUST 11, 2010 - 4 Comments in OFF-GRID 101

Books for the new decade

We make a fuss about Off the Grid
by Nick Rosen – but let’s not overlook plenty of other very good books out there, of use to the off-grid community.

Here are some of the top-sellers amongst people who use this web site:

How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times

TEOTWAKI literature is the largest sector - Author James Wesley Rawles has been an enthusiastic survivalist since his teenage years. He was posting frequently on the subject on Usenet in the early 90s and is now editor of www.SurvivalBlog.com.

Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre

How to produce over half an average family’s food on just a quarter acre—and earn $cash annually, all while spending less than half the time an ordinary job requires.

The Self-Sufficiency Handbook

All sorts of practical info- including three A-Z sections offer planting and harvesting instructions for vegetables and salad crops, fruits, and herbs.

The Renewable Energy Handbook, Revised Edition: The Updated Comprehensive Guide to Renewable Energy and Independent Living

Living off the grid is a combination of new technology and ancient wisdom – this book encapsulates the new technology. Author William Kemp is one of the foremost experts on domestic renewable energy.

Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)

Gardening When It Counts rediscovers traditional low-input gardening methods to produce healthy food. Designed for readers with no experience.

4 comments

1 Alex Flores { 08.19.10 at 7:09 pm }: Heard about your site on coast to coast. Thank you for having so many references to go to.

Al
2 Melissa Bench { 08.20.10 at 3:46 am }: I would like to know more about getting off the grid and doing my own solar panel install. I am also interested in the wind turbines.
Thanks for your help,
Melissa Bench
3 Jason { 08.23.10 at 11:35 am }: Is this also an invitation for our own top 5 lists? :+)

1. Gaia’s Garden, by Toby Hemenway. My manual for building my self-sufficient food forest.

2. Independent Builder, by Sam Clark. My manual for designing an ergonomic and efficient house.

3. The Rammed Earth House, by David Easton. My howto manual for building the ultimate self-sufficient home

4. Solar Success, by Collyn Rivers. The howto manual for powering my rammed earth home.

5. The Contrary Farmer, by Gene Logsdon. Developing the right attitude towards a simpler life.

I have stacks of other books on my shelves about self-sufficiency, but I guess I’d consider these my desert island books.
4 Lou { 08.24.10 at 12:16 pm }: Lloyd Kahn – ‘Shelter’ and ‘Home Work’ – old school and utterly inspirational, extremely practical too.