Customer Reviews
One book you have to own - By: Vagra, 06 Sep 2008 
If you even have a slight leaning towards 'self sufficient' lifestyle, this book is invaluable.
Well laid out & illustrated as you would expect from DK, but stuffed with useful information from the one & only John Seymour.
Buy this book, The Complete Guide to Self Sufficiency & The Fat of Land & will have alll you need to know about this way of life.
Dated, but still an inspiration - By: Keith Thomas, 19 Aug 2008 
This is a reprint of Seymour's 30 year-old classic with its still-inspirtional illustrations, but with a text that is out of date in so many ways. What is out of date is that there is no account in this book of recent technical developments & advances in our understanding of plants, soil microbiology & the environment (the book has a pre-Permaculture view of the world) & also the naive presentation of insecticides & other garden chemicals that organic gardeners would no longer sanction. Also, there is no reference, of course, to climate change & other pressures on the global & local environment & economies which make food self-sufficiency an imperative, not just a lifestyle choice.
Get this book for its timeless inspiration (where it is in a class of its own), but complement it by looking elsewhere - preferably in books on Permaculture written for your part of the world since 2005 (i.e. taking into account peak oil & climate change) for practical guidance. For example, books by Toby Heminway, Aric McBay, David Holmgren, Patrick Whitefield, Bill Mollison. Also, join your local Permaculture or organic gardening group to round out your practical knowledge & enrich your worldview.
review - By: Marie Costello, 27 Jun 2008 A great book full of knowledge. Similiar to his complete book of self-sufficiency but goes into veg growing etc in plenty of detail. This is a complete guide for someone starting & already started with gardening. Something you will have to hand from season to season.
