Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management,   ISBN:9780486209746

Customer Rating: 

I absolutely love this book. I have to agree with a previous reviewer's "cringing" at the thought of lining a cistern with sheet lead. Reading this section brought a shocked smile across my face. I'm thankful that we've survived long enough to mend our ways! In this sense, I wouldn't recommend anyone to follow Kains' advice word-for-word.

However, this book still contains a refreshing dose of reality to the average cubical worker daydreaming of ditching their city-responsibilities and running through fields of grain . . . of their own tending. The book is timeless in its ability to make people realize, being fully independent and working the farm is a heck of a lot of work. It's dirty, hard, sometimes unrewarding, and always unforgiving. It's the ultimate test of any family; however, I wouldn't recommend this test for our "entitled" society (unless you're thoroughly set on divorce).

You've got to use your head much more than you ever would sitting in your air conditioned cubical. Farming requires critical thinking, patience, and constant research. This is the point I believe Kains made best.

The book renewed my respect for all farmers of past and left me in moments of silence, in respect of the days of yore.

Customer Rating: 

As others have pointed out, the lead-lined cistern is a classic example of bad information. Heck, it was controversial at the time even. None of the financial information, obviously, is at all useful today. The animal practices are still plausible as I understand it, especially the chickens, but much of the tree management details differ from current best practices. So, if you want modern information, this isn't it. I'd recommend The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City (Process Self-reliance Series) for the urban gardener, and perhaps The Self-Reliant Homestead: A Book of Country Skills for those with more land.

Customer Rating: 

This book is quaint, extremely outdated, especially regarding financial questions. Marketing isues are comng around again to where some things make sense. I found a number of the sections and chapters helpful in gaining insight into intense grazing, but a number were simply of little use. If you are looking for a path to being off the grid, there were some helpful instructions, but you would have to find a source for ice to make them work. If you are lucky to have a cold spring you can substitute for the ice, perhaps you could make do.

Customer Rating: 

As many have stated before me the technical information may be dated/outdated but the wisdom is timeless. I learned a lot from this book - not specifics on goats or chickens or beans, etcetera - it contains really timeless knowledge that many books miss because they do get caught to much in the specifics of chickens or goats or bees or whatever. I particularly enjoyed the fact that so many of the pitfalls are discussed in this book. So many book paint sunshine and rainbows and make everything seem so carefree and easy that I appreciated the honesty and practicality brought by this book. Read it and then read the more specific (and modern) books for each individual task. (Besides no single book will cover all the millions of topics to the minutest of detail each deserves.) This book is definitely worth the read.

Customer Rating: 

If you are looking for specifics -- like how to keep Japanese beetles off of your beans -- this book is terribly outdated. It specified plant varieties that no longer exist, and the use of pesticides (such as arsenic!?!) that are thankfully now illegal to use. For that sort of information, find something more modern.

But for the *philosophy* -- there is no book that is better. This book covers everything from marketing tips and the importance of quality through specific methods of digging and ploughing. Its coverage of these is absolutely phenomenal and second to none.

This book is not terribly expensive -- less than $10 -- and even though it is outdated in terms of certain specifics; it will teach you things that you won't find in more modern books. So I recommend this book highly.