Creating a list of recommended readings?

Would people of this forum be interested creating a thread where we compiled recommendations of reading on particular topics?

What we can do is you reply to this topic with a reading, giving:
- The title of the article/book/website
- The Author's name
- The Topic that most appropriately suites the book
- and any comments you may wish to add

And I will attempt to order all of the entries into this post, thereby creating a resource list for noob's to this forum, and a point for reference for others.

Cheers,

Brett

Any comments, reccommendations and criticism is welcome

 

Readings and Resources:
Once there are enough entries to warrant it I'll index all the entries.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


The Permaculture Home Garden
by Linda Woodrow
Subject: Backyard permaculture

Comments: A great introductory reader for those with small to moderate ambitions for developing a permaculture garden at home

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Architecture For the Poor, An Experiment in Rural Egypt
by Hassan Fathy (Publication details: University of Chicago Press 1973. ISBN; 0-226-23915-2)
Subject: Eco-villages, sustainable settlements, earth building, public works

Comments:
A comprehensive work on the design and building of a traditional mud brick village, it goes beyond the "mechanics" of building, designing and cost analysis to cover the processes of decision making, restoring traditional crafts, climate and architecture, socio-economic considerations, in-service training and cooperative systems.
Long out of print but often pops up on Amazon

(Submitted by user RobWindt 05.11.07)
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A Pattern Language
by Christopher Alexander*
Subject: Garden Design,

Comments: understand the details and patterns that make a place "feel right"

(Submitted by user RobWindt 05.11.07)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#Earthships
by Michael Reynolds (Publication details: 1990, Solar Survival Press ISBN 0-926767-0-5)
Subject: Building

Comments:

(Submitted by user Geoaussie 6.11.07)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#Earth Garden Building Book
by Robert Rich (Publication details: 1991, Earth Garden ISBN 0-670-90420-1)
Subject: Building

Comments:

(Submitted by user Geoaussie 6.11.07)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#The Tire House
by Ed Paschich (Publication details: 1995 Sunstone Press ISBN 0-86534-215-6)
Subject: Building

Comments:

(Submitted by user Geoaussie 6.11.07)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening 1978
by Staff of Organic Gardening Magazine (Publication details: Rodale Press, ISBN 0-87857-225-2)
Subject: Referencing

Comments:

(Submitted by user Geoaussie 6.11.07)
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*A star(*) next to an item indicates information I sourced myself, not provided with the original entry
#A Hash(#) indicates a record that could use some more information



Thanks to those contributers:
Geoaussie
RobWindt

 

Eco-villages, sustainable settlements, earth building, public works.

"Architecture For the Poor, An Experiment in Rural Egypt" by Hassan Fathy, University of Chicago Press 1973. ISBN; 0-226-23915-2. Long out of print but often pops up on Amazon.

A comprehensive work on the design and building of a traditional mud brick village, it goes beyond the "mechanics" of building, designing and cost analysis to cover the processes of decision making, restoring traditional crafts, climate and architecture, socio-economic considerations, in-service training and cooperative systems.

Combine this book with "A Pattern Language" to understand the details and patterns that make a place "feel right". https://www.livingneighborhoods.org/ht-0/bln-exp.htm

 

That's the spirit, thanks Rob. I'll add that one to the list as soon as I get a few more..

 

Earth Building

Three Books I have found invaluable for earth Building are
Earthships by Michael Reynolds 1990 Solar Survival Press ISBN 0-926767-0-5
Earth Garden Building Book by Robert Rich 1991 (I think there is a more recent edition) Earth Garden ISBN 0-670-90420-1
The Tire House by Ed Paschich 1995 Sunstone Press ISBN 0-86534-215-6

Away from building another book that has proved useful is
The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening 1978, Staff of Organic Gardening Magazine, Rodale Press, ISBN 0-87857-225-2

 

Thanks Geoaussie... I have compiled the first entries.

if you have any suggestions for the presentation I'd love to know.

Thanks,

Brett

 

Great idea and very generous of you.


... and I always thought that * was a humble asterisk and # was a Cross of Lorraine.

Where has my English gone? Maybe I hoped that Hanrahan, Foreskin Fred and Slim Dusty were to shape my diction, oh well, bill gate-isms and mcdonalds now set the 'standards'.

''Just my bit'', [fred mighta said to the Leader of the Putsch!]

floot

 

Brett,

Nice work! I have two that recently were published and are paradigm twisting: Collapse by Jarred Daimond (all about why societies fail) and the Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan (an amazing book on what food is, totally relevant in these industrial times) are two that should be up there. A Pattern Language is, also, an amazing book.

 

G'day brett,
Very good idea
I'v a small library of gardening, permaculture and envionmentalism books here which i'v mostly inhereted... where to begin?

How to grow more vegetables than you ever thought possible on less land than you could possibly imagine, John Jeavons
Subject: Intensive Gardening,
Comments:
Very detailed and helpful book explaining the"bio-intensive" method pioneered by Alan Chadwick which is essentially a combination of biodynamic and french intensive methods.

-----------
Gardening on difficult soils, J.S Say

Subject: Gardening
Comments:
Helpful and comprehensive book for bringing poor land into workable condition. Provides the simplest explanation of soil bio chemistry i'v found.

--------------
Biodynamic agriculture introductory lectures (volumes 1, 2 and 3) , Alex Podolinsky
Subject: Biodynamic agriculture
comments:
Provides a wonderfull insight into the workings, philosophy and thinking of the Australian BD movement. Specialises in the application of BD principles to broad acre farming.

--------------------
How to grow world record tomatoes, Charles H. Wilber
subject: vertical/intensive gardening
comments:
a detailed explanation of the organic methods Wilbur used to get his tomatoes 27 foot high. Includes soil preparation, compost, pruning, trellising and watering advice.
-------------------------
The vegetarian alternative, Vic Sussman
Subject: Vegetarianism/diet
Comments:

---------------------
Agriculture of Tomorrow, E and L Kolisko,
Subject: Biodynamics
Comments:
Comprehensive set of methods and detailed test results for BD agriculture.


More to come when i get the time...
cheers,
IG

 

Great idea Brett.


Permaculture:


Permaculture: A Designers Manual - Bill Mollison

Permaculture Two: Practical Design for Town and Country in Permanent Agriculture - Bill Mollison

Permaculture book of ferment and human nutrition - Bill Mollison

Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainablity - David Holmgren

Melliodora - Hepburn Permaculture Gardens: A Case Study In Cool Climate Permaculture 1985-2005 - David Holmgren

Trees On The Treeless Plains: Revegetation Manual For The Volcanic Landscapes of Central Victoria - David Holmgren

Permaculture Plants: A Selection - Jeff Nugent and Julia Boniface

Permaculture Plants: Agaves and Cacti - Jeff Nugent

You Can Have Your Permaculture and Eat It Too - Robin Clayfield

Basics of Permaculture Design - Ross Mars

Getting Started In Permaculture - Ross and Jenny Mars

How Can I Use Herbs In My Daily Life - Isabell Shipard

How Can I Grow And Use Sprouts As Living Food - Isabell Shipard

Earth User's Guide to Permaculture - Rosemary Morrow

Urban Permaculture - David Watkins

Best of Permaculture: A Collection - Max Lindegger & Robert Tap

Paradise In Your Garden : Smart Permaculture Design - Jenny Allen.

Gaia's garden : A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture - Toby Hemenway.


Natural Gardening:

One-straw Revolution - Masanobu Fukuoka and C. Pearce

The Road Back to Nature: Regaining the Paradise Lost - Masanobu Fukuoka and Frederic P. Metreaud

The Natural Way of Farming: The Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy - Masanobu Fukuoka and Frederic P. Metreaud


General Gardening:


Tropical Planting & Gardening - H.F. Macmillan

Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers - Schultes, Hofmann, Rätsch

The Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-known Plants of the Andes With Promise for Worldwide Cultivation - National Research Council

Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants - Stephen Facciola

Lothian Successful Organic Gardening: Vegetables - Michalak, Peterson

Edible Forest Gardens: Ecological Vision, Theory For Temperate Climate Permaculture - Dave Jacke

Edible Forest Gardens: Ecological Design And Practice For Temperate-Climate Permaculture - Dave Jacke

How to Make a Forest Garden - Patrick Whitefield

Organic Vegetable Gardening - Annette McFarlane

Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web - Lowerfels, Lewis

Guide to Companion Planting - Jackie French

Weeds and What They Tell - E.E Pfeiffer

No-Dig Gardening and Leaves of Life - Esther Deans


Misc:


The Australian Self-Sufficiency Handbook: A Survival Guide For The 21st Century - Smith, Smith & Gray (eds)

Papaya (Pawpaw) The Medicine Tree - Harald Tietze

The Humanure Handbook: A Guide To Composting Human Manure - Joseph Jenkins

Wild Fermentation - Sandor Ellix Katz

The Complete Guide to Home Brewing In Australia - Laurie Strachan

Green Cleaner - Barbara Lord


Animal Husbandry:


Backyard Poultry - Naturally - Alanna Moore

Chicken coops : 45 building plans for housing your flock - Judy Pangman

The Power of Duck - Integrated Rice and Duck Farm - Takao Furuno

Lucky Ducks: Companions in the Organic Garden - Phoebe Thorndyke

Natural goat and alpaca care - Pat Coleby

Farming naturally and organic animal care - Pat Coleby

Healthy cattle naturally - Pat Coleby

Healthy sheep naturally - Pat Coleby

Natural farming: a practical guide - Pat Coleby


Energy/Peak Oil:

Party's over : oil, war and the fate of industrial societies - Richard Heinberg

Fifty Million Farmers - Richard Heinberg

Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post Carbon World - Richard Heinberg

The Oil Depletion Protocol: A Plan to Avert Oil Wars, Terrorism and Economic Collapse - Richard Heinberg

Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines - Richard Heinberg

Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy - Matthew R. Simmons

The long emergency : surviving the converging catastrophes of the twenty-first century - James Howard Kunstler

Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage - Kenneth Deffeyes

Eating Fossil Fuels: Oil, Food And the Coming Crisis in Agriculture - Dale Allen Pfeiffer

The Coming Oil Crisis - Colin Campbell

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late - By Thom Hartmann

The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook: Recipes for Changing Times - By Albert Bates



Better leave it there for now...

 

Thank for the kudos guys... Glad you like the idea....

Wow, that's all I can say, huge effort guys.

I'll add them to the list, but it may take me a little bit of time to get to it.

 

Jez,

Thank you for your entry entitled "Books Worth Reading" in the Encyclopedia Permacultura. Youe efforts here will pay off for future generations...

:lol:

 

Should we perhaps petition Murray regarding putting a 'sticky' on this thread?

 

happy to do so if there's demand

 

BTW, there was a whole thread on this two years ago:
https://forums.permaculture.org.au/ftopic1343-0.php
It seems like the same books are relevant!

 

The permaculture home garden by Linda woodward. Ioncredibe

 

aargh.

Woodrow. Sorry Linda if you're out there. PS your book is fantastic!

 

Rather than stickying the thread, how about recommended books/publications links page. or how about hosting books/pdfs etc. on this site as a way of generating premium content (available to members)


free books/stuff
https://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrar ... 25toc.html
https://www.holmgren.com.au/html/Writings/Writings.html
https://www.idepfoundation.org/idep_downloads.html
https://www.greywaterguerrillas.com/publications.html
https://www.iisd.org/youth/ysbk000.htm

 

Yup that's the book that started me on my Permaculture journey. It is fantastic.

I will be updating the book list soon. But first just a general high five to all who have contributed. So much to read, oooo and i'm finally done with uni work so I'll have some time to pick stuff up.... Cheers again,

Brett

 

My favourite book...

I adore the One-straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka.
I have read it so many times and it's still inspiring.

--these reading lists are fabulous!...I'll have to start working my way down.