The Foxfire Book : Hog Dressing, Log Cabin Building, Mountain Crafts and Foods, Planting by the Signs, Snake Lore, Hunting Tales, Faith Healing, Moonshining, and Other Affairs of Plain Living (1972, Paperback)

I love book #1 the best because it has great descriptions and diagrams of log cabin building and description and uses for various woods. Lots of great old wives tales and mountain folklore. Wonderful set of books to read through or to use as a reference.

I have always wanted to read the Foxfire books series, but put off buying them until they had disappeard from the bookstore shelves. I am in my 80s and some of the material is about life as I knew it, but not always like the life in the Appalachian Mountain area. When life was hard and many things had to be made by hand, not everyone knew how. So certain ones became the expert in that craft and were the advisors or they came to do that job in exchange for money or goods or work. For instance, not everyone was skilled in shoeing horses, so someone in the area would come, or you took your horse or mule to him, for the job. The same with castrating hogs or calves, there was one or two men who were the experts and were called on for the job, most times also looking for the "signs" in the almanac to be sure it was the "right sign" before doing the castration. Lots of neighbors traded/exchanged work with each other since money was scarse. This kind of life was common among folks in the rural areas all across America and the Foxfire books described life as it was. From interviews and pictures, one can read and "live" the way it was. These books are "memories" of some things, and education of others. They should be part of educating todays people on how is was in the life of our ancestors.

THIS IS A BOOK COMPOSED BY STUDENTS & THEIR TEACHER IN THE APPALACHIANS.IT TELLS OF ALL THE CRAFTS & SKILLS NEEDED TO SURVIVE(FROM BASKET MAKING TO HOW TO BUILD A LOG CABIN USING HAND TOOLS).ALL THIS TOLD BY THE OLD TIMERS WHO USED TO DO IT & STILL DO.AN EXCELLENT GUIDE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN RETURNING BACK TO THE BASICS OR JUST WANTING TO KNOW HOW OUR FOREFATHERS SURVIVED WITHOUT ALL THE MODERN CONVENIENCES.

How did Grandpa and Grandma do things back then? If you want to know then the Foxfire Book set will be able to tell you. Build your own house, make your own soap, even build your own wagon. The books are well written, but the words are spelled to be pronounced the way they are spelled to help give that mountain atmosphere. It is really hard to believe that students wrote these as a learning exercise. If this kind of information excites you, then buy these! You'll love'em, I did!

Great book; a lot of interesting history; very simple but to the point; basic living
I Wanted to buy the book because I wanted to know thier way of life including making moonshine, killing hogs, and the self effeciency of the people