The Lost Ways

My husband bought The Lost Ways with big plans to become a wilderness expert, ready to live off the land like a true survivalist. The book arrived, and he was excited, talking about building shelters and foraging for food like a pioneer.But here we are, months later, and it’s still sitting on the shelf, untouched. He hasn’t opened it once. Instead, he’s become a expert in pizza carry-out and computer mouse navigation.It’s the perfect book for anyone who wants to dream big about survival—just don’t expect to see it out of its pristine, unopened state unless there’s an actual apocalypse!

Love this book! A lot of useful old ideas that can be used today. Very well made

Great book! Has so many things to know if we need them. It is also a very well made book.

This is a very interesting book, which features many ways of life that our forebears (mostly about the pioneers and the distant settlers of the US in the 1800s, as well as about several Native American groups, and also even about the samurais of Japan) relied upon, long before us and our modern conveniences. Yes, you will learn a lot of ways of life that has been long lost.This book discusses many foods that many people ate along with their recipes. It's like how the pioneers relied upon potato pancakes (which is one of very few old ways that is still enjoyed today), along with many other common dishes that are long forgotten. I thought that the hardtack biscuits that the US Civil War soldiers ate almost on a regular basis were really interesting. In fact, I made some myself to get the experience of trying them; and these hardtack biscuits are almost nothing more than flour and water (with a little salt). And these hardtack biscuits can last for more than a century. (I strongly suggest softening them up before consumption, and the book tells how the Civil War soldiers did this before eating them. Hardtack biscuits, after they cooled, are very hard-hence their name). You will also learn about pemmican, a northern North American food, by the Native Americans of the area, in which they perfected long-term meat preservation in pemmican, long before refrigeration. The book also discusses how to make pemmican too. Then, they talked about how many people relied upon wild plants and how certain wild plants (or more specifically certain parts of wild plants) were edible, and there were many of these wild plants discussed. (I have to mention that you or anyone else should never eat any wild plants or parts of wild plants unless you have a certified expert alongside you. I myself will only do it this way). However, it's also interesting to note that blueberries were quite relied upon by pioneers and distant settlers of the past, as they are today (and I love blueberries too)! Then, there were discussions of smokehouses and root cellars, which were ways how pioneers and settlers preserved perishable foods, again long before refrigeration. There was also a presentation of pit houses, common among certain Native American groups of the past, which some were houses, made out of the side of hills, with a convenient entrance doorway and interior rooms. In this book, you will learn that people of long ago also dropped silver coins in their water to help control bacterial growth, long before the age of advanced filtration. This practice was once not only used by pioneers and setters but also by long-voyage seafarers. (I even did an experiment with dirty water in two bottles with one with a silver coin, dropped in it, and the other as the control sample. The dirty-water bottle with the silver coin did indeed prove to be cleaner than the one without after a couple of months of wait). There was a long discussion about the sheriff, and how sheriffs were trusted and elected law-enforcement officials during the 1800s out westward, and how the roles of sheriffs and their deputies were very important during the days of isolated settlements. We also would learn that these sheriffs really had to do a good job in order to keep their respect from their settlement communities. On this topic of sheriffs, the book even suggests implementing this type of law enforcement (involving the sheriff), should there be a major disaster of any kind, and that communities would have to heavily fend for themselves, until governments can restore order. And there was also how the samurais of medieval-to-early-modern Japan sharpened their katana swords using water and sharpening rocks. I even learned in this book for the first time that the samurai used a secondary short sword as well, called the wakizashi. The long discussion about charcoal as a filtering agent, however, was overall interesting too, but it was very, very lengthy in the book. This topic was so long that I couldn't wait until the book got to the next topic. This was the only reason why I didn't give this book five stars.There were many (but not too many) discussions about historical backdrops, which will help the reader understand the content. Also, what was good about this book was that the print is large and will not strain your eyes, and there are many (but not too many) pictures. I would recommend this book. Once again, you will learn a lot about many day-to-day ways that our forebears relied upon. I myself will certainly be trying more dishes that the pioneers once enjoyed, long before us.

Bought this as a gift for my brother, he loves it.

Absolutely love this book it’s beyond informative well written and simple to followLooks amazing on the bookshelf

Wonderful book, my family has been using it's ways since the day we received it

The pictures are beautiful with great detail & descriptions for beginner to basic leveled skilled persons. Fast shipment. Beautiful hardcover & happy to have on top my lil' display of books by my 5th Wheel front door area. Thumbed thru & excited to learn ways that will benefit me as I've moved up to the mountains on unimproved land in Northern Idaho with basic combat/survival skills from my years in service, now retired & living out of my 5th Wheel, single female & lot's to still learn. I have barely survived my 1st winter up here & need help starting up my homestead & becoming self sufficient & eventually self sustaining. I have disavowed away from modern harmful chemical medicines, GMOs, processed meats, foods with preservatives, toxins, etc & tho I'm taking many organic natural supplements & remedies for my health & eating cleaner, I want to learn what to grow, produce & how to process the herbs & remedies I want on hand for relief from inflammation, pain, ready for injuries, keep warm etc. Plus grow my own organic healthy foods. I think I'll learn a lot from this book. I study a lot as internet remains available, but possible I might need something in writing to reference if we loose internet capabilities. I have issues with short term memory & if the internet goes away for any lengthy period, I'll still be in the dark, but now I have this book to refer too! So, I need things in writing with picture references to help me learn what to gather & how to process what I gather. I don't have a large space or extra funds to store supplies or lot's of food & water for lengthy emergencies. Only room for maybe a month for myself, my goats, dogs & cats. What if food shortages from our local farms or grocery store occur for longer periods than my monthly supply? But, I do live in a forest filled with plants & animals to gather from to become self sufficient if I must. That is my storage of resources/supplies, right behind me in the forest. But I need to learn how to gather & what to gather safely so I can sustain & keep my goats, chickens, dogs & cats all fed, healthy & safe. I have more infrastructure to still build & in need of more tools. Some tools can be made. I wish to learn all of the old ways, so I'm not relying on county/city power, fuel, even the spring waterpump & services to repair it or rely on the local stores. As of this morning, the water pump broke! Will be repaired in a couple days & I had emergency water on hand. But, one day, I might have to sanitize water from the spring or creek myself in the dead of winter for my animals & myself! You never know. The old ways are the hard ways, but in today's unstable climate (social & economicly speaking), just having a large supply or go bag isn't the final solution. The solution will be to know HOW to gather, hunt, grow, process, repair, medicate....from scratch with no outside resources or services logistically able to provide me the aide & supplies I will always need. This is my long term solution if things continue to get worse & all essential resources are no longer made available to any of us. Storage of supplies is not the answer for me. Survival when your storage supplies, power, running water run out, is the answer for me. Thank you for writing this book! I already feel much better knowing I have a large reference to go to if power & internet are no longer available.