The Homestead Builder, Second Edition: Practical Hints for Handy-men

First published in 1872 for homesteaders migrating west from the settled eastern part of the United States, this practical guide to the construction of a variety of homes from wood, earth, and gravel, as well as outbuildings, gates, a cellar, furniture, and many other necessary implements of self-sufficient rural life, is as down-to-earth today as it was when it first appeared. The quaint language of the original title page reads, "Practical Hints for Handy-Men Showing Clearly How to Plan and Construct Dwellings in the Bush, on the Prairie, or Elsewhere, Cheaply and Well, With Wood, Earth, Gravel. Copiously Illustrated." Well put! A delightful, historic guide that withstands the test of time. --Mark A. Hetts