The library is an ever-growing archive of what I believe are the best books on the given subject. These books are my personal collection, so they are not for sale from this site. However, most of them are available to buy somewhere, and in the description I have usually given a suggestion about where the book can be purchased. If you are an expert in any of these fields, you probably have strong opinions about “the best books” — and I would love to hear them. If you have suggestions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Coming soon: a PDF of the entire collection, easily searchable alphabetically by title and subject.
Featured Books
This selection of featured books goes back to the basics. All of man’s creative endeavors are inextricably rooted in the raw materials of the world. I wrote a book called Crazy Useful Things which is a bite-sized exploration of the world of natural resources and the things that people have done with them. The books below were (and are) my most treasured sources of information for writing that book. Funny story: The idea for Crazy Useful Things came when I was wandering the library at the University of Utah, and stumbled across a tiny book, written in 1969, called A Dictionary of Natural Resources. I was immediately in love, and as I read it, I started thinking, I wonder what other kinds of crazy useful things are out there…
World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference (2nd. Ed.)
John H. Wiersema and Blanca Leon
ISBN: 9781439821428
1336 pp, no illustrations. CRC Press, 2013
This book was an epic undertaking and I am so grateful to the authors for their phenomenal work. It is an alphabetical listing (by genus, and then by species) of over 12,000 plants that have some kind of economic value, from food to medicine to fiber, fodder, erosion control — you name it. Each listing contains information about: common name, a broad category of economic use, and its distribution. An additional section contains an alphabetical listing by common name, which refers back to the scientific name. In spite of its awesomeness, it does have a couple of limitations: the listings often do not name the specific product that the plant is used for. In other words, the listing will say that a plant is used for “medicine,” but not what specific medicine. In addition, I wish that they had included a “use” index, giving you all the plants with a “food” use, and so on. Still, it is an incredibly useful book and I don’t think there’s another one like it anywhere.
If you want to buy: the book is in print and is available new either from the publisher or resellers. You can also find used copies in good condition that are quite a bit less expensive.
Concise Encyclopedia of Wood & Wood-Based Materials
Arno P. Schniewind, Ed.
ISBN: 9780262192897
Hardcover, 354 pp., B&W illustrations. MIT Press, 1989
This is an an alphabetical encyclopedia of 73 articles covering a variety of topics having to do with the properties, uses, and distribution of wood and wood-based materials. It is mostly descriptive, and does not really contain instructions about how to cultivate, process, or manufacture items made from wood or wood-based materials. However, it is chock-full of references for further reading on every topic it presents, so it could be a real rabbit-hole if you find that wood is your thing. It is one of the books in the Advances in Materials Science and Engineering series, published by MIT. There are two versions, one published by MIT Press for distribution in North America, and one published by Pergamon Press for distribution in Europe. They are essentially identical. I think this book is excellent, and I haven’t found anything really comparable as a serious but lay-person’s introduction to the world of wood material science.
If you want to buy: the book is long out of print and is only available from used book resellers. It is reasonably easy to find a used copy in decent condition.
Concise Encyclopedia of Mineral Resources
Donald D. Carr & Norman Herz, Eds.
ISBN: 9780262031554
Hardcover, 426 pp., B&W illustrations. MIT Press, 1989
This book was also a major source of information for my book, Crazy Useful Things. It is (not surprisingly) an encyclopedia of minerals and their uses. It includes great information about source locations and the various uses of each mineral. Important to note: it contains very little information about how to find, collect, sell or mine minerals, process them, or manufacture items from the minerals. However, it is chock-full of references for further reading on every topic it presents, so it could be a real rabbit-hole if you find that rocks are your thing. It is one of the books in the Advances in Materials Science and Engineering series, published by MIT. There are two versions, one published by MIT Press for distribution in North America, and one published by Pergamon Press for distribution in Europe. They are essentially identical.
By the way, you might be wondering why I chose a book that was published in 1989: to be honest, this book is great, and I have not found a better tool for exploration on this subject.
If you want to buy: the book is long out of print and is only available from used book resellers. It is reasonably easy to find a used copy in decent condition.
Mushrooms Demystified
David Arora
ISBN: 9780898151695
Softcover, 960pp, B&W and color photos and illustrations. Ten Speed Press, 1986
This is an extraordinarily entertaining, enlightening, and useful compendium of over 2000 mushroom species found in North America and Canada. One of its best characteristics is that it is scalable: if you are a beginner that just wants to know how to find some common edible mushrooms, this book will specifically help you do that. If you area mushroom fanatic who wants to know the gory details of scientific nomenclature and the mysterious habits of the more obscure fleshy fungi — this book will take you there! If you ever thought that mushrooms were boring — this book will definitely convince you otherwise.
If you want to buy: the book is still in print, and is widely available from a variety of booksellers.
Insects as Sustainable Food Ingredients
Aaron T. Dossey, Juan A. Morales-Ramos, M. Guadalupe Rojas, Eds.
ISBN: 9780128028568
Hardcover, 402pp., Academic Press, 2016
I don’t currently own this book but it is on my wish list. What I would actually like to find is a more general book on all of the uses of insects (not just food) — but so far, this is the best I’ve found.
If you want to buy: the book is still in print, and both new and used copies are available from a variety of booksellers.
Insert Here: A good encyclopedic book about animal products.
I have not been able to find one. If you know of a good one, please let me know.
The Alliance for Cottage Arts and Industry 