*Take $10 off when you spend $50+! Use code NEWYEAR10. Ends Mon 5 Jan. T&Cs apply.
Track My Order
Help Centre
Likes
My Wish ListsLogin / Join
Booktopia
Australia's local bookstore
Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
A Handmade Life : In Search of Simplicity - William Coperthwaite

A Handmade Life

In Search of Simplicity

By: William Coperthwaite, John Saltmarsh

eText | 7 March 2007

At a Glance

eText

$31.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $7.94 with

 or 

Instant online reading in your Booktopia eTextbook Library *

Why choose an eTextbook?

Instant Access *

Purchase and read your book immediately

Read Aloud

Listen and follow along as Bookshelf reads to you

Study Tools

Built-in study tools like highlights and more

* eTextbooks are not downloadable to your eReader or an app and can be accessed via web browsers only. You must be connected to the internet and have no technical issues with your device or browser that could prevent the eTextbook from operating.

"A richly textured exploration of Bill Coperthwaite's work and thought, encouraging us to take the lessons of his life to heart. Each of us has the potential to craft our own lives with our own hands—actively, joyfully, and nonviolently, drawing upon the wisdom of our ancestors, striving for justice in the present, and fulfilling our obligations to those who will inherit our legacy."—John Saltmarsh

William Coperthwaite is a teacher, builder, designer, and writer who for many years hasexplored the possibilities of true simplicity on a homestead on the north coast of Maine. In the spirit of Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, and Helen and Scott Nearing, Coperthwaite has fashioned a livelihood of integrity and completeness-buying almost nothing, providing for his own needs, and serving as a guide and companion to hundreds of apprentices drawn to his unique way of being.

A Handmade Life carries Coperthwaite's ongoing experiments with hand tools, hand-grown and gathered food, and handmade shelter, clothing, and furnishings out into the world to challenge and inspire. His writing is both philosophical and practical, exploring themes of beauty, work, education, and design while giving instruction on the hand-crafting of the necessities of life. Richly illustrated with luminous color photographs by Peter Forbes, the book is a moving and inspirational testament to a new practice of old ways of life.

Industry Reviews

Publishers Weekly-
Serene and thoughtful, this rambling scrapbook by Maine native and yurt-house builder Coperthwaite provides a vision of a life lived simply and self-sufficiently. From violence to education to how to build a "democratic chair" or make an axe, Coperthwaite covers an abundance of topics as he describes his version of a "handmade life" and explains why such a life is desirable. Never quite didactic, Coperthwaite meditates on topics-such as the idea of employment as exploitation-more than he preaches about them, moving glibly from idea to disconnected idea. A recipe for "a bread so good to both the palate and to health that a diet of bread and water would be a delight" is placed next to an anecdote about a young Eskimo girl named Maggie, for example. And the author's own poems, along with poems by D.H. Lawrence and Emily Dickinson, intersperse the narrative. Peter Forbes' engaging color photographs illustrate Coperthwaite's concepts-no easy feat given their breadth and diversity. 67 color photos, 10 b&w illustrations. (review refers to an earlier edition of the book)

on
Desktop
Tablet
Mobile

You Can Find This eBook In

Non-FictionHome & House MaintenanceNature & The Natural WorldPhilosophyHistory of Western PhilosophyMedieval & Renaissance PhilosophySociety & CultureCultural StudiesPopular CultureHandicrafts, Decorative Arts & CraftsEngineering & TechnologyEnvironmental Science
Sociology & AnthropologySociologySocial Research & Statistics

More in Home & House Maintenance

Spotless A-Z - Jennifer Fleming

eBOOK

Spotless A-Z

eBook

$10.99

Apartments : Defining Style - Mariette Himes Gomez

eBOOK

Apartments

Defining Style

eBook

$15.99

Baking Soda Bonanza - Peter A. Ciullo

eBOOK

Baking Soda Bonanza

eBook

RRP $25.99

$20.99

19%
OFF
The Shabby Chic Home - Rachel Ashwell

eBOOK

The Shabby Chic Home

eBook

$13.99

Good House Hunting : 20 Steps to Your Dream Home - Dennis Wedlick

eBOOK

Good House Hunting

20 Steps to Your Dream Home

eBook

RRP $25.99

$20.99

19%
OFF

This product is categorised by