Almost Utopia

Many readers of this blog share my interest in the lives of Helen and Scott Nearing. This book will be of interest to those same folks. Here is a review I found on the book "Almost Utopia".

Reprinted from Amazon.com

By Elaine Beckwith
Elaine Beckwith Fine Art, Jamaica, Vermont

This review is from: Almost Utopia: The Residents and Radicals of Pikes Falls, Vermont 1950 (Paperback)
The photographs contained in this volume capture a remarkable slice of time in an isolated community on the cusp of change. The pure artistry of these candid shots and the skillful ability of Rebecca Lepkoff, an outsider, to place herself and her camera so unobtrusively before her subjects were remarkable. Rebecca is not present in her photographs: only her subjects, clear, rough-hewn, and strong. These images celebrate the commonplace with freshness and authenticity, frozen in time yet profoundly alive in their moment and, through Rebecca's skill, uncannily alive in our time as well.

The accompanying essay by Nearing scholar Greg Joly places the people, the community and the photographs in historical context. Joly ties the people to place; the rugged character of the land is reflected in the character of the folks who settled in this isolated environment.

This book is interesting on many levels: the artistry of the photographs; the historic association of the "intentional communities" of radicals and others who migrated to the isolation of this Vermont valley; and recognition of the hardscrabble locals who had lived subsistence lifestyles in this rocky landscape for generations.

THE GOOD LIFE by Helen and Scott Nearing

You've no doubt heard of this classic, first published in 1954 and then re-published with Continuing the Good Life in 1979. This is the ultimate back to the land bible that chronicles 60 years of self sufficient living.

The story of the Nearing's "Forest Farm" in Vermont and then their move to rural Maine has been and remains an inspiration for homesteaders of multiple generations. The book covers their search for rural land and then carving out an organic, off-grid life, long before anyone even used those terms.

The Nearing's political views were very controversial and therefore some folks are put off. Being a libertarian myself, my politics run counter to their ideas on collectivism, yet I can still admire them for the pioneers that they were. They held stead fast to their beliefs and lived it everyday in their lives.
I first read this book almost 30 years ago and have read it again and again since. It is as relevant today as it was when it was first written. If you are interested in self sufficiency this is a must read in my opinion!