Permaculture Book Suggestions

Does anyone have any book suggestions on permaculture? They would have to be on amazon as I have a gift card to use. I have not purchased property yet. I guess a book with information on how to buy good property would be really helpful.

Well, if you haven't read them already, then I would start with Fukuoka's major works (which are free).

One Straw Revolution
The Natural Way of Farming

Aside from that, Permaculture: A Designer's Manual seems to be a central work, although I haven't gotten around to getting/reading that one yet. Then, you might look for something that revolves around the climate you intend to be working in.

I am reading Ultimate Guide to Permaculture by Nicole Faires. I like it, although I do agree with the person who reviewed it on amazon, it is missing some details but I don't think any one book contains "it all". I have learned quite a bit from her, it was worth the 16 bucks we spent on it at hastings. I also always see people speak highly of Gaia's Garden, I haven't been able to find a copy of it when we are out book shopping though so I haven't been able to read it myself, yet.

# 1 Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway

but if you are BUYING..a good reference material is The country Living Encyclopedia Carla Emery..one you want to own..you can always borrow the others from a library..but you want to own this one.

Brenda, I totally agree with you about Gaia's Garden (link to the 2nd edition). I am currently reading it and find it amazing and filled with tons of interesting and usefull information. The only other permaculture book I own is Sepp Holzer's Permaculture, which is also very good, but I would buy it after Toby's book. However, neither really address how to buy good property. I would suggest you look at threads on this forum or listen to Paul's podcasts. I cannot remember all the ones where he talk about land selection, but podcast #193 talks about factors a bit. Jack Spirko from The Survival Podcast also has a really good interview with Geoff Lawton where they talk about site selection.

Going back to the books, I have heard from few people that if you are planning to do bigger acreage, Bill Mollison's book (Permaculture: A Designers' Manual) is THE book to own.

Not a book but I highly recommend the PRI DVD "Establishing a Food Forest" http://www.permaculturenews.org/store/cartview.html?id=2

For dry climates "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands" Volume 2 by Brad Lancaster

Tons of free books relevant to permaculture are available at http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/01aglibwelcome.html

I'm taking Will Hooker's Permaculture class at N.C. State University. Hemenway's Gaia's Garden and Mollison's Intro to Permaculture are our required books. Gaia's Garden is great for someone like me who has no ecological background.

Here is the recommended reading list:

Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability, Holmgren, David

The Permaculture Handbook: Gardening for Town and Country, Peter Bane

The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and cookbook: recipes for changing times, Albert Bates

The Carbon-Free Home: 36 Remodeling Projects to Help Kick the Fossil-Fuel Habit, Stephen & Rebekah Hren

I have a larger list of reference books in the syllabus if anyone is interested.

Funny that you mentioned Will Hooker. It is his garden that is on the cover of Gaia's Garden.

I ordered Gaia's Garden and Intro to Permaculture. I will also check out the online resources as well of course. This is starting to get exciting. I expect I will have my house up for sale soon. I need to finish emptying it out and do some painting.
I won't be much longer before we start the land hunt.

Though not strictly permaculture, two books I recommend on the annual gardening side of things are John Jeavons' "Grow More Vegetables" and Steve Solomon's "Gardening When it Counts."

Totally agree on "Gaia's Garden." That's a treasure. And the "Establishing a Food Forest" DVD is probably the most inspiring thing I've ever seen in my life, even with the weird dry-erase board demo at the beginning.