Good books about natural building?

My husband and I are planning to move to Southern Oregon next year and we would like to build a super energy-efficient, earth-friendly, nurturing home, as naturally as we can afford without spending years building it ourselves (though that sounds fun, it's just not feasible at this time).

I

I am building an Econest home.  They are worth checking out.  The architect/author/builder couple that is Econest recently moved to southern Oregon.  So they will be looking to do workshops in the area.  They can range from moderate cost to high cost depending on the design.

http://www.econesthomes.com/

I think this book is EXCELLENT! 

Building green : a complete how-to guide to alternative building methods : earth plaster, straw bale, cordwood, cob, living roofs / Clarke Snell & Tim Callahan.

The authors begin by describing a "language" of housebuilding, the importance of siting, and the need to decide just what you want your house to do and say.  Only then can you decide just what kind of house you want to build and what you want in it.

One of the authors and his wife use this "language" to decide what they want in a guest house they will build on their land.  Each wall of the shell will be built with one of the methods listed in the title.  Over 1,200 photos, lots of illustrations, everything you need to get an idea of what is involved in building with one of the methods.

Thanks, Ardilla. That's so cool you are building an Econest home! I've talked to Paula LaPorte on the phone...their homes look and sound wonderful, and she is very knowledgeable. Unfortunately not in our price range at the moment

And thanks, Muzhik, for the book recommendation. Since I was very anxious to get my hands on books I've already ordered three, but this looks like a good fourth 

Liz

Can we revive this thread and get a good list going? I'll add the Foxfire books. They have a lot of information on natural living, including natural building.

   About 40 threads down there's a thread about green building coffee table books vs real building manuals.I think the author makes some good points.  It was me

dale hodgins wrote:
   About 40 threads down there's a thread about green building coffee table books vs real building manuals.I think the author makes some good points.   It was me

I think you posted the wrong link.