Of course we didn’t have the internet, didn’t have Google, and often didn’t even have electricity or a phone. But we had books.
Here are some of the essential books that told me how to do the things I wanted to do or needed to do. I still refer to some of them.
If you cherish other Do ItYourself books from the Seventies and Eighties, please leave a comment mentioning what the book meant to you, and I will try to post it with a photo of the book cover.
This book both terrified and reassured me. It gave me much to worry about with chapters like “The Dance of Death” and “Suction Astern of the Ship”, but it also gave practical advice on how to stay far away from the dangers inherent in close encounters with huge vessels.
Essential books for women trying to navigate relationships and sexual health in the often bewildering new Age of Free Love.
How to have Intercourse Without Getting Screwed was just a small pamphlet. Our Bodies Our Selves was a hefty and very informative book from the Boston Women’s Health Collective. It has been updated numerous times and is still a great resource.
Okay, I never built a thing from this book, but I still have it on my bookshelf and it still holds a strange fascination for me.
I
Beautifully detailed drawings and directions for knots, splices, ditty bags, heaving lines, rope ladders, and more.
Everything a wanna-be sea dog needed to know.
I loved this book!
It enthusiastically explained how to use tools, and why you should want to use them properly. It described the attributes of different materials, and it inspired creativity and good workmanship.
These books gave me more than I needed to know about all the ailments that might befall me, and what to do about them.
Knots and Stitches 
Leave a comment