In this delightful addition to Tom Hodgkinson's much-loved series of guides for the free- spirited, the author takes us on a leisurely tour of husbandry and self-sufficiency throughout the calendar year, from chopping wood in January to mowing meadows in July and brewing beer in October. Drawing on the wisdom of an eclectic range of thinkers and writers - and on comic recountings of Tom's own frequently imperfect and frequently hilarious experiences - Brave Old World offers tips, advice and above all, hope. Why, it asks, shouldn't we return to the ideals of a pre-capitalist, pre-Puritan, pre-consumerist world of feasting, dancing, horse-riding, wood-chopping, fire-laying, poultry-rearing, bartering, bread-baking and bee-keeping?

From January to December, Brave Old World charts the progress of a year in pursuit of the pleasures of the past, taking seriously - though not without much incidental comedy - G.K. Chesterton's exhortation, 'We must go back to freedom or forward to slavery'.