The Good Life

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Publications

An important part of the Good Life Center's mission is to keep Nearing publications in print for the next generation to enjoy. Book sales also help to support the work of the Good Life Center. Book orders made directly from The Good Life Center skip the middlemen and benefit The Good Life Center even more.


Two ways to order:

Mail-in a Check or Money Order

Check out our titles below, or print out a Printer-Friendly list of titles. Print out our Publication Order Form, or enclose a note indicating the titles, and mail to:

The Good Life Center, PO Box 37, Brooksville, ME 04617, USA.

Dont forget to add 5% sales tax if your shipping address is in Maine.

For shipping, add $2.50 per item for US deliveries, $4 for deliveries headed to Canada, and $7 per item for shipping everywhere else.

Please make checks payable to The Good Life Center.


Order by Credit Card Online

Right here, right now, using the PayPal shopping cart features below.

Yes, we now accept credit card sales online as a convenience to you. But remember to 'PAY AS YOU GO' and don't let Big Banking get you in their clutches!

Here's how: when you want to purchase a book, refer to the payment area to the right of the book. SELECT YOUR SHIPPING DESTINATION COST, enter the quantity you want, and click on the "Add to Shopping Cart" button. We use the low-overhead PayPal "single item" shopping cart feature. This means that you add one item at a time (in whatever quantity) to a virtual shopping cart hosted by PayPal, Inc. For each additional title, you will be returned to this screen to add another title. DON'T FORGET TO ADD IN YOUR SHIPPING COSTS FOR EACH ITEM. This shipping system is unique to the Good Life Center's PayPal set-up. We have set up our PayPal account so that it will not add any shipping to your total bill-- you've got to activate it for each item from our page.

To View Your Cart at any time, scroll to the bottom of this page, and click on the "View Cart" button. When you are ready to "check out", follow the directions on the PayPal pages. Tax will be automatically added for Maine shipping addresses (5%). Thank you for your patronage!

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Trade discount:
Bookstores receive 20% discount on the first two books and 40% discount thereafter. Please call or email us directly for ordering information.


Vintage Titles

Please note that the list below contains several items that are first-edition, vintage titles that pre-date 1980. These collectors' items may not be in first-quality condition, having aged in their original boxes in the top of the Nearing tool shed. Of course, we will honor any returns, if you are unsatisfied in any way with the condition of your order. Questions? Call the GLC at (207) 326-8211.



~ List of Titles ~



-- click here for Printer-Friendly list of our titles --
-- click here for a mail-order Publication Order Form --

 
The Good Life

The Good Life
by Helen & Scott Nearing
(Schocken, 1954/1979).

Includes Living the Good Life and Continuing the Lood Life.

$18.00, paperback.

 
The Great Madness, cover

The Great Madness
by Scott Nearing
Annotated by Greg Joly. Afterword by Tom Wirth (Bull Thistle Press, 2008).

"From this basis Scott Nearing begins his scathing analysis of how the business class, represented by J.P. Morgan and company, gained control of the inner workings of the United States government and were thus able to meld nationalist patriotism into a military preparedness which finally leads to an open declaration of war.

Nearing methodically unravels the toils of plutocratic self-interest and as Tom Wirth observes: “Nearing’s consistent reaffirmation of purpose—connecting American business to the perpetuation of war and the disenfranchisement of the American worker—gave his discourse an uplifting quality, a ‘progressive’ tone which suggested the unlimited potential of the human being.” Due to the outspokenness of his pamphlet, Nearing was trailed by the Federal government on charges of attempting to cause disloyalty and mutiny in the military forces during war time.

This fully annotated text by Greg Joly will give the reader a sharper sense of this era and Nearing’s principled anti-war stance. Tom Wirth’s concluding essay will further enlighten the reader it Nearing historical importance. As Nearing said at his trial: “The destruction of life and property is incidental. The destructive forces that that puts into a man’s soul are fundamental.”


$15.00

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Oil and the Germs of War, coverOil and the Germs of War, back flap

Oil and the Germs of War, inside view

Oil and the Germs of War
by Scott Nearing
Edited by Greg Joly. Afterword by Greg Joly and Andrew Donaldson. (Bull Thistle Press, 2006).

Scott wrote Oil and the Germs of War in 1923, just a few years after the First World War. Petroleum fuels had played a significant role in warfare for the first time, with the U.S. using a wide variety of gasoline-driven war machines against (and alongside) the largely coal-fired trains and ships of old Europe. It was clear by 1919 that the future of war would be petroleum powered and mechanized. By extension, the outcome of future wars (excepting guerrilla conflicts) would be determined by who controlled the oil rich areas of the world. Scott examines the rush of American and British companies to exert influence over oil rich countries in the post WW1 period, accurately predicting that oil will indeed be one of the germs that lead to WW2.

Scott famously wrote that “war is organized mass murder”. War is destruction, not only of lives but of human labor and natural resources. Scott believed in a world where none would want, where equity for all would be the rule rather than the exception. In a world where creating is valued over destroying, war simply has no place. While the events in Oil and the Germs of War are almost a century old, the theme-who controls the oil has the power-remains up to date. As I write this, the U.S. is digging in to Iraq, building a huge, fortified embassy in order to maintain a presence in the Middle East, home to the worlds largest oil reserves.

Following Scott’s original text is a new afterward, written by Greg Joly and Andrew Donaldson in the spring of 2006, about the current state of affairs in the world of oil. Focused primarily on the theory of Peak Oil and it’s ramifications, the afterward includes a bibliography of current resources to help the reader learn more about the realities of the world’s oil reserves. There is also a bibliography of articles current to the time Scott wrote in 1923.

Greg Joly typeset and printed the red cover on his foot-powered letterpress. The pamphlet is hand-stitched.


$9.00, pamphlet: 48 pp., hand bound.

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Victory Without Peace
Victory Without Peace

Victory Without Peace
by Scott Nearing
(Bull Thistle Press, 2005).

Written in 1947 at the end of World War II, "Victory Without Peace" is a pamphlet originally published by World Events. Scott lays out the power structure's formula of "selling victory to the people", creating Nationalist pride in military might, dehumanizing the enemy, and whipping up patriotism. The thesis is that while victory might bring glory and prove dominance, it doesn't necessarily bring peace.

Victory Without Peace

$7.00, pamphlet: 15 pp., hand bound.

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The Maple Sugar Book

The Maple Sugar Book
by Helen Nearing
(Chelsea Green, 2000).

50th Anniversary edition.
An account of the art and history of sugaring. Practical details for modern sugaring and remarks on pioneering in the 20th century.

$25.00, paperback.

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The Maple Sugar Book, vintage hardcover edition

hardcover


The Maple Sugar Book, paperback edition

paperback

The Maple Sugar Book
by Helen and Scott Nearing

See description above.

$16.00, hardcover. (Social Science Institute, 1970).

$11.00, paperback. (Schocken, 1970).

If you are looking for a beautiful example of the Nearing's work and the bookmakers art, this is it. Printed from lead plates and woodcuts, these books are some of the finest bound, vintage titles we stock. When they are gone there will be no more. A worthwhile edition for the bibliophile, Nearing scholar, and maple sugar producer! When The Maple Sugar Book came out in 1950, it was hailed as "The best treatise ever written on the maple industry" (George Stufflebeam, 1949 president of the Vermont Sugarmakers Association), and was the only compendium of sugaring lore, science and practice available at the time.


Paperback edition (Schocken, 1970) also available.

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Hardcover, $16.00
Paperback, $11.00

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Simple Food for the Good Life

Simple Food for the Good Life: Random Acts of Cooking and Pithy Quotations
by Helen Nearing
(Chelsea Green, 1999).

A book of Helen’s simple vegetarian recipes, as well as insight into the Nearing’s philosophy on eating for health.

$18.00, paperback.

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Guiding Principles for the Good Life

Guiding Principles for the Good Life
(The Good Life Center, 1997).

A collection of quotes from Helen and Scott's works that set forth the guide posts for their vision of a good life.

$7.00. paperback.

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Wise Words for the Good Life: a Homesteader's Personal Collection

Wise Words for the Good Life: a Homesteader's Personal Collection
by Helen Nearing
(Chelsea Green 1999).

An anthology of quotations on simple living, solitude, woman's place in the home, the male point of view. With a new introduction by Annie Sheble, member of The Good Life Center's Group of Stewards.

$20.00, hardcover.

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Light on Aging and Dying

Light on Aging and Dying
by Helen Nearing
(Tilbury House 1995/Harvest 1998).

Helen's inspring and useful collection of "wise words" gleaned from 80 years of reading in sources as various and ageless as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Emily Dickinson, Lin Yutang, and Michel Montaigne.

$13.00, hardcover.

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Loving and Leaving the Good Life

Loving and Leaving the Good Life
by Helen Nearing
(Chelsea Green, 1992).

Helen Nearing's memoir and tribute to Scott recalls personal aspects of their lives together in Vermont and Maine, with chapters on their earlier years and Scott's death at age 100.

$16.00, paperback.

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The Conscience of a Radical

The Conscience of a Radical
by Scott Nearing
(Social Science Institute, 1965/1984).

Challenged by the urgent demands of the current world revolution, a radical outlines a program that will make possible a good life for the largest number.

$10.00, paperback (vintage).

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The Making of a Radical: a Political Autobiography

The Making of a Radical: a Political Autobiography
by Scott Nearing
(Harper Collins, 1972/1976).

Scott Nearing's powerful story of his life against the mainstream in the United States. From his childhood to his final conclusions at the end of a long life that economic justice and world peace are possible.v

$15.00, paperback.

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The Making of a Radical: a Political Autobiography by Scott Nearing

The Making of a Radical: a Political Autobiography
by Scott Nearing
(Chelsea Green, 2000, with foreword by labor activist and historian, Staughton Lynd).

See desription above.

$20.00, paperback.

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USA Today

USA Today
by Helen and Scott Nearing
(Social Science Institute, 1955).

Observations and commentary on trips to every state in the Union during the 1950s. Still timely.

$12.00, hardcover (vintage).

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Man's Search for the Good Life

Man's Search for the Good Life
by Scott Nearing
(Social Science Institute, 1954/1974).

An analysis of the difficulties and dangers which beset the western world and suggestions for alternatives.

$9.00, paperback (vintage).

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Freedom: Promise and Menace

Freedom: Promise and Menace
by Scott Nearing
(Social Science Institute, 1961).

A critique on the cult of freedom. Historical experience with freedom; freedom and conformity; individual freedom and group freedom; the role of freedom and restraint in the power age.

$12.00, hardcover (vintage).

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Economics for the Power Age

Economics for the Power Age
by Scott Nearing
(Social Science Institute, 1952).

An economy should provide an adequate supply of goods and services for all its citizens. Social planning, direction, ownership and management of the economy are important and urgent.

$9.00, paperback (vintage).

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Civilization and Beyond: Learning From History

Civilization and Beyond: Learning From History
by Scott Nearing
(Social Science Institute, 1975).

A commentary on the past, present and future of civilization. Economic, social and ideological forces.

$9.00, paperback (vintage).

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Scott Nearing: An Intellectual Biography

Scott Nearing: An Intellectual Biography
by John A. Saltmarsh (member of The Good Life Center's Group of Stewards).
(Temple University Press, 1991).

A moving biography tracing Scott Nearing's struggle with the tensions of living a principled life, connecting the personal with the political.

$20.00, hardcover (Temple University edition).

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Scott Nearing: An Intellectual Biography

Scott Nearing: An Intellectual Biography (The Making of a Homesteader)
by John A. Saltmarsh (member of The Good Life Center's Group of Stewards).
(Chelsea Green, 2000).

Chelsea Green edition, subtitled The Making of a Homesteader. See description above.

$18.00, paperback (Chelsea Green edition).

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Free Radical: Rethinking the Good Death of Scott Nearing

Free Radical: Rethinking the Good Death of Scott Nearing
by Ellen LaConte (member of The Good Life Center's Group of Stewards).
(Loose Leaf Press, 1996).

For reasons LaConte makes clear, Helen did not tell the whole story about Scott's dignified death at home. This candid look at the way fame and public life put pressure to be perfect on those who wish to live honorably, is also an enlightening assessment of what makes death good, and a moving story about Truth, Beauty, Goodness,--and Love.

$7.00, paperback.

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On Light Alone

On Light Alone: A Guru Meditation on the Good Death of Helen Nearing
by Ellen LaConte LaConte (member of The Good Life Center's Group of Stewards).
(Loose Leaf Press, 1996).

LaConte tries to bring closure to Helen Nearing's death, which was very different from her husband, Scott's. She also praises the life that Helen had.

$13.00, paperback.

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Living the Good Life with Helen and Scott Nearing

"Living the Good Life with Helen and Scott Nearing"
(Bullfrog Films, 1977).

30 minute video on the daily life at Forest Farm when Helen was 73 and Scott was 94

$30.00, videotape.

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Helen Nearing: Conscious Living/Conscious Dying

Helen Nearing: Conscious Living/Conscious Dying
by Polly Bennell and Andrea Sarris
2000.

60 minute video, biographical documentary of Helen's life, including interviews with Helen shortly before her death in 1995.

$24.95, videotape.

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Wanted: Scott Nearing

Wanted: Scott Nearing

Poster in satirical vein. Black and white, 17"x22".

$10.00.

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Halo of Grief

Halo of Grief: A Companion on Your Journey Through Loss
by Bolton Hall (Loose Leaf Press, 1997).

A reissue of the 1913 Bolton Hall book on death and grief that was a favorite of Helen Nearing's.

$16.00, paperback.

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The Story of Halo

The Story of Halo of Grief
by Bolton Hall

A companion to Halo of Grief.

$5.00, paperback.

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