Back in The Day 101 Things everyone used to know how to do.

by Michael Powell

Book

Genres: History, Reference, Nonfiction, Historical

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Jayna Baas]

Skimmed this one for now. May return to it for research later. It does include some things like palm reading, which I really don’t want or need to know much about, but at times the writing style tickled me—it’s so matter of fact and speaks as if you, the reader, intend to put these things into practice. That’s all well and good when it comes to beekeeping or making cheese, but it’s amusing when it comes to building a pyramid or defending your castle (step 1: make sure your castle is, if possible, built on high ground, as it will be easier to defend). Or jousting, for instance—“If this is a joust of war, it is acceptable to trample your opponent after unseating him.” I don’t know that it’s an especially practical book for actually learning to do any of the things, but it makes for some interesting reading.

[Millroy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I saw this on the bargain shelf and was lulled into thinking this was a neat little reference book. When I flicked to one of the pages, the topic was how to set a broken bone, and this was enough to fool me. As soon as I got home, I discovered most of the topics were only detailed vaguely, and this was not written as an entertaining or useful reference book.

This is fine when topics are simple rules or codes of conduct, like how to participate in a duel. I was done, however, when I flipped to the page titled How To Build a Pyramid. First of all, no. You can't explain that in one page. And secondly, the book is titled 101 Things Everyone Used To Know How To Do. Who used to know how to build pyramids? Some ancient Egyptian engineers, and a mess of slaves. That's it. Everyone implies common knowledge, or at least common knowledge for a group of people.

Now it's my fault that this book wasn't what I misinterpreted it to be, but for the life of me, I can't find much to appreciate it for what it is. Topical, brief, stylized, and lacking any depth, it reminds me of those Scholastic books I'd pick out as a kid that were the easy ones to read so that I could check off that I'd read another book. Not interesting enough to read for its own sake, not entertaining enough for the coffee table or rest room, and not pretty enough to look at just for the pictures. It's either them or me, but someone missed the point.

[Kathleen Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble
If you're struggling in the modern world, or you just want to increase your repertoire of timeworn life skills, what better place to look for inspiration than the past? It's easy to believe that we have all the answers, but there's a whole heap of stuff we have forgotten that folks from days gone by actually knew how to do.
You'll be captivated by the ancient tips, careworn advice, and bygone suggestions inside this book. Step-by-step instructions introduce you to 101 of the most important things we don't know how to do anymore.
In no time you'll be able to fight with a rapier and dagger, thatch a roof, plow a field, wear a Roman toga, lay siege to a castle, pluck a chicken, hurl a battleaxe, make fire without matches, embalm a body, and use heaps of other know-how from the days of yore.
Never again will you be daunted by a hula hoop, a cow that needs milking, or a challenge to pistols at dawn. And you won't believe how you ever managed without knowing how to make a pair of shoes, keep your horse well groomed, live off the land, and pan for gold.


We, my husband and I, received this book for our anniversary from our daughter Kara and her partner Emily today. I can't wait to read it, I am excited to learn how to defend my castle while I learn how to make Mead and then when i am done with that I will learn how to pluck a chicken.. while hubby is out back mounting a stags head. So if you would like to do these things and I am sure that you will...go to Barnes and Noble and get your copy!!!

[Dara Grey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just information to be dangerous or useless. Examples:
Canning section says nothing about why you need to use boiling water vs pressure canning to avoid getting botulism from canned vegetables.
Pit cooking section says nothing about not collecting rocks from a wet area or riverbed (they will explode).
Keeping chickens section says nothing about predators and coop safety.
Finding berries in the wild has no caution about lookalikes that may cause illness or just be very good.
Roasting a wild boar says nothing about temperature testing to ensure parasites are killed.
Probably the least bad section is on Morse code.
Last but not least I can practically guarantee that not everyone could both pluck a chicken and be an opera critic and operate a telegraph machine, and so forth.

I'm not generally an advocate of burning books, but this is certainly a candidate for how poorly it's written and what kind of trouble it could cause ignorant readers.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brings up some interesting old skills. That said, this book was never meant to be a tried and true short-cut to learning any of these things that normally take years to learn, simply as a cursory glance with vague instructions. Somewhat helpful for writers, and interesting, but not a very useful read, and certainly not enough history or resources for this to be fleshed out well.

[Linore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book makes a nice list of forgotten skills with some general directions; unfortunately, if you needed to actually DO any of them, the directions are rather pitiful. The exception might be the bit about wearing opera gloves. Not a keeper.

[Lisa]

Only skimmed it. Title is a tad misleading as I’m pretty sure note everyone know how to do everything in this book like shoe a horse, besiege a castle, blow glass, etc. interesting but not as practical as I’d hoped the contents would be.

[Riley Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad. I should’ve listened to the other reviews and not bothered. More specific complaints to come.

[Bonnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book thinking it would provide maybe a wishing list of things to learn. What I found is that this book should either be titled differently or should be read as satire. You can't tell me that EVERYONE knew how to forge a long sword or defend a castle or build a pyramid. Come on now. I'm glad I checked this one out at the library instead of buying it or I would be even more disappointed. If I could give this a half star I certainly would.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much an instruction manual on how to do things that everyone knew how to do in the past but the skill has been almost forgotten.

things like...
Forge a sword
Throw a battleaxe
Make ice cream
Carve a canoe
Build a log cabin
Use an abacus
Blow Glass
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

A fun book to page through a little at a time when the mood strikes, I enjoyed it.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coffee table book. But you'll enjoy if you're a history buff or find interest in how industrialization and technology shape lifestyles and skill sets. Many are lost as we change but others are gained.

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice book about old-fashioned skills!

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a few pages in this book that I actually learned something useful, but most of it was of little worth. It wan't even funny, which would have been a saving grace.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely worth reading through. Highly recommended to all of my reenactor friends.

[Christine Sica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most descriptions are short and vague. In order to perform the tasks in the book you would need to buy another book that has step by step instructions and diagrams.