Unlearn, Rewild - by Miles Olson (Paperback)

About the Book

Part philosophical treatise, part hard-core survival guide, this unique and thoroughly unconventional manual blends philosophy with a detailed introduction to a rich assortment of endangered traditional living skills.

Book Synopsis

Picture a world where humans exist, like all other living things, in balance. Where there is no separation between 'human' and 'wild'. Unlearn, Rewild boldly envisions such a world, probing deeply into the cultural constraints on our ability to lead truly sustainable lives and offering real, tangible tools to move toward another way of living, seeing and thinking.

Part philosophical treatise, part hard-core survival guide, this unique and thoroughly unconventional manual blends philosophy with a detailed introduction to a rich assortment of endangered traditional living skills, including:

• Harvesting and preparing unconventional proteins
• Feral food preservation
• Dealing responsibly with waste
• Natural methods of birth control
• Tanning and processing animal skins.

Lyrical, humorous, surprising, enlightening and thought-provoking by turns, Unlearn, Rewild is essential reading for those who wish to heal themselves and the earth, live gracefully into the future primitive and experience their wildest dreams.

From the Back Cover

Miles Olson is a true radical; that is, he gets to the root of the problem--which is that we have cut ourselves off from our own innate wildness and are busily trying to domesticate a planet that has a will of its own. -- Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, Author, The End of Growth

Unlearn, Rewild is an extraordinary and unconventional survival guide. Olson provides a hands-on manual to break free from enslavement to jobs, bills, and the trap of civilization to rediscover one's true nature. -- Thomas J. Elpel, Author, Participating in Nature

Picture a world where humans exist, like all other living things, in balance. Where there is no separation between "human" and "wild." Step out of your comfort zone and into a healthy, sane, self-reliant and truly sustainable life that is completely integrated with nature.

Part meditation, part ethical investigation, part hard-core survival guide, Unlearn, Rewild blends philosophy with a detailed introduction to a rich assortment of endangered traditional living skills, including:

• Harvesting and preparing unconventional proteins
• Feral food preservation
• Dealing responsibly with waste
• Natural methods of birth control
• Tanning and processing animal skins.

Lyrical, humorous, surprising, enlightening and thought-provoking by turns, this unique and thoroughly unconventional manual will make you question what it means to be civilized.

Miles Olson has asked the all-important but often ignored question about sustainability: what kind of world do we wish to sustain? He then tears up some popular delusions about getting there. -- Samuel Thayer, Author, The Forager's Harvest and Nature's Garden

Miles Olson has spent the past decade deeply immersed in learning and practicing earth skills. While foraging, hunting, gardening and gathering for his livelihood, his experiences have given him a unique perspective on rewilding, radical self-reliance, and the impact of civilization on the natural world.

Review Quotes

Miles Olson is a true radical; that is, he gets to the root of the problem - which is that we have cut ourselves off from our own innate wildness and are busily trying to domesticate a planet that has a will of its own. The only real solution is to return to a wilder and simpler existence. Olson's pure, clear voice helps us get grounded and get started.

- Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, and author of The End of Growth

Unlearn, Rewild is an extraordinary and unconventional survival guide. Olson provides a hands-on manual to break free from enslavement to jobs, bills, and the trap of civilization to rediscover one's true nature.

- Thomas J. Elpel, author of Participating in Nature

Miles Olson has asked the all-important but often ignored question about sustainability: what kind of world do we wish to sustain? He then tears up some popular delusions about getting there.

- Samuel Thayer, author of The Forager's Harvest

Do the terms "human monoculture", "technology trap" or "ecocide" resonate with you? Are you going broke but want to live well? Does living outside the system appeal to you? Take this book, written by a professional dropout/escape artist, as you make your own escape. Along with philosophy (for attitude adjustment) it covers scavenging road kill, which grubs are good to eat and most everything else you need to know to go feral safely and in style.

- Dmitry Orlov, author of Reinventing Collapse and The Five Stages of Collapse, ClubOrlov.com

About the Author

Miles Olson has spent the better part of the past decade living off the grid and intimately on the land, as a squatter on the forested edge of a sprawling town on Vancouver island. Subsisting by foraging, hunting, scavenging, gardening and scrounging as part of a small community of feral homesteaders, he has amassed a toolkit of endangered earth skills that are fast disappearing from this earth, as well as a unique perspective on the relationship between the human creature and wild nature, and the great winding road to a sane, sustainable way life.