+1 encyclopedia of country living. I'm reading that right now

1+ Yeah, that's what I was trying to think of, and couldn't recall!

A fine collection that even old hands can learn from is the Foxfire series:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxfire_books

Many libraries have the series and it would be wise to check them out before investing in the complete set. As the wiki entry says it is a mix of DIY, folklore, narrative and history. I found the non-instructive material to be both entertaining and valuable background to the instructive text but others may find it tiresome.

More details and buy here:
http://www.foxfire.org/thefoxfirebooks.aspx

A nice overview, breakdown of subjects, and an alternative location to buy from:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/store/files/ssfoxfire.html

I second the Foxfire books, I know they have soapmaking and a bunch of old, lost arts that were recorded, with lots of pictures. I found the old fashioned gun-making section fascinating in the simplicity of the tooling that simple mountain people managed to make for themselves.
I found the books very inspirational.

"Dick's Encyclopedia of Practical Receipts and Processes or How They Did It in the 1870's"

[Yes, that's "Receipts" and not "Recipes"]

Great book. Buy from Amazon OR download free/legal PDF version (and other formats) from Internet Archive American Libraries here.

That's a great little booklet, but not the first title I think of as "a good living off the land book".

You didn't specifically mention it, but for a good medical reference for the realities of "living off the land", you might be interested in "Where There is No Doctor". I believe this was a 60s or 70s publication for Peace Corp workers working with people who were essentially forced to "live off the land". I think there is a dental version also ("Where There is No Dentist").

Anyway, as I said, the book deals with the realities of subsistence living: malnutrition (eat a variety of food), exposure (stay warm and dry), dysentery (wash your food with clean water), dehydration (drink lots of clean water), etc etc. A great deal of the book is specifically dedicated to maintaining health in children who cannot easily fend for themselves under these living conditions.

Reader's Digest's "Back To Basics" is a good basic source for homestead living off of the land.

I don't personally believe you'll find one single book that is the repository of all knowledge on living off the land, although FoxFire Series does come close.

A subscription to The Mother Earth News is a good idea if homesteading and provides a lot of info on edible wild plants, as well.

Am glad this thread has reemerged -- I just now ordered the Reader's Digest "Back to Basics" book from Amazon.

If I'd had awareness of preparedness when my grandparents were alive, I would have learned a lot more from them (such as Nana's canned pickles recipe - yum!).

"My Side of the Mountain" by Jean George.
It won the Newberry Award!

Oh, uh, yea thats for fiction.