Subscription: $15.97 per year for 6 issues. The Mother Earth News, 49 East 21st Street, 11th floor, New York, NY 10010. Call (800) 234-3368 or see their web site.

Since this magazine was sold to a New York publisher, it has become more citified. Urban or suburban dwellers might find this magazine more to their liking.

Subscription: $18 per year for 6 issues. Countryside & Small Stock Journal, W11564 Hwy 64, Withee, WI 54498. Call (800) 551-5691 or see their web site.

User-submitted articles on all aspects of self-reliant country living. Focus is on the serious homesteader.

Backwoods Home. Subscription: $19.95 per year for 6 issues. Backwoods Home Magazine, P.O. Box 712, Gold Beach, OR 97444. Call (800) 835-2418 or see their web site.

My sister has lived off the grid, in remote mountainous locations for the past twenty years, and this is her personal favorite. Lots of practical articles, with the focus on homesteading and self-reliance. The editorial staff’s strong Libertarian political view and survivalist leanings might be difficult for some folks to handle.

Subscription: $18.97 per year for 6 issues. Back Home Magazine, P.O. Box 70, Hendersonville, NC 28793. Call (800) 992-2546.

After The Mother Earth News was sold and moved to New York City, the magazine’s original staff founded Back Home magazine. This is a fine magazine, devoted to self-reliance, sustainable living, and ecology. Both the homesteader and the suburban dweller with a backyard garden can enjoy this magazine.