The Whole Earth Catalog was indeed the internet of its day. I lived in a tipi bought from a supplier in TWEC. Bought tools via mail order from suppliers in TWEC. Bought homesteading books from booksellers listed in TWEC. Dreamed of peace, love, staying high... alas, alcohol/drug use claimed a lot of us--achieving sobriety did not mesh with TWEC ideals--35 yrs later I'm embracing them again, glad for sobriety, children, grandchildren, health, but sad for the world. Let's remake it. I'm in.
Lloyd Kahn is right when he says that they could live on 20$ a month and that they had plenty of tieme That's not something possible today, but still, it was a courageous endeavor. We have much to learn from their worldview. They were truly building something, not just chairs and tables and houses, but a way of living in the world. May this inspire us to build a better world. Thank you for the great video.
The Whole Earth Catalogue and Shelter were a huge inspiration and influence on my life as the last of the Baby Boomers. Born 1959 . I am an American expat Jazz pianist living in Copenhagen Dk. off the grid. We were the Captain Kangaroo not Howdy Doody gen. We all had 60s envy but were lucky to have all the successful land based communities and Co-op's and Anti-nuclear Support groups to cushion our wrestles search for America and community belonging.
I had a Whole Earth Catalog 1970 in the 70s when I was in my teens and twenties, and it was an inspiration. It really opened my eyes as a young man to see that you could do a lot for yourself and didn't have to depend on others for a whole range of things, including your happiness. It helped me discover that the more you do for yourself, the happier you *can* -- not necessarily *will* -- be...but at least your chances are better. I think the reason a lot of people are depressed these days is we no longer do things like grow our own food, build our own shelter, make our own clothes, etc. Plus, the work many people get paid to do these days is meaningless and not rewarding -- it only provides an income while someone else profits handsomely. I agree that it's not possible to be totally independent and self-sustaining, but the more you can do for yourself, I believe the better your chances of being a well-adjusted person. Get some tools and build something. Start really small and keep it simple. I did, and eventually ended up taking down and relocating an old barn. I'd never done any real carpentry before that and because I worked with an experienced carpenter, everything turned out great. It gave me the confidence to try a lot of other projects since then. Have fun and don't be afraid to try.
We had the "Whole Earth Truck Store" that allowed you to order whatever they had a catalog for. It was a great place to browse "wish books", and something like an "internet marketplace" of its era.
I can't tell you how delighted I am to see this. The Whole Earth Catalog, CoEvolution Quarterly, Whole Earth Review were incredibly ground-breaking publications that need to be revisited and studied. I have the complete set of CoEvolution Quarterly/WER, and I still find great ideas and penetrating insights on their pages. I only have a few of the Catalogs, which I treasure. Thank you for giving these marvelous publications public exposure. We need their ideas as much now as we did when they first appeared--maybe even moreso.
I have that Whole Earth Catalog..still. We used to get Mother Earth News all the time,too. I'm in the beginning of scaling back and trying my hand with small area and container gardening.
These videos remind me that we have forgotten our humanity....everyone in my generation was destined for a cubical.....to be a "knowledge worker" I think about Egypt... and how we dont really know how the pryimids were built...we have forgotten how to build grand things by hand....and in a very sad future we are going to have to relearn so many things.
This sort of lifestyle is something I so desperately want. Being able to live simply. Self-sufficiency with time to put energy into the things you want and the people you love. I feel the generation I am growing up in is based upon the idea of demand and supply. Things cheap and cheerful without enough emphasis on quality and workmanship :( University applications are coming up for me but I wonder.. it just seems like a commitment to society, working tirelessly to survive and pay off dept
It was the single most influential element (the Whole Earth Catalog) (aside from jazz) in my early autodidactic evolution. It's impossible to convey the complex modulation of memories you've set in motion. All of those lost people and influences Bucky,The Tao of Physics, Alan Watts, this mans work and all those alternative communities associated with that antinuclear movement ready to welcome all us post hippie pilgrims in that very different pre-internet world. Yeah thanks for this.
Wow! This requires a new thinking mindset...or really using and building on the old mindset. I am blown away! The wife is so intteligent and the husband should start a mentoring service for real men.
As a long-time Lloyd Kahn fan, I find it funny to see these advertisements trying to sell me crap, placed right before and after his video. What he is saying flies in the face of rampant consumerism. Go Lloyd!
@Ariebingo I agree 100 percent. This is why I am changing my life one small step at a time to get closer to how I want to live. Go for it if it is something that you want then do it!
Not only was the Whole Earth Catalog "pre-Google," it was also "pre-Amazon." They had all kinds of cool stuff in it that you couldn't find anywhere else at that time (except, maybe, for Lehman's Hardware in Kidron, OH).
I also needed to add on, $5 for a copy of the Fall 1968 Whole Earth Catalog, that's a lot of money for 1968. I just used an online inflation calculator, it's about $36 in today's money (2017). So you're paying $36 in today's money, or $5 in 1968, to get a brand new copy of the first WEC back in '68.
I once had an a Whole Earth Catalog. I joined the Army. I dragged my catalog to England where the U.S. Army sent me. The paper of my catalog went to mush. in the U.K. climate. To me it was better than any bible I ever owned. I don't know why they have not published a new catalog for 2021. Maybe they had too many law suits against them. Maybe everyone just got so rich they just retired.
VIDEO FIX NEEDED ALERT...... the video portion kept stalling out while the dialogue continued moving along. Tried several stop ' starts. Lovely piece, Kirsten. Thanks. Ended up just winging it, clicking along on the timeline. Memory lane. lol
Man, who cares about Steve Jobs or Google? This was an entirely separate thing. Has the Memex been Job's computer, the Encyclopedia Britannica his Wikipedia, the Mundaneum his network, the Library of Alexandria his library?
Wow! An original Fall 1968 copy of the Whole Earth Catalog! I have never seen a copy of that issue offered, be it eBay or AbeBooks, never mind any used book store. I own two issues of the WEC, the Fall 1969 issue, and the super-thick The Last Whole Earth Catalog from 1971. They show their age, but all the pages and covers are intact. Lloyd Kahn's copy of the 1968 WEC sure got a lot of use, I hate to see what a copy goes for these days, especially one in better shape. I was born in 1972 so the WEC is before my time, but that never stopped me from getting info on that era and getting a couple used copies of the WEC.
I had one and I loved looking at it and enjoying the story spread thru the pages. I would still have it but unfortunately it grew legs and walked off with someone else.
I remember seeing that issue of life. I thought that dome was so cool. Still Do. Those photos took me back. I'm hoping to purchase some chickens to start a flock in 2 years. any thoughts on the amount required for a kind space to chicken ratio?
@Ariebingo I couldn't agree with you more. I feel an inherent need to avoid debt at all costs, and one day i realized that it's not so different now as it was in the 60s, it just depends on how much you're willing to give up. You could probably live a comfortably life on minimum wage. The problem is people want everything all at once, i think in a few years this diy ethic will start to resonate and really take hold of our society. People change when their actions start to hurt their pockets.
This video is amazing, as always! I don't know how you find all these people but you do an incredible job. It would be interesting if you could make more urban tiny homes. Country side is very nice, but I think urban tiny homes are more challenging in a way that you (most of the time) can't build your home, you need to convert an already existing place!
Yep, I grew up with the WEC lying around and a funky home-made home, chickens, on an acreage my folks bought for $80 an acre, paid it all off in five years including the house they built. We also grew a lot of food. Like Kahn, my folks figured things out, how to not work for the man, and be self-reliant to such a larger degree than my friends and their families who lived in town, had cable t.v. and ate Pop Tarts. It's just sad now how enslaved so many people are.
april 1970 first earth day...domes & ecology...whole earth catalog...grateful dead...50 years later a retired conservation engineer....the catalog was the holy grail.....
I am geodesic dome builder since 1978, need to talk to you and need those old Dome books. I started in Palms Springs Ca as drywall carpenter local 1506.
Fabulous video! I appreciate that he talks about living a partially self-sustaining lifestyle-- not a completely reject modern culture but look at it critically and see if we can do/create something ourselves. I've had people tell me that gardening and canning do not save money (considering the labor involved). It's not about saving $. The Creeds and your filming explain this so well. Thank you!
Working hard for yourself rather than routing your effort though a monterey system is a personal aim but as this guy says you still need a little money for something. The hardest part is getting enough money to buy a plot of land. This is especially hard in the U.K. as suitable plots are so expensive.
I guess you could say it all with three words: Repair, Reuse & Recycle. Although, let's face it, the hippie mottoes of days gone by will not cure you of cancer, or take us to the stars or pacify your kids. Everything changes and nothing stays the same. Nostalgia can be fun and even interesting to discover, yet one should never get stuck in the past but live life today :)
Lloyd - love your books - have all which are in print. We are building an earthship in Chile - the website is innerawakening co uk - we shall be blogging it from January.
Watching this kind of stuff makes me really sad to the point of getting my eyes wet, there are so many ways to live without doing any damage to the earth at all and still the people do not understand. Millions of lives wasted to chase an illusion, it is so sad.
Truly wonderful.
I find a certain kind of comfort from listening to this wise people.
The Whole Earth Catalog was indeed the internet of its day. I lived in a tipi bought from a supplier in TWEC. Bought tools via mail order from suppliers in TWEC. Bought homesteading books from booksellers listed in TWEC. Dreamed of peace, love, staying high... alas, alcohol/drug use claimed a lot of us--achieving sobriety did not mesh with TWEC ideals--35 yrs later I'm embracing them again, glad for sobriety, children, grandchildren, health, but sad for the world. Let's remake it. I'm in.
This is very interesting. I love this episode.
Lloyd Kahn is right when he says that they could live on 20$ a month and that they had plenty of tieme That's not something possible today, but still, it was a courageous endeavor. We have much to learn from their worldview. They were truly building something, not just chairs and tables and houses, but a way of living in the world. May this inspire us to build a better world.
Thank you for the great video.
Lloyd has inspired thousands with his books and his lifestyle I have followed him for years keep up the great work thanks for sharing
Oh my, what a nice and beautiful place to live, plus I can fell all the love vibes from the 60's, damn I wish they were my grandpas.
Excellent...this has to be my favorite of all of your videos I've seen so far. Reasonable people!
Your the person who inspired me to homestead 3 acres deep in the Ozark hills back in the late 70's.What an experience it was. Thank you!
Amazing history. This channel keeps me in awe of the creativity and passion of people
Reading The Last Whole Earth Catalog _literally_ changed my life forever. Thanks for this lovely interview.
Great documentary. Keep up the great works. These folks know what is important in life.
I miss those times. Time to explore, and sharing with each other.
The Whole Earth Catalogue and Shelter were a huge inspiration and influence on my life as the last of the Baby Boomers. Born 1959 . I am an American expat Jazz pianist living in Copenhagen Dk. off the grid. We were the Captain Kangaroo not Howdy Doody gen. We all had 60s envy but were lucky to have all the successful land based communities and Co-op's and Anti-nuclear Support groups to cushion our wrestles search for America and community belonging.
Lloyd Kahn was one of the editors of the book that changed my life.
Fantastic. Very inspiring and learning a lot listening to this guy. Thanks
I had a Whole Earth Catalog 1970 in the 70s when I was in my teens and twenties, and it was an inspiration. It really opened my eyes as a young man to see that you could do a lot for yourself and didn't have to depend on others for a whole range of things, including your happiness. It helped me discover that the more you do for yourself, the happier you *can* -- not necessarily *will* -- be...but at least your chances are better. I think the reason a lot of people are depressed these days is we no longer do things like grow our own food, build our own shelter, make our own clothes, etc. Plus, the work many people get paid to do these days is meaningless and not rewarding -- it only provides an income while someone else profits handsomely. I agree that it's not possible to be totally independent and self-sustaining, but the more you can do for yourself, I believe the better your chances of being a well-adjusted person. Get some tools and build something. Start really small and keep it simple. I did, and eventually ended up taking down and relocating an old barn. I'd never done any real carpentry before that and because I worked with an experienced carpenter, everything turned out great. It gave me the confidence to try a lot of other projects since then. Have fun and don't be afraid to try.
We had the "Whole Earth Truck Store" that allowed you to order whatever they had a catalog for. It was a great place to browse "wish books", and something like an "internet marketplace" of its era.
I enjoyed the Catalog so much, it was part of my growing up.
I love Lloyd Kahn. What a legend. Thanks for the inspiring video!
I can't tell you how delighted I am to see this. The Whole Earth Catalog, CoEvolution Quarterly, Whole Earth Review were incredibly ground-breaking publications that need to be revisited and studied. I have the complete set of CoEvolution Quarterly/WER, and I still find great ideas and penetrating insights on their pages. I only have a few of the Catalogs, which I treasure.
Thank you for giving these marvelous publications public exposure. We need their ideas as much now as we did when they first appeared--maybe even moreso.
Every couple of years it seems, I circle back to this wonderful film ... when I need a little sanity! Thanks again, Kirsten.
Lloyd is truly one of my heroes
I have that Whole Earth Catalog..still. We used to get Mother Earth News all the time,too. I'm in the beginning of scaling back and trying my hand with small area and container gardening.
Thanx so much for your vids, especially this one.
Best one of this topic for a long time. Thank you.
I wish I could like this video twice! How lovely
These videos remind me that we have forgotten our humanity....everyone in my generation was destined for a cubical.....to be a "knowledge worker" I think about Egypt... and how we dont really know how the pryimids were built...we have forgotten how to build grand things by hand....and in a very sad future we are going to have to relearn so many things.
I want to go live with these people for a year or two.
I am right there with ya! They need to do workshops!
awesome docu. thanks for doing this
So Amazing! Thanks for youtubing this!!!
I have both issues of the WEC and in excellent condition. Wish a new version came out. It would sell. Great to see your still ticking
Still have mine, too.
This sort of lifestyle is something I so desperately want. Being able to live simply. Self-sufficiency with time to put energy into the things you want and the people you love. I feel the generation I am growing up in is based upon the idea of demand and supply. Things cheap and cheerful without enough emphasis on quality and workmanship :( University applications are coming up for me but I wonder.. it just seems like a commitment to society, working tirelessly to survive and pay off dept
@Ariebingo six years later, what'd you end up doing?
this man is a genius!
Thank you so much for this episode... Enjoyed it a lot. Can't wait to get my hands on his new book!
this man is a master
I love this. World's coolest ex-insurance broker ;P
I still have my mothers copy of the Tassajara Bread Book he mentioned from the catalogue...classic. My fond connection to those days as a kid.
I love your videos so much! They are so good!!!!!!!
Great video!
Very nice, thanks.
This channel is so great
It was the single most influential element (the Whole Earth Catalog) (aside from jazz) in my early autodidactic evolution. It's impossible to convey the complex modulation of memories you've set in motion. All of those lost people and influences Bucky,The Tao of Physics, Alan Watts, this mans work and all those alternative communities associated with that antinuclear movement ready to welcome all us post hippie pilgrims in that very different pre-internet world. Yeah thanks for this.
Wow! This requires a new thinking mindset...or really using and building on the old mindset. I am blown away! The wife is so intteligent and the husband should start a mentoring service for real men.
As a long-time Lloyd Kahn fan, I find it funny to see these advertisements trying to sell me crap, placed right before and after his video. What he is saying flies in the face of rampant consumerism.
Go Lloyd!
@Ariebingo I agree 100 percent. This is why I am changing my life one small step at a time to get closer to how I want to live. Go for it if it is something that you want then do it!
I very glad to see it . I love you sir . you save it good thanks
Not only was the Whole Earth Catalog "pre-Google," it was also "pre-Amazon." They had all kinds of cool stuff in it that you couldn't find anywhere else at that time (except, maybe, for Lehman's Hardware in Kidron, OH).
I've just watched your 2024 video!
I also needed to add on, $5 for a copy of the Fall 1968 Whole Earth Catalog, that's a lot of money for 1968. I just used an online inflation calculator, it's about $36 in today's money (2017). So you're paying $36 in today's money, or $5 in 1968, to get a brand new copy of the first WEC back in '68.
Ben Miler - $5 in 1968. I was thinking the same thing. That was a lot of scratch.
Very inspiring on how to be DIY, everything in the house looks it like had some sort of story.
Life seems so much simpler living this way, I wish I could do it.
Truly inspirational.
What the fuck had it got to do with Steve Jobs, other than he made a comment about it? Lloyd Kahn does NOT need his endorsement!
I once had an a Whole Earth Catalog. I joined the Army. I dragged my catalog to England where the U.S. Army sent me. The paper of my catalog went to mush. in the U.K. climate. To me it was better than any bible I ever owned. I don't know why they have not published a new catalog for 2021. Maybe they had too many law suits against them. Maybe everyone just got so rich they just retired.
great inspiring life-style!
This is my dream .
love this. thanks for posting
What an awesome way to live!
8:34
Look at all those chickens!
Love his story.
VIDEO FIX NEEDED ALERT...... the video portion kept stalling out while the dialogue continued moving along. Tried several stop ' starts.
Lovely piece, Kirsten. Thanks. Ended up just winging it, clicking along on the timeline. Memory lane. lol
thank you
beautiful, brilliant.
Man, who cares about Steve Jobs or Google? This was an entirely separate thing. Has the Memex been Job's computer, the Encyclopedia Britannica his Wikipedia, the Mundaneum his network, the Library of Alexandria his library?
Wow, a lot of good lessons to be learnt, not radical, just smart with a lot of thought put into it
Wow! An original Fall 1968 copy of the Whole Earth Catalog! I have never seen a copy of that issue offered, be it eBay or AbeBooks, never mind any used book store. I own two issues of the WEC, the Fall 1969 issue, and the super-thick The Last Whole Earth Catalog from 1971. They show their age, but all the pages and covers are intact. Lloyd Kahn's copy of the 1968 WEC sure got a lot of use, I hate to see what a copy goes for these days, especially one in better shape. I was born in 1972 so the WEC is before my time, but that never stopped me from getting info on that era and getting a couple used copies of the WEC.
thank you so much for uploading :)
that was awesome thanks for posting that
Another great video! Thx.
AMAZING
I had one and I loved looking at it and enjoying the story spread thru the pages. I would still have it but unfortunately it grew legs and walked off with someone else.
Closest I've seen to utopia.
I remember seeing that issue of life. I thought that dome was so cool. Still Do. Those photos took me back. I'm hoping to purchase some chickens to start a flock in 2 years.
any thoughts on the amount required for a kind space to chicken ratio?
@Ariebingo I couldn't agree with you more. I feel an inherent need to avoid debt at all costs, and one day i realized that it's not so different now as it was in the 60s, it just depends on how much you're willing to give up. You could probably live a comfortably life on minimum wage. The problem is people want everything all at once, i think in a few years this diy ethic will start to resonate and really take hold of our society. People change when their actions start to hurt their pockets.
Great post! I was wondering, is his "Tiny Homes" book is available yet??
Beautiful house. I bet Christopher Alexander ("A Pattern Language") would like it.
love the house
This video is amazing, as always! I don't know how you find all these people but you do an incredible job. It would be interesting if you could make more urban tiny homes. Country side is very nice, but I think urban tiny homes are more challenging in a way that you (most of the time) can't build your home, you need to convert an already existing place!
Had it, great catalog.
wise people
love it !
nice video, I did a similar one on a couple living at Cape Tribulation in Australia
Yep, I grew up with the WEC lying around and a funky home-made home, chickens, on an acreage my folks bought for $80 an acre, paid it all off in five years including the house they built. We also grew a lot of food. Like Kahn, my folks figured things out, how to not work for the man, and be self-reliant to such a larger degree than my friends and their families who lived in town, had cable t.v. and ate Pop Tarts. It's just sad now how enslaved so many people are.
april 1970 first earth day...domes & ecology...whole earth catalog...grateful dead...50 years later a retired conservation engineer....the catalog was the holy grail.....
Man, I would need these folks on Skype if I were colonizing other worlds/planets! So much to learn from them!
Back! to the Future!
I am geodesic dome builder since 1978, need to talk to you and need those old Dome books. I started in Palms Springs Ca as drywall carpenter local 1506.
Fabulous video! I appreciate that he talks about living a partially self-sustaining lifestyle-- not a completely reject modern culture but look at it critically and see if we can do/create something ourselves. I've had people tell me that gardening and canning do not save money (considering the labor involved). It's not about saving $. The Creeds and your filming explain this so well. Thank you!
Working hard for yourself rather than routing your effort though a monterey system is a personal aim but as this guy says you still need a little money for something. The hardest part is getting enough money to buy a plot of land. This is especially hard in the U.K. as suitable plots are so expensive.
"Actually working instead of figuring out how not to work" is a result of modern culture not any generation's outlook on labor.
I guess you could say it all with three words: Repair, Reuse & Recycle. Although, let's face it, the hippie mottoes of days gone by will not cure you of cancer, or take us to the stars or pacify your kids. Everything changes and nothing stays the same. Nostalgia can be fun and even interesting to discover, yet one should never get stuck in the past but live life today :)
史蒂夫·乔布斯的60年代谷歌：重新审视《全球概览》（一位前编辑的家园之旅）
史蒂夫·乔布斯称《全球概览》（Whole Earth Catalog）是 "我们这一代的圣经之一"。他在2005年斯坦福大学毕业典礼的演讲中继续解释说：“它有点像谷歌的平装版，比谷歌出现的时间早35年：它是理想主义的，充满了整洁的工具和伟大的概念。”
《全球概览》是一种 "反主流文化的非官方手册"。在互联网出现之前，它是任何地方的人进入全球经济的一种方式。创始人和编辑斯图尔特·布兰德（Stewart Brand）开始创建一个目录--就像当时非常实用的通用目录L.L. Bean--它将展示世界上所有伟大的工具，以帮助任何人为自己做事或了解大的想法。
劳埃德·卡恩（Lloyd Kahn）是该目录的编辑。卡恩，一个从保险经纪人转行的建筑师，利用他在《全球概览》的经验，开始出版自己的书。首先，他写了非常受欢迎的关于穹顶建筑的书。卡恩已经成为 "反主流穹顶文化的代言人"（the spokesman for the counterculture on domes）（他的穹顶住宅甚至出现在《生活》杂志上），但当他认为这种建筑风格并不实用，"我不想在我的大地上再出现任何穹顶"时，他将这些书停印了。
1974年，卡恩拆掉了他的穹顶，取而代之的是更传统的手工制作的房屋。"用回收的木材、门、窗建造了螺柱结构的房子，"他在2004年的《家庭工作》（Home Work）一书中写道，"以某种方式救济，发现旧的方式可以发挥最好的作用。"
今天，劳埃德和他的妻子莱斯利·克里德（Lesley Creed）在加利福尼亚的博利纳斯经营着自己的家园，他们在那里照料一个广泛的有机花园和小鸡，研磨自己的小麦，制作自己的酸面团，纺自己的羊毛，并继续建造自己的结构（最近，一个带活屋顶的鸡舍）。
Wow great video... I'm assuming he didn't get permits to build those buildings, did he?
Lloyd - love your books - have all which are in print. We are building an earthship in Chile - the website is innerawakening co uk - we shall be blogging it from January.
Nice!
Watching this kind of stuff makes me really sad to the point of getting my eyes wet, there are so many ways to live without doing any damage to the earth at all and still the people do not understand. Millions of lives wasted to chase an illusion, it is so sad.
gorgeous
love it! my only problem is finding land to do that on.
this piece has a little bit of buzz kill in it. its a bit of a reality check