The Art of Natural Building

The Art of Natural Building is the encyclopedia of natural building for non-professionals as well as architects and designers. From straw bale and cob, to recycled concrete and salvaged materials, this anthology of articles from leaders in the field focuses on both the practical and the esthetic concerns of ecological building designs and techniques. Includes examples of diverse natural dwellings, from a Hybrid Hobbit House to a thatched studio and a cob office.

This is a good primer for concepts, and shows a lot of different ways of natural construction. I imagine, if you are experience, handy, and smart, then you could manage to construct a home using this as your sole guide, but I use it more as a reference to help narrow down what I want, and then get more specific construction books.

It has some very nice pictures, and is a great book to sit down and thumb through while dreaming about what kind of homestead you want to build.

This book has spurred my imagination, I sit and look at it and dream of a time when I can build the buildings it describes.  I am a large supporter of cob construction and other forms of natural building, I just wish I had more time to do instead of dream.