Discover the sublime pleasure and endless rewards of being self-sufficient. In two smartly designed and straightforward encyclopedias of DIY, Home Ec for Everyone and Shop Class for Everyone (previously published together as The Useful Book), here's everything you need to know to fix it, cook it, make it, clean it, build it, and sew it yourself.

Each title features dozens of essential skills, practical how-tos, and projects, each explained and illustrated with step-by-step instructions, plus relevant charts, sidebars, lists, and handy toolboxes. Home Ec covers what used to be called the domestic arts, including everything from chopping an onion to hemming a pair of pants to folding a fitted sheet to writing a great thank-you note. Shop Class empowers each of us to become a skilled handyperson, a confident master of one's domain who can hang a picture, paint a room, build a birdhouse, install a lamp, or fix a flat tire.

We may live in the information age, but there's no app that will unclog a drain-only life skills.