Life without Refrigeration Paperback – August 19, 2013

I bought this book, since I was stuck off gird and have been living without a refrigerator for a year now. My "alternative" propane refrigerator stopped working and the repair cost was astronomical. I have read other small books about living without refrigeration, so this material wasn't new to me. I really applaud the author for being thorough about safety when it comes to storing food and what can actually be stored without a refrigerator and what can't. I read much information about the application of a cold room or root cellar storage when it comes to butter, cheese, etc. That was great as I was really wondering how effective storing these items would be when I was done setting up mine. Great info!

Nice for a beginner to the idea of no refrigerator. Lots of tiny bits of commonly available knowledge gathered together in one place. If I hadn't already done so much research this would have saved me so much time! That said it's more about alternative means of supplying "coolth" than living without. The first 15 pages are mainly on the "why would you" (who we are" premise and pages 15-47 are on stuff from root cellars, evaporative cooling, sand pots ,ice houses and snow caves, springs and wells and cool places to store food for temporary storage - nice but too little info to be truly informative, does give you enough of an overview to decide if you want to do further research or implementation.The next 26 pages are the true meat of the book with preservation and cooking tips, commercial products and if they worked for her family and recipes. Good stuff here! The last 9 pages are just common sense -don't be stupid- contamination tips, emergency prep tips and invite to the authors blog.

Our refrigerator was a jerk so we kicked it out of the house only to later realize we had no way of keeping our perishables from perishing. Then I found 'Life Without Refrigeration' by Susan Gregersen. It's a great little book! The graphic designer in me wants to redesign the entire book but the information is very helpful and pretty much has every bit you need. We bought a few of her books to keep on hand and they are all quite helpful and full of great advice. Highly recommend for anyone who hates their fridge or wants to survive a natural or man-made disaster.

Umm. I wouldn't say this book helps you "go off grid" without refrigeration. It is more what the author states in the introduction: just a bunch of information she has heard of and some tried. She is just mentioning it in case you want to try it. She admits that she cannot prove that some of these methods work. She also says what worked for her and what didn't. I guess there really is no other way to find out. However, honestly, I was expecting a more scientific approach to the book's subject. A matter of fact . . . factual scientific description of what works, how, when, etc. Anyway, some of the information is food for thought though. I guess if I learned anything I learned at how valuable saw dust can be. :-)

Some of this information was new to me; some I've seen before. But this small, handy book brings everything together in one place. It's clearly written, and is useful for both old hands as a good review book, and new preppers as a solid base of information to get one started. I would highly recommend adding this to your library.

This is a clearly self-published book with little concern for real research or grammar. She admits her research is talking or writing to others (who it sounds like may be her friends.)As a writer and editor, I came across all my pet peeves just in the introduction; Two spaces after a period, as if this was 1970 and she was using a typewriter. Question marks and periods outside of quotation marks, misspelled words, overly wordy prose. No one ever edited this mess and it is bad. So, if bad writing makes your skin crawl, steer clear.Regarding the technical part, I would have been surprised to learn much, having lived off grid myself for many years, and I'm less than halfway through the book now, but what she has explained is so basic and known that it's an insult to the reader. Even when she gives some directions, they are vague, like when she describes building her root cellar. I think even some things are wrong. Like when she describes a cold box she saw in a museum built (she calls it "build") using 2x2s. (I assume she meant 2x4s?) There are no diagrams or actual directions.Her ideas are random and all over the place, introducing a thought as it occurs to her. Not organized in any real way.A total disappointment so far as I had this book on my wishlist for a long time and looked forward to adding it to our homesteading library. I think I'll add it to the woodstove instead.I'm sorry to write a bad review, but this was a total lack of effort on the part of the author and should be totally rewritten.

She really has lived, for many years, in circumstances where electrical refrigeration is impossible or unreliable. Her workarounds harken back to earlier days, but these are practical methods of cooling things that work - whether you just want to cool down a soft drink when you're out in the desert heat, or need to preserve cheeses for an extended period when you have no electrical power. If you have the chance of sometime being without power for an extended period - days or even weeks - you may be very glad you read (and own) this book!