Logan Ward

This book was an enjoyable look at the author's attempt to live as if it were 1900. Though I have some negative feelings toward the genre I've heard dubbed "stunt memoir," I enjoyed hearing the author's experiences during the year. I wish he would have included more details (including his wife's experiences).

Have you ever wished you could leave the hustle and bustle of modern life behind and just be? Logan and Heather Ward did. So they sold their place in New York City and bought a farm in rural Virginia. Then they turned off the water and electricity, and spent a year living as though it was 1900. They raised goats for their milk, cheese and butter, planted a garden, canned enough to last through the winter, and used a horse, bicycles, or their feet for transportation. And yes, they used an show more outhouse, as did their potty-training young son.

See You In a Hundred Years is one of those We-did-something-crazy-so-I-could-write-a-book-about-it memoirs that I love. The results of the Wards' experiment are funny (they made a lot of mistakes) and inspiring (I will can more than four jars of jam next year!). Best of all is the relationships they develop over the course of the year: with their new neighbors, even the gruffest of whom turns out to be generous and kindhearted; with visiting friends and family who jump into the turn-of-the-century with varying degrees of enthusiasm and aplomb; and with each other. show less

Logan Ward and his wife and two year old leave Manhattan to embark on an adventure where they try - as much as is possible - to live like dirt farmers in rural Virginia in the year 1900. They grow and preserve their own food, raise and milk a pair of goats and some chickens, and deal with a somewhat disdainful horse as their mode of transportation. What they didn't expect to necessarily find was such a supportive community, especially since they were newcomers to the area, and Yanks at show more that.

I really liked this book. I just wish there was more! I'm still really curious what happened to them after they rejoined the 21st century. Gonna have to see if Ward has a blog. :) It is in the same vein as Better Off, but the writing of See You in a Hundred Years is infinitely better and the book has much better structure. The only thing I wished for was a "cast of characters" because it got confusing which neighbor raised/did what and who was attached to whom. Other than that, I highly recommend this book to anyone who ever wanted to throw it all away and just be a subsistence farmer. A bonus is hearing about their two-year-old, Luther, who is hilarious. show less

Have you ever felt so stressed out that you wished for simpler times? That’s exactly how Logan and Heather Ward felt. They were living in New York with their baby - Logan was a writer and Heather worked for a justice-reform think tank. They felt like they worked all the time, but were so stressed they never had time to enjoy anything. They decided to embark on a year long experiment and live like Americans did in 1900.

They decided that “If it didn’t exist in 1900, we will do without. show more And that means we’re not going to have e-mail, phone, computer, credit cards, utility bills, or car insurance.”

The Wards sold their apartment in New York and bought a farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. They had the electricity and water cut off and installed an outhouse and a wood cookstove. They bought goats for milk, a horse for transportation and seeds to plant. They did keep a phone in case of emergency, but kept it unplugged.

See You in A Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America is Logan Ward’s account of their year. It is published by BenBella Books. Logan is brutally honest in his account. At the beginning things were very difficult and the relationship between Logan and Heather was strained. As the year progressed, they became more confident and more adept at the challenges they faced. The Wards made a lot of friends and developed a real sense of community.

Neighbors came to tell the Wards about the attack on the World Trade Center and Logan’s reaction was “Over the past few months, I have been calmed by the lack of twenty-first-century distractions and humbled by the power of nature. Like the weather, the terrorist attacks were beyond my control. All I can do is cling to the simple assurance of daily chores.”

This is a fascinating, well written book and I thorougly enjoyed it. It certainly gave me some things to think about. I found this article about their experiment. In it, Logan said the five things they missed the most were the kitchen sink, washing machine, music, a good pencil sharpener and sandals. The five things they didn’t miss at all were the refrigerator, television, telephone, daily news and processed food. Somehow, I think my lists would be different. show less