1941 WWII rationing book newest bestseller following reissue to beat credit crunch

London, December 23 (ANI): A tome that taught Britons how to feed themselves cheaply during WWII rationing became the newest bestseller when it was re-released to beat the credit crunch.

Keeping Poultry And Rabbits On Scraps was first published in 1941 to help to keep families from starvation.

According to reports, the book has enjoyed a 1,000 per cent sales increase in the run-up to Christmas.

The170-page handbook, reissued by Penguin, tells how to raise birds and animals for eggs and meat by feeding them on kitchen waste.

"We have been surprised at how well the book has sold - it has really flown off the shelves. When every story in the news is about how people are struggling financially, it is hardly surprising that they are looking at ways to save cash," the Daily Express quoted Waterstone's spokesman Jon Howells as saying.

"One of the easiest ways to do this is in the home, especially when it comes to our food shopping," he added. The book carries a six-point lesson on how to slaughter a rabbit, complete with photographs showing how to dislocate the neck and skin the carcass with a penknife.

It also guides about how to turn 40 average-sized rabbit skins into a fur coat, apart from telling readers how to keep poultry alive on a diet of kitchen waste, supplemented with up to five ounces of mashed potatoes a day.

"At no time in our history has this country been placed in such a critical position for the future supplies of all foods. The production of rabbit flesh is the most economical means of bridging our present meat difficulty," write wartime authors Claude Goodchild and Alan Thompson.

"All waste or surplus from vegetables is good food, also any leftovers from the breakfast, dinner, tea and supper table.

"Tea leaves, coffee grounds, bones, kipper skins and other fish waste, fat, rinds of cheese, bread, porridge, apple peels, cooked potatoes and peelings.

"There is no known waste from human edible food which is harmful in moderation. Do not be content with using your own scraps, get others to save for you.

"There are plenty of people too busily occupied, or maybe some too lazy and unpatriotic to exert themselves and undertake any work of national importance," they add.

According to reports, over 900 copies of the book have sold at Warterstone's in the past few days.

Penguin has not released the exact figure of reprints as yet.

Jenny Dean, an editor at Penguin, said: "With Britain in the midst of its worst economic downturn for decades, we thought this was the right time to bring the book back." (ANI)