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hoorayleigh's review against another edition
2.0
Part I was pretty good, though it started to get repetitive -- many of the articles were making the same or similar points. Part II was a bit too farming intensive for me and it lacked the political voice that was present in Part I. I was disappointed that Part III, the part about food, was just excerpts from some of his fiction rather than really being about food.
seclement's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoy Wendell Berry's essays, though I do often have to remind myself to accept the romanticism and idealism he weaves throughout. I agree with his philosophies about food, in principle, even as I recognise their unlikeliness in this modern context - for social, political, and economic reasons. He argues strongly and eloquently for a food system that many (if not most) of us would agree would make the world a better a place and repair our environment in the process. However, I found this volume quite repetitive and perhaps just too much idealism concentrated into one place. I have read other compilations of Berry's essays, but I would say that this was perhaps the most difficult to make it through once I reached the second section of the book (Farmers). I really enjoyed the introduction by Michael Pollan, and a massive hat tip is owed to him, as he acknowledges quite plainly that Berry had many of the same points as he several decades before. The first section was good, as it really does provide a broad sweep of Berry's essays that were so clearly before their time.
However, the 'Farmers' and 'Food' section are a bit more disappointing. The Farmers section, I have no doubt, would be of keen interest to farmers, but from an outsiders view it is often tedious and a bit encyclopaedic. Whilst I can recognise the gravity of the numbers in the way he expresses them, it is quite difficult for me to appreciate the per acreage production of a small farm in the 1980s. For the final section, I understand why they decided to use excerpts from Berry's fiction, but I have to admit that taken out of context these food scenes offer much less than they do otherwise. I wonder if perhaps it would have been better to offer the book in only one - or perhaps two - parts to focus on where Berry's true passion lies, and then direct the reader to his fiction where those food scenes can really shine.
However, the 'Farmers' and 'Food' section are a bit more disappointing. The Farmers section, I have no doubt, would be of keen interest to farmers, but from an outsiders view it is often tedious and a bit encyclopaedic. Whilst I can recognise the gravity of the numbers in the way he expresses them, it is quite difficult for me to appreciate the per acreage production of a small farm in the 1980s. For the final section, I understand why they decided to use excerpts from Berry's fiction, but I have to admit that taken out of context these food scenes offer much less than they do otherwise. I wonder if perhaps it would have been better to offer the book in only one - or perhaps two - parts to focus on where Berry's true passion lies, and then direct the reader to his fiction where those food scenes can really shine.
akublik's review against another edition
3.0
I found this collection of essays a bit repetitive, as he covered the same ground several times. Even so, Wendell Berry was obviously way ahead of the 100 mile diet/eat local movement and slow food movements as some of these essays date back to the late 70s. However, having grown up on a farm that used many of the techniques he describes, I found his preference for working the land with draft horses a bit extreme.
mikecross's review against another edition
2.0
The entire book can be summed up in the authors wish that the 1930's never ended and every farm was 300 acres. I'm surprised there wasn't a chapter on "Get off my lawn!". Every essay seems to be a repeat of the previous and the author lacked material for part three, Food, so had to include fiction instead of writing new material. Unless you want to read an old man complaining about how modern agriculture and food economy has ruined everything, I would not recommend this book.
kristidurbs's review against another edition
4.0
A good selection of Berry writings on farming, farmers, and food.
emilybriano's review against another edition
4.0
There's nothing new from Berry in this book, but it's an indispensable overview of his food and farming-related writings. A must read for any Berry fan. Shelve it right beside The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (who also wrote the introduction).
aliceleanne's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interest little collection of essays. I was already really familiar with WB’s perspective, so it wasn’t anything new. He does make some great points about our relationship to agriculture and how pivotal it is for a noble society to have ties to the earth and to our food. Definitely lots to apply, even for the house-wife hobby gardener.
tiffanyslack's review against another edition
4.0
This was a nice collection of Berry's essays and food and farming. The fiction pieces at the end were a nice touch. If the essays had been a little more readable, I would have given it five stars. The details bogged it down in places.
kateraed's review against another edition
2.0
First section on farming is fantastic, clearly explaining the dangers of our current agribusiness setup. The second section, on farmers, is more detailed looks at individual farms; I found it mostly skimmable, as it was more detail than I was interested in. The final section, on food, is mostly selections from his fiction writings -- interesting to see context of the previous generation's interactions with food and each other, but it is fiction out of context, so I also moved to skimming that pretty quickly. The final essay is the most valuable (at least as a city dweller), offering guidance for how to eat more sustainably and have a more holistic (that is, contextually rooted) relationship with food and land (which, Berry reminds us, are inseparable).