I picked up a book because a friend thinks Wendell Berry is the best. I can't speak to that, but it took me a couple of years to plod through this book. The writing in the essays isn't bad, per se, just pretty dense. I'm not sure who it was written for: academics? ag policy wonks? passionate students who need some realism? Certainly not for me, but perhaps it's because I've spent my whole live knowing most of the problems detailed herein. Who doesn't know that agribusiness completely ignores the means to rebuild the soil, find a balance with insects, grow healthy food without pesticides, allow farmers to earn a decent living? And for those who don't, I'm not sure they'll be convinced by quoting an early 1900's farmer, or lines from Spenser's "The Faierie Queene". OK, this review is biased because I've forgotten what was included in the 1st part of the book, it's been so long since I read that. His discussion of 7 Amish farms might still be persuasive. ( )

Reading Wendell Berry - novels, poems, short stories, and now essays - makes me want to be a farmer. Or at least to live on and love a particular piece of land and its immediate neighbors, human and non.

There are plenty of technical details here that blew past me in a blur of partial understanding, but Berry's mantra comes through loud and clear: industrial agriculture is not the way to farm for the future. With essays on farming, portraits of farms and farmers who are doing things well, and fictional excerpts around the theme of farm and table, Berry communicates ideas and recommendations that are scientifically and economically sound. But his writings also circumscribe a moral way of life in which humans act as the humble and compassionate stewards of soil, plants, animals, and other human lives. ( )

Great way to start with Berry. One caveat: watch the dates of publication, because we HAVE made some progress since he started writing.

Wendell Berry was into sustainable agriculture and the local foods movement long before it became fashionable. Through a series of essays, Berry tells why more Americans should be farmers. I did enjoy some of his thoughts. For example, he believes the decline of the family is related to the decline of farming. Other comments are made to startle readers. For example, he characterizes Americans as lazy because they aspire for retirement ('doing nothing".) The quality of writing is fairly consistent and good throughout the series of essays, but the subject matter of some essays is far more interesting than that of others. ( )

http://www.fromseedtobloom.com/2011/05/08/bringing-it-to-the-table/ ( )