Now, let me elaborate on what this book really is. This book is a very polite warning by two very seasoned, jaded individuals who are aware of the escapist notions and romantic fantasies many people have about farming. They have been around long enough to have become intimately familiar with the Back to the Land Movement, a Return to Simplicity, and Environmental Sustainability/Sustainable Agriculture- aka The New Improved Agriculture. It took me a while to realize this (three readings in fact!) and understand the dangers associated with one pernicious stereotype about farming.
Many of us on the sidelines believe that anyone can farm, and all it takes is a willingness to work hard (the trite saying about hard-working ditch diggers getting rich comes readily to mind). When we think of the farmer, we often have one (malicious) stereotype in mind- that of the dumb country boy with a 'gee aw shucks' outlook on farming and life. Basically, we really do not think it takes brains in order to farm successfully. I mean, after all, you take some seeds, toss in a little fertilizer of your choice, water them and come back in a few months to collect your crop and get your pesos (almost literally)- just how hard could that be?
Well, speaking as someone who is thoroughly new to farming, never once has farmed, and is inquisitive about the practice of agriculture, after considerable investigation I can tell you the prospective reader that no matter how hard they work, dumb people will not be able to stay on the farm for long. We on the sidelines do not think farming is difficult because we do not think about the Practice of Farming and the Business of Farming. If your experience of farming up to this point is shopping at your local natural foods co-op, perusing the stalls at the local weekly farmer's market, or wandering the aisles at some trendy, eco-hip retailer like Whole Foods or Wilds Oats (who have skillfully co-opted environmentalism as a path to insane riches), and you are considering going into farming as a vocation, then I do not think you will hear the polite warning contained in this book. If you are someone stuck in a dead-end or high-paying but otherwise unfulfilling career (like this reviewer), and you are seeking an out, a means of escape (what we politely but laughingly call a 'transition'), then you just might catch the polite warning consistently stated throughout this book.
Farming attracts many people not because of its business or financial aspects but because of the lifestyle many people associate with farming. If you are an MD, then you are in the business of healthcare. Your business and your lifestyle are completely different. In fact, whether your business is highly successful or modestly successful, your lifestyle could be lavish, it could be modest, or it could be parsimonious- it's up to you and your personal preferences. If you don't like your current situation, from where you work, to who you work for (read HMOs) to your clientele base, you can make a change without changing your lifestyle- too much that is.
Now here is the polite warning: if you are drawn to farming because of the lifestyle, and you turn this lifestyle into a business, then it behooves you to make damn certain that your business can pay for itself, because after all, your business is your lifestyle and your lifestyle is your business. The lifestyle will not work out if the business end does not pay. In fact, the business end may place quite severe limitations on the lifestyle you can reasonably expect to achieve, which in many cases will be well below what you are currently accustomed to. Unlike a 9 to 5 gig with some godless multinational, you can not simply just pack up and leave (this assumes implicitly that the heartless .......... have not fired you in the latest round of restructurings), and if the business end does not work out, you lose not only your lifestyle, but also your home.
For me, the true heart of the book and the real message of the text were contained in the Foreword by Budd Kerr Jr and Part I- Getting Started. In terms of content, the book contains little on the techniques of farming, and has eleven chapters divided into four parts- Getting Started, Farming, Planning and Marketing, and Management, with a handy appendix chock full of useful resources on the Business and Practice of Farming. The text is specifically pitched at a level that almost anyone can understand, and there is a noticeable bias towards the environmentally minded reader.
That said, the true purpose of this book is to get you, the prospective reader who may be thinking of getting into farming, to start thinking about the Practice of Farming and the Business of Farming, all romanticism and eco-hip verbiage aside. This book is of no use to someone who is already farming, and in need of help. The best time to read this book is before you get into farming whole hog as they say down on the farm.
Even though it took me three passes to finally get the message, I am glad that I did read it before taking any action.
Read this book several times BEFORE you venture into farming, not during or after.
For extensive, detailed, practical information about making money by pasturing mixed species of livestock, look at books by Joel Salatin. But even he could still bring in more complementary planting for winter forage. Greg Judy has a detailed book about making money with livestock without owning the land or the livestock.
The appendicies are great with current information about where to get more information.
His true stories boxes let you know that he understands what beginging farms needed in the way of encouragement and information to help them make the decision to farm.
He is correct when he writes "to survive as a farmer you must have a market before you start to grow and you must provide a quality product with even better customer service."
Worth the money and a pleasant read for anyone thinking about starting a business or farming.
. This is an entire book crying over how its "not like the old days".
Seriously save your money and buy "A Field Guide to Produce: How to Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Fruit and Vegetable at the Market" for like $10 by Aliza Green.. at least you'll stop the kvetching about what ISNT in the stores and learn how to shop for what is...
Finally, a reference tool for picking produce!.......2007-06-18
This book serves both as an encyclopedic reference work, and as an informative, engaging read. The author admits that not ALL fruits and veggies are included, however it seems that all of the important ones are, particularly those that we need help with selecting. There is an unbelievable amount of basic information about picking fruits and vegetables, previously unavailable in collected form! Add in the historical research on farming, the updated perspective on farming trends and issues, and you have the ultimate shopper's guide, best kept in the glove compartment (after reading, of course) so that it's always there with you when you're going to market. "How to pick a Peach" should be required reading for every cook in America.
Average customer rating:
- The king of California
- History, Biography and Expose?
- Overstuffed but Worth Reading
- Surfaced and Harpooned
- Tremendous historical, political, and social epic
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The King of California: J. G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire
Mark Arax , and
Rick Wartzman
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
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Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition
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ASIN: 1586480286 |
Book Description
A rich, colorful history of California centering on the untold story of America 's biggest farmer, J.G. Boswell, who controls more than $1 billion worth of water rights and real estate in the heart of the state.
J.G. Boswell is the biggest farmer in America. Over the past fifty years he has built a secret empire while thumbing his nose at nature, politicians, labor unions and every journalist who ever tried to lift the veil on the ultimate "factory in the fields." Now eighty years old, with an almost pathological bent toward privacy, Boswell has spent the past few years confiding one of the great stories of the American West to Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman. The King of California is the previously untold account of how a Georgia slave-owning family migrated to California in the early 1920s, drained one of America 's biggest lakes in an act of incredible hubris and carved out the richest cotton empire in the world. Indeed, the sophistication of Boswell 's agricultural operation--from lab to field to gin--is unrivaled anywhere.
Much more than a business story, this is a sweeping social history that details the saga of cotton growers who were chased from the South by the boll weevil and brought their black farmhands to California. It is a gripping read with cameos by a cast of famous characters, from Cecil B. DeMille to Cesar Chavez.
Customer Reviews:
The king of California.......2006-11-04
This book is way too long and somewhat redundant and boring. The basic story is good, but the author takes too much time and too many pages to tell it.
History, Biography and Expose?.......2006-06-23
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in politics, agriculture, or water rights. It is a well-written and very readable.
It follows four generations of the Boswell family to trace how they assembled the largest industrial farm in the world. Along the way, the authors explore the history of the San Joaquin valley and those who came there to farm it, those who left and those who got left behind. For every group that made a fortune, there were many others who were disappointed. There are plenty of interesting stories of Washington and Sacramento politics, and stories of common people following dreams.
The book examines the effect of large scale farming on farm owners, on those who work the farms now and those who worked them in the past. It provides some good background on the politics of water rights and government involvement in farming, and on the involvement of agriculture in local, state and federal politics.
If you are interested in the politics and history of water in the western states, Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner is one of the best books I have read on any subject.
Overstuffed but Worth Reading.......2005-11-26
I grew up in Fresno, in the shadow of agribusiness. The story behind "King of California" is a fascinating and important one but I'm not sure this "biography" does it justice. I disliked the awkward mixture of history and journalism. Is this an expose, a biography or history? Its never really clear and the way the book is organized, around the four seasons, is particularly opaque. What does it mean to call a section, "winter?" when it is covering history spanning decades and contains interviews with living people? That said, the material is fascinating. From the role the Boswell's played in taming Tulare Lake, to the development of modern cotton farming, the politics of agriculture and the way big business in general got access and results in subsidies and favorable policy. Early on, Tulare Lake and by extension, the San Joaquin Valley in its pre-U.S. days is described with a vividness I've rarely read elsewhere. However, the description of the Boswell's roots in racism and its legacy in the Central Valley is definitely worth telling but I think it gets too little space here and competes with so many other subjects. Frankly, I'm surprised that this book has gotten the acclaim that it has. While its clearly well researched, the writing is spotty lucid in some places and sensationalized elsewhere. I think the book tries to cover far too many topics; Water politics, cotton farming, racism in California, family history, corporate intrigue, labor issues, flood control and company towns. Had it narrowed it focus to just water, cotton and corporate intrigue, I think it would have been a far more powerful book.
Surfaced and Harpooned.......2005-04-26
This far-reaching book is quite an accomplishment in biography and investigative journalism. Arax and Wartzman cover the history of the immense Boswell farming company of California, and the two guys named J.G. (the founding uncle and the current chairman, his nephew) who built the company into the largest cotton operation on Earth. Through cutthroat competitive instincts and political wheeling-and-dealing, the Boswells amassed tens of thousands of acres in California's Central Valley, and were instrumental in eliminating what was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, as the former Tulare Lake was transformed into a festering network of levees, canals, and cesspools dedicated to the mass production of cotton. Thus, the Boswells built the area's environment, culture, and economics for their own profitability.
The book also serves as a great exploration of the business of factory farming, detailing the racism and poverty experienced by Black and Mexican workers, as well as the shifty agricultural and hydrological politics of Big Ag in California - as the Boswells and their competitors/allies buy politicians, stack laws and regulations in their favor, and claim flood control as a reason to alter the natural course of rivers and to completely drain the vast Tulare Lake. Best of all, we see how big business really works out West, with the hypocrisy of so-called rugged outdoorsmen (actually pampered CEO's) who incessantly rail against government interference while also taking in millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies that are meant to help the little guy. This book is immensely informative but does often get tied up in unnecessary details, such as descriptions of petty political shenanigans in the construction of a nearby dam. But the motto of the Boswell clan has been that a whale can't be harpooned if it doesn't come to the surface (a legacy of silence and obfuscation), but Arax and Wartzman have deftly cracked into the wall of secrecy surrounding the Boswells and their often ill-gotten empire, [~doomsdayer520~]
Tremendous historical, political, and social epic.......2004-11-09
The book centers around three generations of Boswells as they migrated from Green County Georgia to Kings County California and became the largest producers of cotton in the world, without becoming a household name.
The book also tells of the natural, social, and political histories of the San Joaquin Valley from the days of indigenous peoples and the first Spanish invaders to the present day.
The epic is a fascinating study of twentieth century American history, society, economics, business, finance, management, politics, public policy, labor relations, mechanization, technology, modernization, and nature.
The more personal stories of family, romance, crime, and punishment read more like a good novel.
Some have found the authors liberally biased, but as a conservative, I found the authors well balanced in their presentations of all sides of the stories.
As others have said, the scope is huge and the research extensive. As someone who was born and raised in Kings County California, I found this heretofor unknown local history to be quite fascinating. Nevertheless, I believe this book will have broad appeal to many readers.
Average customer rating:
- His own way with words
- An insightful book
- An insightful book
- Important book - but read with a critical mind.
- Plant influences on World History
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Seeds of Change: Five Plants That Transformed Mankind
Henry Hobhouse
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
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The True History of Chocolate
ASIN: 0060914408 |
Book Description
A personal and highly original take on the history of six commercial plants, Seeds of Change illuminates how sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, quinine, and the cocoa plant have shaped our past. In this fascinating account, the impassioned Henry Hobhouse explains the consequences of these plants with attention-grabbing historical moments. While most records of history focus on human influence, Hobhouse emphasizes how plants too are a central and influential factor in the historical process. Seeds of Change is a captivating and invaluable addition to our understanding of modern culture.
Customer Reviews:
His own way with words.......2002-04-15
This book consists of a collection of historical essays about six plants: quinine, sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, and coca. For each plant, the author provides historical information about when it first began to be used (especially by Westerners), and how its use spread across the planet. Some of the information was quite interesting, particularly since the author is British and presents the material from a British point-of-view, emphasizing facts that may be less familiar to Americans. Unfortunately, no in-text citations are provided, but there is a short bibliography at the end of the book. The essays often spill over into topics that are, at best, only marginally related to the subject at hand, such as an overview of Japanese foreign trade in the tea chapter, or the role of corn whiskey in the economy of the Southern states in the early Nineteenth Century in the cotton chapter. Hobhouse has an interesting habit of giving his own meaning to words, such when he defines "Negro" as being a West African Black with sickle cell anemia, or "husbandry" as applying to plant breeding. He also uses the term "slavocracy" to refer to the political situation in the pre-Civil War South, presumably on analogy with "democracy" and "theocracy", but in those words, the first root identifies the rulers, not the ruled. This book may provide a light introduction to some of the topics covered, but I wouldn't rely on it for serious study of an academic nature.
An insightful book.......2002-01-30
I havn't read this book in a while but came across an editorial by Hobhouse recently and I thought I'd check to see if it's still in print. I recall some rather strange notions about our 'current' lack of fiber in our diet and the dire effect it may have, but in most areas where he dosn't range too far afield it's a good read. A reader above found the book racist but I don't recall anything like that. If you like Hobhouse try to dig up Edgar Andersons ' ' Plants Man and Life'. Not an inspired title but a very good book as well.
An insightful book.......2002-01-30
I havn't read this book in a while but came across an editorial by Hobhouse recently and I thought I'd check to see if it's still in print. I recall some rather strange notions about our 'current' lack of fiber in our diet and the dire effect it may have, but in most areas where he dosn't range too far afield it's a good read. A reader above found the book racist but I don't recall anything like that. If you like Hobhouse try to dig up Edgar Andersons ' ' Plants Man and Life'. Not an inspired title but a very good book as well.
Important book - but read with a critical mind........2001-03-01
Hobhouse is a must for anyone interested in history (particularly environmental history). He provides a new perspective to parts of history that we often don't question. However, reader beware - Hobhouse is an overt racist. Don't take everything he says at face value and be prepared to "toss off" the inflamatory remarks that are sprinkled throughout the book. While an important book, the chapters are poorly organized. Hobhouse attempts to tackle immense topics ("macrohistory") in limited space. He skips around and does not follow a linear format in making his arguments. Be prepared to step back and look at the big picture - he goes on many tangents that, while interesting, he fails to link directly back to his argument. Despite its faults, the book is well recommended - certainly provocative.
Plant influences on World History.......2000-12-25
Totally fascinating. Reminds me of Howard Zim's People's History of the United States. Lot's of facts, figure, and dates without being overwelming, with good continuity throughout the various sections. There is so much about the forces on world history that we don't understand. Would the world have been without widespread Black slavery if there had been no sugar and cotton plantations? What would Africa and the United States be like now? Would China have become a major world power in the 19th century if it had not been for the tea and opium trade? Very thoughtful. I listened to a books-on-tape version from the local library and want to get copies for friends and family.
Average customer rating:
- Be careful about what you wish for
- Educational and Inspiring
- Fantastic Resource for anyone wanting to get into agriculture
- Make your dream come true
- Recommended reading ...I was not disappointed!
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Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage in Partnership with the Earth
Barbara Berst Adams
Manufacturer: New World Publishing
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Making Your Small Farm Profitable: Apply 25 Guiding Principles/Develop New Crops & New Markets/Maximize Net Profits Per Acre
ASIN: 0963281437 |
Book Description
Microfarms—or small acreage farms—are gaining popularity across the country for their astoundingly high yields and great tasting produce, as well as their profitability. This handbook reveals the secrets of successful micro eco-farming and explains what eco-farmers need to know to start their own small agribusiness. Questions such as What can be grown? How do farmers reach their markets? and What sustainable production methods can be used? are answered in detail and supported be hundreds of real-life examples. A variety of unusual uses for crops are also provided, including producing organic spa products, building an urban greenhouse, creating a heritage rose farm, or cultivating a connoisseur apple orchard. Ecologists, amateur gardeners, farmers, and those interested in sustainable living will enjoy this in-depth look at the spiritually and financially rewarding aspects of this new field.
Customer Reviews:
Be careful about what you wish for.......2007-09-06
This is a very enchanting book, but I think the reader would be wise to take it with a grain of salt. The author makes a list of vegetables sound so good your mouth starts to water. Food literally comes to life. One farm has world class leafy lettuce. Another has miraculous tomatoes. A third has peppers for every taste. A fourth makes wool as smooth as silk.
On the other hand, some of the stories are fanciful at best. For example, there is the story of the 'good' coyote. A farmer takes pity on a limping coyote and offers it some food. The standard practice in the neighborhood was to shoot coyotes on sight, but this coyote touches the farmer somehow. The coyote mends. Once recovered, the coyote decides the farmer is 'one of the pack' and his chickens are 'his things'. Thus, she identifies the farmer's chickens as off limits and protects them from other coyotes, raccoons, and varmints. I've got chickens and cohabitate with coyotes. The idea of a coyote protecting the farmer's hens was good for a hearty laugh.
Another story concerns the 'good weed'. This story is part of section on letting plants restore soil depleted of essential trace minerals. The idea is that plants can concentrate trace minerals deep in the soil and deposit them on the surface. In this context, we meet the good thistle. The good thistle pulls out trace minerals out of the stony soil, then dies out as the soil returns to health. I had another good laugh with this story. In some ways there is truth in it, but let me tell you about my thistles. They are beautiful. Every year my soil gets better. I haven't noticed them dying out, though. Maybe next year!
Finally, there is the story of the weak plant calling out to nearby insects to end it's suffering. This theme is repeated numerous times. I guess it is the story of the 'good' bad insect. You see, those worms and beetles are not just eating any plant, they are consuming the suffering plant. I'm not going to argue that nature has a way of maintaining balance, but I had to laugh. I guess those squirrels that entirely consumed 3 trees of gorgeous, plump, red organic peaches were simply answering the peach trees cries of distress! I should have known!
If you want to grow your own food, more power to you. Don't be surprised if Mother Nature throws you a few curve balls along the way, though. Don't count on coyotes to protect your chickens, nor thistles to conveniently disappear.
Finally, Ms. Adams never mentions the local banker or tax man, which seems odd. I've never met a farmer that doesn't have something to say about these friendly folks.
Educational and Inspiring.......2007-03-09
If you've ever dreamed of having a small, productive farm but didn't know where to begin or how to creatively make money and have fun at the same time, this book is The Source for you. Barbara Berst Adams' "Micro Eco-Farming" is loaded with great ideas, sensible how-to information and strategies for starting, maintaining and expanding an environmentally friendly mini farm. The breadth of her knowledge is impressive. She obviously understands every aspect of small-scale farming from raising livestock and poultry to growing specialty herbs, flowers and vegetables. This is a practical handbook and a solid reference you will always want to keep on hand. It has earned a permanent place in my library.
Fantastic Resource for anyone wanting to get into agriculture.......2007-03-09
This is a must have book for anyone wanting to get more for less out of their garden, farm, or acreage. I loved it and found it interesting and informative. It'll stay on my shelf long after I pass it around to all of my friends and family! Bravo! The world would be a better place if more people read and would take to heart the message this book brings.
Make your dream come true.......2006-10-26
It has been my long-time dream to have a house in a rural place with a few acres and a cash crop. With this dream in mind, I read
"Micro Eco-Farming" by Barbara Berst Adams. It is a wonderful book. Besides great suggestions for types of small farm or backyard businesses that lend themself to success, the many real examples bring the possibilities to life. But, there is much more. The book describes how to go about setting up a small eco-business, why and how each one works, and how the benefits of such an endeavour go far beyond just cash. Of special interest to me is practical ways to make the most of a very small gardening plot or space. I don't have land yet (I'm still in a condo in a small city), but there was one tip that I used immediately. It was using trace minerals to help plants flourish, with sometimes dramatic results. I use trace minerals for my personal health, but never thought about my houseplants needing the same. This makes total sense, and I have just started adding trace minerals to their water! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Barbara's delightful book and can hardly wait until I get my
own small plot of land to make use of the wisdom she conveys through her own experience and that of others. I could almost taste the strawberries, smell the hay, and hear the sounds of the birds as I read her book. Ahhh.
Recommended reading ...I was not disappointed!.......2006-08-23
It made sense to me that I first saw this book recommended by the National Gardening Association. After all, some of the farms described in it successfully operate from backyard gardens and even urban lots. Later I saw that Rodale's New Farm magazine recommended it with the following quote:
"The author continually returns to the concept of the "whole farm," where each part integrates with the whole in a mutually beneficial relationship--from the animals, to the insects, to the soil, to the plants, to the farmer and his or her family, expanding outward to the local community and region. She offers an abundance of examples of how farmers have come up with one-of-a-kind products--from specialty wool to simply the experience of interacting with animals--or turned a problem into an advantage--such as the couple who sold homemade salsa "kits" like hotcakes right smack in the middle of a tomato glut."
I'm glad I now own a copy of this book. I was impressed to find out that the Trends Institute had correctly predicted a nationwide (if not worldwide) return to farms like these, or that a new world was opening up again for local farms. I liked learning what makes these new micro eco-farms very different from pre-industrial farms, as well as in what ways they are similar. I never expected it to be a step-by-step rehash of ag-extension grape-trellising or fence-making how-tos which are available free or low-cost to anyone, nor the details of just one person's farm that worked for that person in his or her location. It is non-technical and describes many microfarm examples, explains the concept of how they grow and expand continually (without getting physically larger). Most farms described are from backyard size to five acres, with some up to 15 acres or so, and even one larger farm that added a microfarm element that seemed to outdo its larger counterpart in business!
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Small-Scale Haymaking (Country Workshop)
Spencer Yost
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ASIN: 0760320969 |
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Haymaking is many things to many people. It provides vintage tractor enthusiasts with an easy and productive way to put their prized machinery to good use. It is an easy and potentially profitable crop to grow on a small farm. And, of course, it evokes powerful memories for anyone who has spent a summer day haying.
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Environmentally Friendly Technologies for Agricultural Produce Quality
Manufacturer: CRC
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ASIN: 0849319110 |
Book Description
While ecology as a whole continues to receive considerable attention, postharvest food handling, until recently, had not been examined from a green perspective. This has changed as health-conscious consumers look to improve both their diets and their environment. Environmentally Friendly Technologies for Agricultural Produce Quality is the first book to take a focused look from an ecological point of view at the way produce is preserved, packaged, and shipped. The book's editor, Shimshon Ben-Yehoshua, a leader in the international scientific community, presents a framework he refers to as the triple bottom line, which takes into consideration economic and societal issues and an environmental perspective. Experts and eminent researchers discuss recent developments, such as the use of genetic engineering, modified atmosphere packaging, pest control for durable and perishable produce, all designed to reduce spoilage without compromising quality or negatively impacting the environment. Keeping faith with the triple bottom line, the book explores related topics such as innovations in transportation and the value of produce to human health. This book makes an excellent handbook for postharvest professionals and others handlers of produce as well as a textbook for students preparing to meet the needs of a health and ecology conscious society.
Average customer rating:
- epitaph for a peach
- Not so much an epitaph, but a love letter to the land
- The Struggle Continues
- Epitaph for a Peach
- Best book about farming I've ever read
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Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm
David M. Masumoto
Manufacturer: HarperOne
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Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place
ASIN: 0062510258 |
Customer Reviews:
epitaph for a peach.......2007-10-02
wonderful. when you read this work you can actually feel the soil, smell the grass, and taste the fruit. a greeat read
Not so much an epitaph, but a love letter to the land.......2007-08-08
I feel a connection with David Masumoto. Not that I've met him or anything - in fact, there's a good chance I never will (although I keep hoping that one summer day I can make it over to his farm to pick peaches). No, this feeling is based on an impression that we have both fought the same fight over different things, for the same reasons. It is also because he writes so poignantly about a landscape I grew up in. Mr. Masumoto is an organic farmer in the valley of California, and his story is becoming more and more familiar to me as I see this way of life disappearing across the country.
A third generation Japanese American peach and grape farmer, David Masumoto inherited the family orchard from his father. He also had the heritage of his childhood memories of how that particular peach variety, Sun Crest, tasted and ran with juice unlike the pretty red baseballs that have passed for today's supermarket peach varieties. Mr. M wanted to show the world how delightful an old-fashioned peach could be.
When he took over his father's farm, he resolved to not only continue growing his Sun Crests, but to do it organically. This would prove challenging in our day and age of cheap, quick fixes; moreover, it would test his strongly felt ideals. The land needed to heal and replenish itself after years of chemical fertilizers and toxic pest control methods. Masumoto had to take his example from research on other organic farming practices, planting wildflowers to encourage beneficial insect life and sowing "green manure" crops to act as natural mulch and compost. All this took time, patience, and faith that his hard work would eventually pay off.
Epitaph for a Peach is rich in sensory descriptions, philosophy, and nostalgic flashbacks. It is a picture of the way a farmer's life is connected to the seasons, capricious weather patterns, and changing market conditions. Not incidentally, Masumoto also teaches about the obscure history of Japanese farmers in the Valley - something that even I, native to Fresno, had little idea of. Reading this book was a slow, thoughtful experience much in the same manner that one slows down to savor a rich fruit. Recommended to anybody interested in history, growing food, or the vanishing California landscape.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle
The Struggle Continues.......2004-01-24
I live somewhat north of the area Mr. Masumoto writes about - where the San Francisco Bay Area Suburbs collide with the San Joaquin Farmlands. The Peach and Cherry Orchards and the Sweet Corn, Tomatoes and Strawberries are currently holding their own - but like Mr. Masumoto's Peaches and Grapes, only tenuously, and with great courage. If you would like to understand not only how these people live, but who and why they are, you should read this book. It is both beautifully written and thought provoking.
Epitaph for a Peach.......2002-07-31
It is rare to read a book where the author works miracles with his hands and his words. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys non-fiction but finds it dry, without humanity. David Mas Masumoto is anything but dry. His land may be at times, but his poetic prose is anything but. His relationship with his family, his family's farm and nature is a rare combination. I highly recommend this read.
Best book about farming I've ever read.......2001-06-09
"Epitaph" is a gem and a masterpiece. Masumoto is a good farmer, a truly dedicated family man and a gifted writer. The story is in part about his love affair with a wonderful variety of peach.
City people will know why supermarket peaches disappoint and country people will recognize the sad story of a farmer who, the harder he tries the more frustration he finds. The peaches you find in the supermarket are there because the consumer/supermarket/broker/ value "shelf life" more than flavor.
Peaches don't travel well and they don't last long. The farmer must choose the right variety, prune it exactly the right way at exactly the right time, fertilize and water at the right time, pray fervently for the right weather conditions.
Only then, if the peach absorbs enough sun to fully mature, will it have the full bursting ambrosial flavor a peach should have. Only the sun can make a peach sweet and flavorful. Most really delicious peaches won't last more than three or four days after they are picked.
A good peach should be eaten as it is right out of hand. Not put in a pie or jam or cake. Only a good farmer can grow a perfect peach and no supermarket want them. Where is the answer?
You'll fall in love with farming and weep a bit as you read the Masumoto family story. Perhaps you won't fully appreciate what today's farmers are up against, but this book will give you more insight than you ever had before.
If you are from a farming family you will fully appreciate every word of this beautiful story of a San Joaquin Valley farm.
Average customer rating:
- Never a disappointment.
- Always at her best
- A great read
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The DESERT CROP: A NOVEL
Catherine Cookson
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0684856832 |
Amazon.com
When English widower Hector Stewart takes a new Irish wife, his children, Daniel and Pattie, have considerable reservations. Their stepmother, Moira, has foreign habits, strange manners, and a brash maid named Maggie Ann. But as Hector becomes increasingly belligerent, Moira, Daniel, and Pattie bond together against his wicked tempers. Unable to withstand the growing tensions, Pattie leaves the farm and advises Daniel to join her. Though Moira bears numerous children, Hector continues to waste his money on drinking and whoring and earns the well-deserved hatred of the rest of his family.
Dwindling fortunes and a well-nurtured Oedipus complex accelerate the rivalries between son and father until a fatal "accident" removes the evil Hector. Daniel falls in love with the beautiful but shallow Frances and remains blind to the allure of the plain but reliable Janie. Burdened with the responsibility of Moira and her seven children, Daniel is unable to successfully woo Frances. Bound to the farm and the family, it looks as if Daniel may spend his life caring for everyone but himself.
Bestselling author Catherine Cookson uses her masterful knowledge of 19th-century English life to flesh out the setting of this classic contrast between familial duty and self-interest. While some readers may find Cookson's deliberate pace and ingenuous themes at times frustrating, others seek out her work for just this type of insight into human relations. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien
Book Description
Shocking tragedy unexpectedly frees a young man to pursue the love and happiness he thought were unattainable in this family saga by Catherine Cookson, who remains even after her death one of the world's best loved historical novelists.
Money was tight in the fanning communities around Fellburn, England, in the 1880s, so when Hector Stewart, only two years after the death of his long-suffering wife, announces to his children, Daniel and Pattie, that he is to marry Moira Conelly, a "wealthy" distant relative who lives in "a castle" in Ireland, it is easy to discern his motive. As for Moira, who had not been entirely honest about her background or finances, she has convinced herself that she would be marrying into landed gentry, allowing her the leisured lifestyle to which she believes herself entitled. It is with sonic surprise, therefore, after she arrives with her companion, Maggie Ann, that she realizes she is now the mistress of a ramshackle farm without any servants. Nonetheless, with her ever-cheerful disposition, Moira soon settles into the Stewart family routine.
Pattie, always the rebel, leaves home to be married, but Daniel, deprived of an opportunity to study at university by his father's insistence that he stay on the farm, can see no escape. Moira and Hector's marriage of convenience works well enough at first, but as their growing family compounds their financial difficulties, Hector's behavior toward her changes disturbingly. A horrifying act of violence provokes an even more shocking act of retribution in the family.
Yet, this tragedy opens the way for Daniel to expand his horizons and to find the love and joy that have long been denied him.
Set in Catherine Cookson's now familiar area of northeast England, Fellburn and its surroundings, this deeply felt novel of family conflict will be admired as one of the most powerful Cookson wrote in a career that spanned more that forty years.
Customer Reviews:
Never a disappointment........2001-09-25
Cookson has been writing historical fiction for over forty years and I have been reading it for close to thirty. After her death in 1998 her estate released this last book. As always she gives us strong characters with loving ways, drama, death, murder, class struggles, and even a bit of lust and loving along the way.
Set in Northeast England we are entertained by the comings and goings of the Stewart family. Patti the rebellious daughter, and Daniel the subservient son, manipulated by a father Hector Stewart who is evil and pathetic. After their mother's death, Hector finds he hasn't the money to run the farm, so is forced to marry an Irish woman with the promise of an inheritance.
I love how Cookson is able to take the reader into her world and make you want to return to it. Even after years without one of her books, I find myself drawn to them, like a renewal of something wonderful never to be forgotten. She will be sorely missed. Kelsana 9/24/01
Always at her best.......1999-05-06
God bless her. She will be missed. I have loved her works for over 20 years and this one is as good as it gets.
A great read.......1998-12-13
Late in the nineteenth century northern England, Hector Stewart decides that two years as a widower is enough. He announces to his children, Pattie and Daniel, that he plans to remarry. His bride to be is a wealthy Irish relative, Moira Conelly, whose father happen to be his father's half-cousin. Hector expects Moira to bring money as a dowry that he can use on their failing farm.
Moira wed Hector to escape her home, but she honestly thought she married a wealthy landowner. In spite of the lack of new capital, at first everyone is happy with the marriage as Moira adds a dimension of happiness into their lives. However, over the years as the family fiscal crisis worsens and Moira seems to be in a constant state of pregnancy, Hector blames everyone, including the "deceitful" Moira, for his troubles. How will the lack of nurturing from the angry, cold Hector impact everyone else in the family, especially as they reach out for love?
THE DESERT CROP is the last novel from the great Catherine Cookson, who passed away last year. However, the story is a tribute to the talent of one of the hall of famers of romance writing. The story line is vintage Cookson, taking place in her usual time and universe, and involving individuals and a family struggling to cope with pending disaster. The characters are somewhat simplistic, but perhaps that is where the charm of Ms. Cookson lies as their motives are easy to understand. Fans of the deceased superstar have a gold medal final novel of love redeemed.
Harriet Klausner
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- For gardeners and weather watchers alike!
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The Gardener's Weather Bible: How to Predict and Prepare for Garden Success in Any Kind of Weather
Sally Roth
Manufacturer: Rodale Books
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Suzy Bales' Down to Earth Gardener: Let Mother Nature Guide You to Success in Your Garden
ASIN: 0875968872 |
Amazon.com
Gardeners put up with it, complain about it, and even delight in it, but, asks author Sally Roth in The Gardener's Weather Bible, do we truly work with weather to make the most of whatever the day brings? No matter if the skies are glorious or gloomy, Roth educates gardeners to become more attuned to weather's dramatic impact on how our gardens grow.
A spiffy distant relative of the Old Farmer's Almanac, The Gardener's Weather Bible is part weather primer, with information on air masses, storm forecasting, as well as the ever-elusive question of why the sky is blue, and part general garden guide. Roth touches on topics directly related to climate, such as conserving water or mitigating the effects of wind, while stretching freely into subjects like worms and erosion control, plants with night-time fragrance, and zodiac constellations.
Whether presenting folklore or technical information, Roth's style is upbeat and friendly, if not somewhat chatty. Of particular value are a series of "to do" lists for various conditions-clear, cloudy, windy, stormy, or sunny winter days. To ease understanding, nearly every page contains a chart, diagram, map, illustration, bullet points, or other highlighted information. --Jennifer Wyatt
Book Description
Gardeners are obsessed by the weather. They watch it, curse it, plan ahead of it and try to outsmart it. Now gardeners will have all the information they need to cheat their local weather conditions and have great gardens no matter what comes their way. -Learn how to interpret the weather and understand what it means for your garden -Build a home weather station and do your own local forecasting -Understand rainfall patterns and how they determine your planting schedule -Clue in to weather wisdom for every season of the year: timing for spring planting, mitigating the effects of summer drought, successful season-stretchers for the fall, protecting plants from winter damage, and much, much more -Written in a lively conversational tone, with boxes of weather lore, nature lore, and at-a-glance tips throughout, The Gardener's Weather Bible is full of invaluable and practical information
Customer Reviews:
For gardeners and weather watchers alike!.......2004-02-09
The Gardener's Weather Bible, in a combination of folklore and science, explains all possible weather phenomena with basic descriptions and asides and then applies this information to gardens and to determining your own garden's microclimate. As a Rodale Press book, it guarantees you will find interesting natural notes like how placing a plant in a too windy a site can cause a "pruning" anomaly called krummholz or can keep winged pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds from visiting.
Chapters include: Weather Climate and Seasons, Developing Weather Sense, Reading the Sky, Reading the Night Sky, Winds Fronts and Storms, Rain Ice and Snow, Spring Weather, Summer Weather, Fall Weather, Winter Weather, Animal Clues to Weather, Birds Bugs and Butterflies.
A great gardening book for those of us who are spending too much time on amending our soil, dividing our perennials, pruning our roses and other downward looking gardening delights. Once in a while, look to the sky!
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