The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved by Sandor Ellix Katz

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns!

I had been meaning to give this book a review for a long time, so now, I am finally posting a review of it. Even though it's been awhile since I have read the book, I think I remember it well enough to still be able to give it a review.

The general idea and purpose of The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved is to explain the history and causes of some modern issues related to food and provide people with stories of how things can be improved, recipes for taking action right now, and additional resources for making connections and learning more.

I liked the book primarily for three reasons - it's wonderful organization, it's thorough research, and it's strong sense of empowerment to the reader.

1) The book is organized is a very logical manner with it's chapters and creates a wonderful narrative. The Introduction provides a broad overview of why good food matters, and then, chapter 1 dives into further detail. It just flows on from there. And the way the book ends leaves the reader feeling powerful, because it tells an awesome story of how one person made a big difference in her city. I also appreciated how information was presented within the chapters themselves. Sandor starts each chapter off with a little bit of the history of how we got to where we are, then, he goes to talk about what people are actively doing to solve these problems, then, he presents "recipes" that the reader can use to take action themselves, and ends each chapter with the endnotes and additional resources for making connections, learning more, and taking action.

2) I almost always appreciate research, because in books like this, where the author reads a lot and then presents a distilled version of that information to the reader, I am able to obtain so much more information and higher quality information in a shorter amount of time. What I loved so much about the research that Sandor did for this book was the style that he presented the information. He seemlessly integrated his own thoughts on the subject matter with the stories and accounts of other people. This is a rare skill, and his mastery of it made reading this book so enjoyable and memorable. That's the other thing, too. When research is presented in a storyteller manner, like this, instead of a list of facts, it engages and connects with the reader more.

3) Throughout the book, there is a strong sense of empowerment to the reader, because with each chapter, Sandor gives "recipes" that can be acted on. I found these to wonderful and insightful! And as I said before, the ending of the book really hones in the major point - YOU MATTER! Your actions matter, and YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!