The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry

the epigraph at the beginning of this book "Who so hath his minde on taking, hath it no more on what he hath taken."
Montaigne, III. VI

that's why 'Wendell berry' looked familiar when I have seen him quoted here...that is indeed a great book.
i'll have to get another copy; mine got ruined in the jungle!

Good Morning Judith,

Wendell is one of my favorite authors (if not my favorite).

If you haven't read "The Long-Legged House", this book is one of his best collections and so many of those essays could have been written today. It was first published in 1969.

“It is certain, I think, that the best government is the one that governs the least. But there is a much-neglected corollary: the best citizen is the one who least needs governing.” ― Wendell Berry, The Long-Legged House

Have a great day.

Jones...We lost quite a few books to the 'woods' when we first moved here...I still prefer a book to a computer screen though!

Tom...I haven't seen the book you mention. I am lazy about waiting to come across things so I don't find everything but I think I will see if our library will find it. I have seen that much of his work (poems and essays mostly) is online even though he doesn't use or like computers himself. A few years ago I wrote him a 'thank you' for his work and actually recieved a nice reply:)

One of the best books I've read in the last 25 years. I give this 10 acorns out of 10.

Where do you start to review a book like this? I'm not worthy of a review, but I will share at least this. Much could be written about his elegant and thoughtful diction and turn of phrase that we don't hear anymore in our spoken language. It's clear the man is a poet. But, I think the main point that I walk away with after reading TUOA is that the man was so prophetic in such an eloquent way. He didn't prophesy in general and vague ways, what he wrote in detail so many decades ago have come true in detail today and will continue to be discovered. In one volume, you have a succinct description of the bane that is industrial agriculture and the modern mindset and how it will degrade our biosphere and our society. He is no luddite, believe me. The bonus is that not only with the "how" of all this, but Berry in his unique way of communicating takes on the "why" of what has happened to us in this post-modern age. We walk away realizing our own complicity in the negative and, in that realization, can come to see our opportunity to take up the positive.

You can read this one every 2-3 years.

I give this book 10 out of 10 acorns.

For those familiar with Wendell Berry and his writings, this is another essential work. I love Wendell's books on agriculture and his unique and eloquent writing style reveal the tragedies of corporate agribusiness and its influence on culture. Going far beyond the abuse of soil which can be easy to see to those living in and driving through America's sprawling acres of cropland, this book sheds light upon the myriad of other far reaching consequences that industrial agriculture besets upon rural Americans, having had and still dealing a firsthand impact on the ruination of their communities. Written more than forty years ago now, this book could easily be about todays agriculture, rural people and the continuation of politically driven and economy based crop production.