Review by Choice Review
Drawn from his 13 books of essays to mark the 25th anniversary of the The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture (1977), these selected pieces bring focus to the agrarian philosophy that permeates Berry's work, including his fiction and poetry. The thrust of editor Wirzba's efforts is to illustrate Berry's agrarian philosophy, essentially an ecological one, implying that so much depends on the well-being of the natural world and that humankind's role in that well-being is delicate and tricky. Though such essays as "Health Is Membership" or "People, Land and Community" present his work at its densest, they are essential to understand the broader issues in the book's last two (and most significant in terms of understanding Berry) sections: agrarian economics and agrarian religion. Although general public perception may have shifted somewhat since their original publication, most of these essays still have a relevant ring, and Wirzba has synthesized effectively the themes that make Berry's work often difficult to classify. That in itself brings added value to the book and makes it a must for serious students of modern alternative or sustainable agriculture. For comprehensive collections in rural sociology, agricultural economics, or natural philosophy. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through professionals. L. S. Cline Southwest Missouri State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Writer and farmer Berry has long been an inspiration to the contemporary agrarian movement and a guiding light to people who care deeply about the health of their land and their communities. In his numerous books of essays, he has thoughtfully and articulately shown how the current consumer-based, profit-driven industrial society not only destroys our natural world but also increasingly harms our social and personal well-being. The 21 essays in this collection, written over the past two decades, provide both a splendid introduction to Berry's work and a stimulating compendium for those already familiar with it. These are beautifully crafted essays, replete with social criticism, righteous anger, moral guidance, and lyrical wording. Above all, they contain a reverence for the beauty and complexity of our natural world and a call to be good stewards of the earth and our limited resources. Berry states that we do not need to rely on constant technological progress to improve our future: "If we take care of the world of the present, the future will have received full justice from us." Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. Ilse Heidmann, Olympia, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
