ela_lee_'s review against another edition
3.0
I also live in the Piedmont region and although I get bored of this environment at times, Lanham reminded me how beautiful, peaceful, and unique this area of the U.S. can be. "Little Brown Icarus" was my favorite chapter; I loved hearing about Lanham's childhood, family heritage, and his interest in ecology from such a young age. Although it was a little slow at times, I'm glad I read this book.
A very relatable quote I loved from this book: “And so, I think about land. But more and more, I also think about how other black and brown folks think about land. I wonder how our lives would change for the better if the ties to place weren’t broken by bad memories, misinformation, and ignorance. I think about school children playing in safe, clean, green spaces where the water and air flow clear and the bird songs sound sweet. More and more, I think about land not just in remote, desolate wilderness, but in inner city parks and suburban backyards and community gardens. I think of land and all it brings in my life. I think of land and hope that others are thinking about it, too.”
A very relatable quote I loved from this book: “And so, I think about land. But more and more, I also think about how other black and brown folks think about land. I wonder how our lives would change for the better if the ties to place weren’t broken by bad memories, misinformation, and ignorance. I think about school children playing in safe, clean, green spaces where the water and air flow clear and the bird songs sound sweet. More and more, I think about land not just in remote, desolate wilderness, but in inner city parks and suburban backyards and community gardens. I think of land and all it brings in my life. I think of land and hope that others are thinking about it, too.”
emmamiller17's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
emsim's review against another edition
medium-paced
I read FEASTING WILD and THE HOME PLACE back to back and they had a lot to say to each other about nature and wilderness and food and our relationship to it all.
La Cerva writes a sweeping history, covering centuries and continents in her examination of food and wilderness.
Lanham writes a close memoir about the place he grew up and the people, animals, and plants that shaped him.
La Cerva reminds the readers of the contradictory ways wealthy, white, colonial society has approached wilderness: as a wasted opportunity for agriculture and industry; and, later, as a space to craft a sense of self by escaping society for a finite time and communing with nature. She notes how this concept of wilderness dispossessed Indigenous peoples of their home lands, and was simply never true for poor white folks and enslaved peoples.
Lanham writes with a careful mix of nostalgia and clarity about growing up on a working farm in the south as a Black child. He writes about the ways, as an adult, he is made to feel out of place in his professional field of wildlife biology and in birding communities.
These books complicate our narratives of nature and wilderness. They are not easy things to categorize or label, and Lanham and La Cerva’s books remind us of that.
La Cerva writes a sweeping history, covering centuries and continents in her examination of food and wilderness.
Lanham writes a close memoir about the place he grew up and the people, animals, and plants that shaped him.
La Cerva reminds the readers of the contradictory ways wealthy, white, colonial society has approached wilderness: as a wasted opportunity for agriculture and industry; and, later, as a space to craft a sense of self by escaping society for a finite time and communing with nature. She notes how this concept of wilderness dispossessed Indigenous peoples of their home lands, and was simply never true for poor white folks and enslaved peoples.
Lanham writes with a careful mix of nostalgia and clarity about growing up on a working farm in the south as a Black child. He writes about the ways, as an adult, he is made to feel out of place in his professional field of wildlife biology and in birding communities.
These books complicate our narratives of nature and wilderness. They are not easy things to categorize or label, and Lanham and La Cerva’s books remind us of that.
wechellsee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
5.0