A review by sonicmooks
Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food by Wendell Berry
5.0
Wendell berry is a writer of fiction, poetry and (here) non fiction, who also happens to have worked a farm in Kentucky for the better part of the last 50 years. I was aware of him by reputation and through running across a few poems and short stories in anthologies and journals here and there. But did not know of his work as a sustainable farming advocate, which is probably how he is best known.
In reading the Omnivore's Dilemma a little while back, Berry was referenced several times, and at first I was not even sure it was the same guy. But indeed it was, and as Michael Pollan states in his introduction to this collection of essays on farming and food - Pollan "borrowed" an awful lot from Mr. Berry.
This collection spans over 4 decades of essays that are eloquently written, completely accessible and incredibly thought provoking. Berry's writing style is very lucid and easy to grasp, as he has a novelist's cadence and a poet's eye as he takes on issues ranging from small family farms, to animal husbandry, to industrial agricultural, to the intrinsic conflicts between an agrarian and a capitalist society
and that's just scratching the surface of the topics/issues covered herein. And lest you assume that this is just some backwoods country bumpkin' waxing eloquently about bucolic life on the farm...the man knows his stuff. The essays here are full of depth, detail and obviously copious research...not to mention direct hands on experience.
When I wrote a review of Omnivore's Dilemma, I think I said something that the book had opened my eyes and influenced me to my core. Well, if such was the case there, then Bringing It To The Table took things to a whole new level.
Completely inspiring and informative, whether you are a farmer, cook, chef, restauranteur, "foodie", locavore...or if, like me, you have just come to realize that the production of food in this country and around the world is one of the greatest challenges and important issues facing us today, tomorrow and on into whatever future we are allowed.
Highest recommendation.
-m
In reading the Omnivore's Dilemma a little while back, Berry was referenced several times, and at first I was not even sure it was the same guy. But indeed it was, and as Michael Pollan states in his introduction to this collection of essays on farming and food - Pollan "borrowed" an awful lot from Mr. Berry.
This collection spans over 4 decades of essays that are eloquently written, completely accessible and incredibly thought provoking. Berry's writing style is very lucid and easy to grasp, as he has a novelist's cadence and a poet's eye as he takes on issues ranging from small family farms, to animal husbandry, to industrial agricultural, to the intrinsic conflicts between an agrarian and a capitalist society
and that's just scratching the surface of the topics/issues covered herein. And lest you assume that this is just some backwoods country bumpkin' waxing eloquently about bucolic life on the farm...the man knows his stuff. The essays here are full of depth, detail and obviously copious research...not to mention direct hands on experience.
When I wrote a review of Omnivore's Dilemma, I think I said something that the book had opened my eyes and influenced me to my core. Well, if such was the case there, then Bringing It To The Table took things to a whole new level.
Completely inspiring and informative, whether you are a farmer, cook, chef, restauranteur, "foodie", locavore...or if, like me, you have just come to realize that the production of food in this country and around the world is one of the greatest challenges and important issues facing us today, tomorrow and on into whatever future we are allowed.
Highest recommendation.
-m