Author:
Narrator: Barbara Kingsolver
Format: Unabridged-CD, Paperback
Publisher: Harperaudio
Published: May 2007
Genre: Biography & Autobiography - Literary
Retail Price: $39.95
Discs: 12
Hang on for the ride: with characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table.
Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life, and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.
The author weaves her own family's experience living off what they can grow or buy locally with the impact that mass farming and industry has on our environment. I'm not a vegetarian nor an organic nut....but I found this book fascinating. Well worth the time!
I am a conservative Christian and as such, many liberals don't think that we care about conservation and ecology, but we do. Granted, I think the whole climate change or global warming thing is a load of bunk since the climate changes constantly. Even so, I've always felt its just plain common sense to live as close to the earth as possible and take care of it. Its good for us, its good for our neighbors and its good for everyone in general. Back to the book - this audiobook held me enthralled. I've never heard of Barbara Kingsolver before but I love the stories and the wisdom about eating locally. I admire her for spending countless hours gardening, canning, cooking, preserving. I wish I had the time. But I do have chickens and will enlarge my flock and, partially from listening to this book, will add a flock of heritage breed turkeys next year. I can't do a big garden with my schedule, but I will try once again - this time a small one of tomatoes and peppers. And I have already started to look locally for my food, considering organic and local over just anything in the store. No, I won't give up McDonalds just now, but I might just try making local cheese or whipping together something homemade rather than running off to the fast food place. BTW - loved this book so much I bought the hardcopy - something I haven't done in the 4 years of listening to books on CD.