I wish this book could become required reading for all the world. But most especially for all Americans.
It addresses a relationship between humans and Earth that is steadily slipping away from the public’s consciousness: Mankind and how he treats the land upon which he lives. This story of farm life in England reminds us of our relationships to foods, whether plants or animals.
The author, who inherits the agricultural legacy of his father and grandfather, discovers the ultimate futility and destruction of large-scale industrial farming and digs back into his grandfather’s methods of living with the soil. The audio version of this book is excellent due to the perfect-choice reader, which is always a critical ingredient for a spoken text.
But the real gift here is Rebanks’s experience and dedication. His willingness to change the course of his farm management reveals a story that gives us hope.
The acclaimed chronicle of the regeneration of one family's traditional English farm
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Winner of the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing * Named "Nature Book of the Year" by the Sunday Times * New York Times Editors' Choice * Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize and the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize * A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Sunday Times, Financial Times, New Statesman, Independent, Telegraph, Observer, and Daily Mail
"Superbly written and deeply insightful, the book captivates the reader until the journey’s end.” — Wall Street Journal
The New York Times bestselling author of The Shepherd’s…
First of all, let it be known that I believe Crazy Horse to be one of the greatest persons to have lived on the North American continent. Naturally, I am drawn to any book about him.
Marshall, who is Lakota, has given us a very intimate look into Crazy Horse’s day-to-day life and his part as a humble member of his tribe.
He is not supernatural. Like all of us, he is a flawed human being, which makes his transcendence into heroism and glory all the more appealing. He was a man of duty and principle, yet he stole another man’s wife.
Anyone wishing to judge that transgression must first immerse him/herself into Crazy Horse’s time and situation. a near-impossible task. But to hear one Lakota (Marshall) talk about those times and that place and those individuals reminds us that we can never really know the full story of what goes on in the minds of the players.
I feel I know Crazy Horse better now. If there is a place across the river where we all will meet, I hope that I can sit down with this man and talk of things that matter.
Drawing on vivid oral histories, Joseph M. Marshall’s intimate biography introduces a never-before-seen portrait of Crazy Horse and his Lakota community
Most of the world remembers Crazy Horse as a peerless warrior who brought the U.S. Army to its knees at the Battle of Little Bighorn. But to his fellow Lakota Indians, he was a dutiful son and humble fighting man who—with valor, spirit, respect, and unparalleled leadership—fought for his people’s land, livelihood, and honor. In this fascinating biography, Joseph M. Marshall, himself a Lakota Indian, creates a vibrant portrait of the man, his times, and his legacy.
I happened to see the author on a documentary about Lewis and Clark, and I was drawn to his quiet and thoughtful manner. This made me pick up his book, and I am glad I did.
The author embarks on a journey across America to discover what is truly at the core of the quintessential American.
Shunning the interstates and major highways, he travels the backroads that are marked in blue in his Atlas. Along these routes, he seeks out the average person and engages them in conversation or activity so that he can get a sense of what drives these people to get up every day and continue to compose a life.
The author’s frankness, friendliness, and honesty jump off the page. I looked forward to each and every vignette.
Hailed as a masterpiece of American travel writing, Blue Highways is an unforgettable journey along our nation's backroads. William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map -- if they get on at all -- only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi." His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation…
This story begins in pre-Civil War Georgia, where a Scotsman’s son endures the hardships of mountain farming and parental abuse. Choosing war over a captive life with a drunken father, he is introduced to the atrocities of savage fighting, and the experience corrupts his innate moral code. Almost killing him.
Traveling West, he seeks his redemption as he grows to be a man of considerable responsibilities as a ranch foreman, even gaining a reputation as one to be admired. When he is tested by unexpected accusations, he must draw on all his reserves of strength and moral fiber to survive.
