Rating: 
Summary: Probably the best single book on things vegetarian
Review: At the time of the first edition, this book was the best thought out and researched of all. The concept of protein complements, among others, is crucial to making a vegetarian diet work for any length of time. I tried to work with several others, and still have their books which I use occasionally. This one has stuck we me over three continents and as many decades. In times when I wasn't totally vegetarian it still provided a welcome change and a reminder that I wasn't reliant on the local meat market. Of all the books this has the philosophy and practicality to stay with one as a viable guide to a vegetarian lifestyle.With this edition my wife and children have discovered, for quite different reasons (one from concerns about ecology, pollution, additives, GMOs, etc., the other from a more 'economic manipulation of peoples food habits' as well as nutrition) this book once again and found it as relevant now. They were thunderstruck to see my yellowed, fingermarked, and well-worn, copies with notes of variations I had tried. The beauty of the open-ended concept here is understated, but crucial. It has given us a stronger nutritional base as well as contributed to our growth as a family. For someone new to this area this contains some of the most sound nutritional, philosophical, and economic, reasoning I've seen in print. Over time it becomes quite easy to adapt conventional recipes to the methodology in this book. As a guide for your cuisine and your life it is very good indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Everyday Use
Review: Excellent introductory essay goes into nutritional reasons why meat is not necessary, followed by practical recipes for everyday use. For anyone who ever thought vegetarianism would take too much time and effort. Special attention is paid to getting enough protein and B vitamins-two of the reasons most often cited by those who claim they can't do without meat. Aside from issues of cruelty and health, eating meat is just a waste of our planet's limited resources. This book offers simple step-by-step instructions on how to minimize your "ecological footprint" without giving up taste.
Rating: 
Summary: A case for free range - not vegetarianism
Review: I decided to read this book after reading about it in Peter Singer's "Practical Ethics". I thought that it was going to be a real cow hugging grass-munching type of book. Boy was I wrong. It turns out that this book is 98% multi-national corporation/ government/ modern ranching bashing. Her research is quite extensive and thorough. She makes a solid case for the need to change the way we do things. Unfortunately, after almost 35 years of being in print, the "revolution" spoken of on the cover hasn't managed to change much. Change of the type she wants usually only comes from one of two things, big money figuring that it can profit from the change or bloody revolution. Neither one seems near. In the 2% of the book where she talks about human biology, our nutrition and evolution, not only is it not well referenced, but also she gets it wrong. Now to be fair, she may have done her research on this in the 60's and has just not bothered to follow up. Also, some of the modern research has been published well after the book. Still, there was enough information out there beforehand for her to have studied further. Her statement that we evolved living on mostly plants is absolutely false. Anthropologists and archaeologists can tell us three things about prehistoric humans. First is that by changing our diet to mostly meat, we were able to grow our brains. Second is that the tools they find in early human and pre-human sites are all for processing of meat. Finally, it is easy to tell the difference between pre and post agricultural settlements. Before agriculture humans were taller, had healthier bones and no cavities. When it comes to diet, two recent studies of the Atkins diet have shown that a high protein, high fat, low carb diet not only helps you loose weight faster, but keeps your cholesterol down too. All in all high on complaining, low on solutions. However, in light of some of her facts and the recent mad cow scare, I am thinking of switching to free range beef.
Rating:
Summary: Isn't it ironic?
Review: I haven't seen this cookbook in years, but today I went into a "whole foods supermarker" to look for an item that isn't carried by my regular grocery chain, and seeing all the organic stuff carried me back on a nostalgic trip to the late 1970s. I was living in a group house on a farm-like piece of land, and my housemates and I were playacting at the hippie lifestyle. So, it was brown rice and tofu and compost heaps all the way, and this cookbook was a staple of the house. As I recall, the dishes that resulted from most of those recipes ended up tasting fairly foul, but we pretended it didn't matter; instead, we'd say that they tasted "earthy". hahaha. The premise of this book was that there were a very limited amount of resources on the earth, and by eating meat we Americans were consuming more than "our fair share", at the expense of others in the Third World. Well, we now know differently. There's more than enough food to feed everyone on earth (and the population has practically doubled in the last 30 years!). Sure, there are many people who are hungry, but that is largely due to political and economic circumstances. Instead, the most pressing public health issue worldwide is...Ta Da! AN EPIDEMIC OF OBESITY!! Who would have imagined it?? Certainly not all the shrill chicken-little types in the 60s and 70s who were screaming that we'd all be starving in the future, or at least eating Soylent Green. And we also know that protein is not even that necessary - certainly a portion is required in the diet, but too much is overkill, and is not needed by the body (or may even be harmful). So, forget about trying to make another extra serving of protein - instead, the healthiest thing to do is to refrain from consuming too many refined carbohydrates. Too much of anything is bad. Alfalfa sprouts - those used to be the "golden touch" of health food, but if you eat those in excess, it can cause health problems. (Just try to feed a cow an all-alfalfa hay diet, and prepare for a hefty vet bill!) Yes, this book is nice and quaint, but it's an anachronism. Oh, and forget about it being "cheap" to base your diet on a lot of dairy products - the prices on those are shooting through the roof now (mid-2004), and soon a hunk of plain domestic cheese will cost more than the equivalent amount of prime beef.
Rating:
Summary: Isn't it ironic?
Review: I haven't seen this cookbook in years, but today I went into a "whole foods supermarker" to look for an item that isn't carried by my regular grocery chain, and seeing all the organic stuff carried me back on a nostalgic trip to the late 1970s. I was living in a group house on a farm-like piece of land, and my housemates and I were playacting at the hippie lifestyle. So, it was brown rice and tofu and compost heaps all the way, and this cookbook was a staple of the house. As I recall, the dishes that resulted from most of those recipes ended up tasting fairly foul, but we pretended it didn't matter; instead, we'd say that they tasted "earthy". hahaha. The premise of this book was that there were a very limited amount of resources on the earth, and by eating meat we Americans were consuming more than "our fair share", at the expense of others in the Third World. Well, we now know differently. There's more than enough food to feed everyone on earth (and the population has practically doubled in the last 30 years!). Sure, there are many people who are hungry, but that is largely due to political and economic circumstances. Instead, the most pressing public health issue worldwide is...Ta Da! AN EPIDEMIC OF OBESITY!! Who would have imagined it?? Certainly not all the shrill chicken-little types in the 60s and 70s who were screaming that we'd all be starving in the future, or at least eating Soylent Green. And we also know that protein is not even that necessary - certainly a portion is required in the diet, but too much is overkill, and is not needed by the body (or may even be harmful). So, forget about trying to make another extra serving of protein - instead, the healthiest thing to do is to refrain from consuming too many refined carbohydrates. Too much of anything is bad. Alfalfa sprouts - those used to be the "golden touch" of health food, but if you eat those in excess, it can cause health problems. (Just try to feed a cow an all-alfalfa hay diet, and prepare for a hefty vet bill!) Yes, this book is nice and quaint, but it's an anachronism. Oh, and forget about it being "cheap" to base your diet on a lot of dairy products - the prices on those are shooting through the roof now (mid-2004), and soon a hunk of plain domestic cheese will cost more than the equivalent amount of prime beef.
Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life
Review: I know it sounds corny, but this book really did change my life. I am now a vegetarian, and will be one until I die, largely because of reading Diet for a Small Planet 6 years ago. This book decribes and illuminates the effects that meat-eating has on the world - economic, environmental, and social. I defy anyone to read this book and still feel comfortable with eating meat.
Rating:
Summary: Still using it after 20 years
Review: I purchased the book in 1978 used (I have a 1973 edition). It is in pieces taped together (had to remove the spiral binding finally). I cook from this book almost daily. I use it the way my mother used Joy of Cooking. This is an extremely valuable little book for learning to put together a healthy vegetarian meal that will satisfy your family. Sometimes the ingredients are a bit difficult to find (I live way out in the middle of nowhere) but she taught me how to make substitutions that work.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful to the Bodybuilder
Review: I purchased this book after having seen it recommended by the late, great, natural bodybuilder Steve Reeves in his book "Building the Classic Physique: The Natural Way". I haven't read most of Lappé's book because I'm an omnivore, and I continue to eat meat [although no veal, little pork and beef]. However, one of her book's appendices is excellent for gaining insight into how to combine vegetable protein sources to get a "complete protein" profile that mimics animal protein sources. Worth it for this information alone.
Rating:
Summary: A book worth buying and giving out to people
Review: If god was able to recomend a book for how to live, and the bible wasn't available this would do for practical purposes when it comes to the parts about eating. I spent years trying to lose weight to feel beautiful. My vanity guided me to everything from weight watchers, to Jenny, Atkins and Phen Phen. After more faliure, I gave up on my vanity and need for outside approval (it wasn't working anyway) one day I finally said screw it. On the next day I found this book at a yard sale for free. This book gave me practical ways to a happy and healthy body for me and my kids. I've never felt better- it's so simple that I scoff at any way to lose weight that dosen't pretty much say just follow nature's way and don't pig out. I also would like to see a planet that is able to sustain our kids. My old methods of eating would have contributed to the planets demise. I can't save the world, but I can act responsibly for my own peace of mind. This book is a way to make a vegitarian lifestyle appealing, satisfying, and fun. This attack of sanity has now caused me to be a happier & healthier person. (I'm also pretty slender) If your smart this book can give you tips to simplify your eating, feel healthier and thus happier.(it is also likely to save you money on your grocery bill and reduce wasteful packaging on processed foods)
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Summary: Trip down memory lane....
Review: In the early 1970s, I left my abusive husband, took my three kids and resumed my education (I was a high school dropout age 28 with three kids). Those were the days of "Earth shoes" that tilted your body into a more upright position, and the "discovery" of yogurt and acid rain. Although I did not realize it at the time, it was the beginning of the renewal of the Woman's movement. My new friends included a small group of women in their late twenties and early thirties who had left abusive husbands, had small children, and were in the midst of gaining a new awareness that later on took on the sobriquet, "consciousness raising." Among other tools we acquired a number of books including, THE WOMEN'S ROOM and DIET FOR A SMALL PLANET. DIET FOR A SMALL PLANET is a gem, not because it contains wonderful recipes (it doesn't) but because when you read it, you can get an inside view of a subculture that has disappeared. Sometimes I think the happiest moments of my life occurred in those days. I had no money, but I was in college--a life long dream my mother had and never realized--and with friends who helped me to feel good about myself for the first time in my life. DIET FOR A SMALL PLANET nourished this feeling. DIET explained how the real food chain worked and that everything we ate affected some other life form. We learned that we could eat and hurt others less, and save a few bucks because the meals were cheap. My kids still laugh at some of the meals I served them based on the recipes in DIET. Over the years, we've had many discussions about which food was worst. They say the "yogurt and barly soup" wins hands down. This book explains how to make awful food and many better veggie books are on the market. However, you won't buy this book for the recipes, you'll buy it for it's insight. Laughing at DIET because it is naive is laughing at the Wright Brothers because they didn't build and fly a Concorde. Read DIET with an unbiased eye and understand it was the food bible for a group of young American women who were "backward" because their society wanted it that way, but believed they could become educated and help change the world for the better--and in spite of all the recent sorrow, the world for women and children is better than it was 30 years ago. PS. I don't know why the advertising says this is a 20th anniversary edition. A copy of this book was floating around 30 years ago. Could it have been printed by the "underground" press??
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