This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader

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Summary: Misleading title
Review: A wise, heart warming and inspiring book. As a European living in the US, horrified at the 'get outta my way', SUV driving, self obsessed disposable culture that afflicts so many here, this books not only brings lessons for life and tremendous humor, but is a timely reminder that some here do care passionately for a more thoughtful, humane life. Inspiring, educational, and should be required reading for kids across the country.

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Summary: This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader
Review: Don't be fooled by the title; this book is not about gardening per se, but a way of life. Gussow makes the arguement that eating locally is not only possible, without sacrafice, but is the ecologically responsible thing to do. This is very pleasant read.

Rating:
Summary: Misleading title
Review: I bought this book because I thought I was going to gain insights about organic gardening. I was sorely disappointed. The beginning chapters drone on and on about a move to a new home site...I grew tired of hearing detailed descriptions of the doomed home. Also, while the author went on about eating locally to lessen the impact on the environment from long distance travel, I was disturbed to hear about the home she bought being leveled and taken to a landfill and to hear about her endless trips back and forth between her old home and new one. Finally, I was disturbed by her chapter dealing with animal drownings and killings and disagree with her statement that "if we don't kill animals, we will starve". I'm sorry I spent the money on this book.

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Summary: Moving to a sustainable, responsible food production system
Review: I had this book on my wishlist for quite some time, then finally broke down and checked it out of my local library. I had been warned about the "chatty" style and the lack of focus, but I was intrigued enough about the subject itself to overlook those potential flaws. I used to belong to a CSA Farm, so the subject of sustainable and responsible agriculture is close to my heart.

The style of writing did not bother me. Although she does seem at times to meander in the early chapters, she has quite a few complicated and inter-related subjects to cover: the purchase of her first home, the purchase of her new home, the development of her commitment to self-sufficient agriculture (or something close to it), and the death of her husband. Once those subjects are covered, I found the book became clearer and more linear (for better or worse).

Most of what she says I can't argue with. I agree that there is something fundamentally wrong with a food production system that makes it more affordable for we Northeasterners to buy food shipped in from California than to buy food from our own home states. When she describes the system as essentially a lot of fuel going to ship cold water, one has to want to reevaluate their food choices.

I found myself nodding in agreement when she talked about the taste of the foods we have the "luxury" of being able to buy year round. Having tasted food right off the farm, I can verify that there is a world of difference between it and the items you find in your store- even if they are "in season". Fresh produce does get addictive. Of course, not everyone has the luxury of having enough land to grow a substantial garden on, as Gussow points out. She suggests a CSA as an alternative, but that can be an unrealistic commitment for many people as well.

...I took puzzled offense to her chapter on vegetarianism. While I feel that serious gardeners and farmers have a right to protec their crops from "varmints" and that therefore there is a little death in even the most stringent vegan diet, I felt that she completely dropped the ball in her argument against a vegetarian diet. Throughout the book she drives home that the gasoline used to ship food all over the country contributes to the greenhouse effect that caused her (and most of the country) some of the most erratic summers and winters on record. In her dismissal of the vegetarian diet, she does not once make mention of the fact that the waste from the livestock is also a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. She talks about an organization that touted the belief that the planet would return to an Eden-like state if we all stopped eating meat. Perhaps (although she gives an incomplete argument against that assertion), but the argument I have heard for the last decade is that if everyone in the US cut their consumption of meat by 10%, we would significantly reduce energy consumption and livestock waste- enough to make a difference in the global warming trend she (and I) is so concerned about.

That aside, this is a book worth reading if you are interested in sustainable agriculture. Again, it's not something we'll all be able to do, but it's something we can all participate in.

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Summary: This book is a must read!
Review: I have read scores of books on organic gardening, permaculture, the environment, and food... This book tops my list of must-reads! Every living, breathing, eating adult needs this book! (while you're at it check out "The Organic Gardener's Home Reference" it's a wonderfully comprehensive and precise reference)

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Summary: Caution! She is obsessed.
Review: I thought this was a wonderful book! I feel that the philosphy espoused here of eating not only locally, but seasonally as well, is one that we all need to pay more attention to. This book was full of lots of Ms. Gussow's experiences with gardening and gave me insight and inspiration as to what I might be able to do as a gardener. She even included a few recipes! I would recommend this book, not only to those interested in gardening, but also to those who want to live a healthier, more sustainable life.

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Summary: Comfort food.....
Review: Joan Dye Gussow may be a suburban homesteader as her book jacket suggests, but she managed to live in two places one does not ordinarily associate with suburban tracts-an old Victorian house on a large plot of land in Congers New York and a second half acre plot on the banks of the Hudson River in Piermont New York (featured in Woody Allen's film The Purple Rose of Cairo). At the latter site sat an Oddfellows Hall which the Gussows hoped to rehabilitate but discovered after having begun their project they would have to tear down and rebuild.

Gussow does not spend a great deal of time describing the new house with a room for her artist husband and a root cellar, but she does go into detail about the gardens the two of them developed before, during and after the new house was built. For awhile, the Gussows were living in Congers and gardening in both places. On top of that, the couple was involved in converting the eyesore parking lot and general dumping area next door to their new house in Piermont into a community garden.

Dr. Gussow's husband died two years after they moved into the new house in Piermont, so to some extent her book is a memoir of their last few years together gardening. Gussow is a nutritionist and was a college professor and lecturer before she retired. She has written several books on nutrition, food, and gardening and is an advocate of organic gardening and eating locally grown foods in season. She says if you can't grow them yourself in a home plot or community garden center, then join a cooperative that supports a local farmer. At the very least, shop the farmer's markets in your area, learn how to store foods for the winter, and avoid eating out-of-season produce. The incredible waste of energy expended to grow and import tasteless foods and the conventional (as opposed to organid) practices used to produce most fish and meat are destructive to both human health and the environment.

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Summary: Arm yourself with this book when you next shop for veggies!
Review: Ms. Gussow's book is an important work that enlightens the reader to the meaning of eating and living locally. She tells us about the costly effects, both personal and global, of eating food that comes from half way around the world (if we know where it comes from at all). She paints a beautiful picture of the glories of growing and eating food produced locally, all from her own experience. Her gardens are astounding, something to aspire to! But so is her knowledge of nutrition, agricultural politics and organic gardening. Key points in her writing are puncuated with simple, delicious recipes. Her granola is great! I look forward to trying more of them when things come in to season. She reminds me of MFK Fisher, with a very clear and pointed social conscience. Reading this book has inspired me to be much more aware of where my food comes from and has given me good reason to always ask the supermarket to sell me local produce when possible.

Rating:
Summary: Title Misnomer
Review: The title "This Organic Life" is a misnomer. I was looking for a book about organic gardening, methods, real-life experience, practical tips. I saw the title of this book, read reviews and thought it sounded like the book for which I was looking.

However, the author states a few times througout the book that she gardens organically, but really doesn't go into detail about organic gardening at all.

The title misses the most important aspect of this book - growing food locally. It took several chapters for that idea to develop and I actually began to lose interest. The benefits of growing food locally and the real cost of eating from a global market should have been introduced earlier in the book. Ms. Gussow has done extensive study on this subject and the book is littered with little facts about the benefits of growing food locally. Much of the information on the real cost of eating from a global market is disturbing and this book makes me more committed than ever to garden, organically and to produce local food.

In the end, I enjoyed the book, but it was not what I had expected.

I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but they were a nice addition to the book.

Rating:
Summary: Packed with fine descriptions and insights
Review: This set of confessions and insights by suburban homesteader Joan Dye Gussow blends memoir with insights on building a home and living a sustainable lifestyle. From insights on differences between California concepts of farming and gardening and the East to the author's experiences in a new home and environment, This Organic Life is packed with fine descriptions and insights of special interest to organic gardeners.