A beautiful deluxe trade paperback edition celebrating the 10th anniversary of Barbara Kingsolver’s New York Times bestseller, which describes her family’s adventure as they move to a farm in southern Appalachia and realign their lives with the local food chain.Since its publication in 2007, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle has captivated readers with its blend of memoir and journalistic investigation. … journalistic investigation. Newly updated with original pieces from the entire Kingsolver clan, this commemorative volume explores how the family’s original project has been carried forward through the years.
When Barbara Kingsolver and her family moved from suburban Arizona to rural Appalachia, they took on a new challenge: to spend a year on a locally-produced diet, paying close attention to the provenance of all they consume. Concerned about the environmental, social, and physical costs of American food culture, they hoped to recover what Barbara considers our nation’s lost appreciation for farms and the natural processes of food production. Since 2007, their scheme has evolved enormously. In this new edition, featuring an afterword composed by the entire Kingsolver family, Barbara’s husband, Steven, discusses how the project grew into a farm-to-table restaurant and community development project training young farmers in their area to move into sustainable food production. Camille writes about her decision to move back to a rural area after college, and how she and her husband incorporate their food values in their lives as they begin their new family. Lily, Barbara’s youngest daughter, writes about how growing up on a farm, in touch with natural processes and food chains, has shaped her life as a future environmental scientist. And Barbara writes about their sheep, and how they grew into her second vocation as a fiber artist, and reports on the enormous response they’ve received from other home-growers and local-food devotees.
With Americans’ ever-growing concern over an agricultural establishment that negatively affects our health and environment, the Kingsolver family’s experiences and observations remain just as relevant today as they were ten years ago. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a modern classic that will endure for years to come.
“Cogent and illuminating…Without sentimentality, this book captures the pulse of the farm and the deep gratification it provides, as well as the intrinsic humor of the situation.”—Janet Maslin, New York Times
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Anything by this author is great.
I’ve read this book twice and will probably read it again in a year or two. Kingsolver is a well-known and award-winning writer and this true story of her family’s life on an organic farm in Virginia is fascinating, informative, educational, funny, and important. It has helped me to be more invested in the sustainability of our food and life.
Another spectacular book from Barbara Kingsolver.
Good read about living life as much as possible off the land. Good read.
a wonderful glimpse into people putting real climate knowledge to use!
I’ve read it every spring. Great idea to live seasonally from your garden or farmers market
I love the idea of living off of the land and since I’m not able to do that 100%, I like the idea of trying to at least give back to Mother Nature in the ways that I can. Which is why I love this book because it helped me see ways I can do that. I’ve heard some people say it has a “preachy” tone but I never felt that way while reading it. Barbara Kingsolver had the ability to take on the challenge of trying to live off the land as much as possible but I think it’s obvious that most of us don’t have the know-how to do that and I felt inspired by this book, not shamed for not living like her.
One of the best from my favorite author!!
disappointing. author needs to stick with fiction
Well written and very informative.
Although interesting and entertaining in parts, also repetitive and preachy at time. Hence, three stars.
Kingsolver has long been a favorite of mine, as a writer and a person. This may be her most personal book to date and it’s loaded with her views on family, the environment, sustainability, food snobs, food silliness, and more. She and her family made a giant lifestyle change by moving from near Tucson to the foothills of the Appalachians. From living out of grocery stores to living off their own land and sweat. Pretty remarkable.
Anything by this author is a good read!
I love that this 10 year anniversary edition includes essays from each person. When I read this book 10 years ago, it helped me rethink my grocery-buying habits that I still use today.
Love the experiences. Laugh out loud and easy to relate to their adventures.
I loved this book! So many great ideas for ways to benefit our world and it’s environment embedded in a great family story.
A real eye-opener and very informative. This book inspired me to try eating in the season and buying only local meat, vegetables and fruit whenever I can.
A way to live a dream vicariously!
The premise of the book is good and provides a lot for the reader to think about. It has a good mix of informative articles alongside the authors telling of her family’s experience. It is repetitive and can feel like she is re-hashing the same thoughts when she should be moving on and introducing readers to the next idea or experience.
Excellent reading!!!