Product Description
Joey Robinson is a thirty-five-year-old advertising consultant working in the urban jungle of Manhattan. One day, Joey decides to return to the farm where he grew up, and where his mother still lives. Accompanied by his newly acquired second wife and an eleven-year-old stepson, he begins to reassess and evaluate the course his life has taken. For three days, a quartet of voices explores the country air, relates stories, makes confessions, seeks solace, and hopes for love. But all of their emotional musings and reflections pale when tragedy strikes— one that threatens to separate the family, even as it draws them closer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Updike or Not
I am not a huge Updike reader. Of the Farm is rich in description of character & scenery but not much of story. So is it worth a read? You bet it is. He reveals more about emotions & how to handle them than any shrink is willing to do. After all the purpose of a book is to read it at least once, not come back repeatedly for hundreds a dollars an hour getting nothing done except getting the shrink's car paid for & detailed. I enjoyed the book. Actually the farm is the main character.

Another Toxic Mother
Of the Farm by John Updike should be read along with Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth.They both portray toxic mothers but from archly different perspectives.And they are almost contemporaneous works from the mid-1960s.Unlike Portnoy's Complaint no hint of humor lightens Updike's novel, nor is the mood anything but tense, strained, and difficult--just like much of life.But a little humor to help keep one's perspective wouldn't hurt, would it?

I would call Of the Farm "minimalist fiction."It is short and there is no action to speak of; no plot except what swirls underground as it were, no violence, no sex, nothing to keep the readers attention except the intricate portrayal of human relationships in the family, in this case a "blended" one--and, of course, Updike's fine writing, which at times gets a bit overdone with excessive and flowery metaphors that are only distracting and draw attention to the author rather than illuminating the characters or story."See how clever I am and how fine I can turn a phrase.Bet you can't write this good.(I mean "well."Sorry.)"

Updike explores many issues of 1960s America in a compressed way--such issues as divorce with children, remarriage with children, aging, encroaching suburbanization, the slow disappearance of rural life in the Northeast, urban v. rural life.Of course, central to all are the relations between mother and son. Heck, these issues are still very much in the air today.

Of the Farm is full of nostalgia for something slipping away and maybe lost.There is also a wonderful mini-portrait/characterization of a precocious eleven year old boy.I think that was my favorite aspect of the novel.

The editorial review praise for Of the Farm seems quite overblown to me.If they say that stuff about Of the Farm, what would they say about a really good novel?Is this some sort of "praise inflation"?

An Intricate and Dramatic Story About Relationships
Of The Farm details the complex relationship between a son in his mid-thirties and his elderly mother.The son brings his new wife and her son from a previous marriage to his mother's remote farm, and it's obvious from the beginning that the mother and the wife are not going to get along.

Though a brief novel, Updike delivers an intricate and dramatic story peeling away the complicated layers that make up relationships.Throughout the book, the man is constantly on alert, hoping to defuse any arguments between the women in his life, but he refuses to stand up to his mother nor does he seem totally invested in being committed to his wife.

In fact, the man is an incredibly interesting character because he is so flawed, so monumentally incapable of mediating the warring women in a healthy manner, that he almost leaps off the page.Surely he'll remind you of someone you know ... perhaps even yourself.The women were also expertly written, something that doesn't always happen with a male author.I found the mother and wife realistic, respectable, and equally as flawed as the main character.

Though lacking any real physical action, Updike's study of mothers and sons and husbands and wives is wickedly enticing and, as always, written very well.

~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

Tiny & Terrific
A must have for fans of Updike and new readers. This small novel is amazingly detailed and shockingly deep. The ideas touched in this story will have your brain kicking you. Updike has that ability to trap you in small menial suburban problems and make them glorious.

Not his best, but still worth reading
This book is not John Updike's best work. However, it is still an enjoyable read. His skill as a writer goes unparalleled as usual, and his writing in this rural drama is quite good. ... Read more

Product Description
At five o'clock every morning and five o'clock every evening the fifty-five cows on the Steidinger farm are milked. Milking is one of the dozens of chores, day in and day out, that are part of life for a farm family. But it's not all work; there is the satisfaction of self-sufficiency and a life lived independently for Dennis and Jane Steidinger and their eight children. Telling the SteidingersÔ story in both words and spirited photographs, Raymond Bial portrays a way of life and the individual lives of the members of this farm family. ... Read more

Product Description
A celebration of Farm Aids 20th anniversarya beautifully designed treasure documenting the struggles and contributions of family farmers in America and the more than 200 American artists who have played on the Farm Aid stageWhen Willie Nelson organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985, he hoped it would be a one-time event that would ensure the continued survival of the national treasure upon which our country was founded: the independent family farmer.But two decades later, the nation is still losing an average of 330 family farms per week. And the annual Farm Aid concert, which has helped to raise more than $26 million to keep family farmers on their land, is now the longest-running benefit concert in history. To commemorate this landmark and to call renewed attention to the importance of where, how, and by whom our food is produced, Farm Aid has put together this volume.Essays, interviews, poems, song lyrics, and fictional excerpts mix with more than 200 color and black-and-white photographs, including shots of farmland and farmers, as well as never-before-seen pictures of Farm Aid performers, from the late Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison to Bob Dylan and Bonnie Raitt. Among the many contributors are writers Eric Schlosser and Howard Zinn; performers Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris; photographers Paul Natkin and Ebet Roberts; and Farm Aid board members Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, and Willie Nelson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A worthy but little known undertaking
Farmers seem to be a large community of loners, a trait that not only has limited their willingness to collaborate among themselves to control the prices of their products but may have led many to practice self-destructive self-reliance against overwhelming forces.Perhaps as valuable as the monetary help provided by Farm Aid is the morale-building it accomplishes through its concerts and its ability to provide spiritual support.This book is a valuable introduction to Farm Aid and to the crisis that faces American agriculture.

Helping the farmers is helping the heartland!
Really enjoyed all the great commentaries; this is a wonderful program that Willie and friends started and they are still carrying on with it.Too bad our leaders have allowed this situation to continue, and we should all take part is this program.

The Food you eat can change the world!!!
Willie Nelson once said, "I've always believed that the most important people on the planet are the ones who plant the seeds and care for the soil where they grow"
Willie is the founder of FARMAID, a grass-roots organization that is trying to keep family farms intact and move away from factory or industrialization of farming.

Farming is one of the hardest businesses to profit from, especially if you're out there all alone.A family can raise acres and acres of golden wheat and then have a natural disaster like a hail-storm or severe winds come in a week before harvest and wreck the whole operation.
Many families have held farms in their families for generations, only to loose them in a forclosure event due to some unfair farming laws.
WIllie and friends have gone in front of the US Congress to change those laws and try to protect the small,independant guys and their farms from the bank.

WIllie Nelson grew up pickin' cotton in the back rows of his family farm in Abbott, Texas.His backyard consisted of acre upon acre of waving fields of corn, hay and cotton fields.It was home to furry friends such as jackrabbits, deer, cattle, horses and hogs and chickens.Willie worked hard in those fields when he was just a squirt; he discovered first-hand the value of hard work.He also discovered that playing guitar and singing was a heck of alot easier to do than farming!
BUT farming is a cause he chose to go back to protect and preserve.......it's in his heart.

THis book goes on to explain the FARMAID concerts that have occurred over the past 20 years.Friends of Willie's that have lent a helping hand include - John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Fogerty and Kidd Rock along with hundreds of other artists.
THere are over 300 artists that have played live at a FARMAID concert, not even accepting payment for basic things such as transportation to the venue.
Emmy Lou Harris is another such artist, as is Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride, Axel Rose from Guns & Roses, Julio Iglaseis,
Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Paycheck, Carole King, Los Lonely Boys and many, many others have lent their voices to the cause.

This book goes on to explain in depth what Certified Organic foods means and it discusses the history of farming in America.
Understanding farm policy is an important legal overview of what has befallen the American Farmer.Consequences of Industrial Agriculture is explained in section 4 and finally, the GOOD FOOD movement is elaborated up in the 5th section of this book.

The book contains many beautiful color images of the farms of America and also the many famous stars who come out and perform at FARMAID concerts.

It is well thought out, and very well organized.

I loved this book so much because it is changing me and how I view my food selections.What I chose to eat and feed my family is very important to me in these days of stress and communicable diseases.I want to ensure the best possible nutrition for myself and my family.
They are the most important thing to me and their health and well-being is first-most in my mind and in my heart.

Read this book from cover to cover and you will begin to understand the message contained within.
It's a message of health, hope and compassion.

I wish I could buy every family in this nation this wonderful book....it is a true FIVE STAR reading!!!!

"What you choose to eat can helpl change the world, and as the chef Alice Waters likes to point out: THIS REVOLUTION TASTES GOOD!" Introduction paragraph, page xv FARMAID 2005 ... Read more

Product Description
'Myrtlisms' abound in this historical commentary of farm life. Myrtle's love of home and passion for family and friends gathered under her roof comprise the primary source of anecdotes for this chronological narrative. A remarkable life is recorded in the set of a dozen five year diaries she kept. As Myrtle might say regarding well-aged food in the 'icebox', these old diaries 'needed using'. With biographical interpretation by their daughter, Myrtle and her husband Roy's rural reality comes to life, bringing the past to the present for better viewing, smelling, tasting, touching and hearing. It's as if we can just call them on their old wooden phone and exclaim (as Myrtle often has) "Well, you're home!" ... Read more

Product Description
Reiss Family Books Quilter, Granger, Grandma, Matriarch is the first of four books about the extended Reiss and Basler families who settled on a small farm in St. Clair County, Illinois in 1834 and 1839, respectively. This first book is the daily diary of third generation Katie Reiss covering 1949 through 1953. It is published first to give the reader a feel for life on the Reiss Family Farm in the German heritage of southern Illinois. Katie and husband George Reiss doubled the original Reiss/Basler farm to its current 360 acres. Relatives gather in June 2009 to celebrate 175 years of the Reiss Family Farm. The second book will be called It Takes A Matriarch and include 763 letters saved by first generation Margaret Basler Reiss Ebert from 1852 to 1888. Some letters were phonetic English but most had to be translated from "old" German. Authors were Margaret's siblings, their spouses, her children, their spouses, her grandchildren, and two friends. They mention serving in the Civil War, a friendship with John Wilkes Booth, life in St. Louis and Sacramento and Davenport, and the lost family fortune. The third book will be called The Reiss Dairy. It is a history of the Reiss Dairy in Sikeston, Missouri which was founded in 1935 by third generation John Reiss. They are famous for milk bottles featuring poems created by Sikeston citizens to promote Reiss Dairy products. The best bottles sell on eBay for over $200. The fourth book will be Family, Farming, and Freedom. It is 55 years of professional and personal writings by fourth generation Irv Reiss from 1949 to 2004. His favorite subjects were family fun and travel, restoring strip mined coal lands to productive farms, promoting individual freedoms and responsibilities. He was my dad. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Cookbook and More
Since this book doesn't have a "Look Inside" feature, I'll type an excerpt from it's Preface:

"Our desire is to follow the simple laws of God and nature. In order to create an environment in which this is possible, we have established four communities upon thousands of acres of farm and ranch land in the coastal mountains around Santa Barbara, CA.. We have our own gardens and field crops, we rear livestock (including goats, cows, horses, donkeys, chickens and pigeons), build our homes, make some of our own clothing, shoes and pottery, experiment with alternative energy sources, and are learning other necessary skills...".

For a short while, I lived at 2 of the 4 communities, and worked at one of the Sunburst Markets. This place, this people changed my life and gave me the skills to navigate the ups & downs called, "Life". Within these pages, not only are there recipes for great food, but also Susan tells us readers useful and historical information about corn, beans, fish -- all the natural foods that our bodies are craving in these days of processed food diets.

Also enjoyable, are the beautiful drawings created by our 'sister', Donna Wright, and the memorable photos by house-photographer, Mehosh Dziadzio.

All in all, a delightful book/cookbook to go back to again, and again.

Great Cookbook with lots of how to's!
I bought this at an antique store in Florence, Colorado, and I just love this book.There are lots of great recipes, plus lots of how to's in this book.This book explains how to make cheese, soy milk and use honey for the replacement of most sugar in breads in cakes.I have found this to be a great help for those of us trying to stay away from processes foods.Even gives the recipe for sprouted breads and acorn bread.

This book is from the 1970's so it does have that 70's kind of feel, but it is a wealth of knowledge.

Wonderful Recipes
This cookbook has it all.
I have enjoyed the recipes since 1978, and
would recommend this book to anyone who
enjoys great food. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Life on a crop farm
Focuses on a family farm that includes a farm stand business. The children are shown picking crops and selling produce. Important concepts such as crop rotation and photosynthesis are introduced. There is a glossary, extensive index, and list of resources as well as a page of fun facts about crops. Karen Woodworth Roman, Children's Science Book Review ... Read more

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Anthropologist Simonelli writes vividly, her prose a moving testimonial to the courage farming takes....--The Book Review ... Read more

Product Description
A farmer with an extraordinary gift for language and a writer with the field still fresh on his boots, Justin Isherwood is irresistibly compelling.His writing is possessed by a poetry.As he moves effortlessly from the profound to the practical, he turns the ordinary experiences of farm life into a feast for your senses. ... Read more

Product Description
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a manto fish and he will eat for the rest of his life." -Chinese Proverb

Buy this book for the price of a good fish dinner and learn how to make the business of fishing (or any other business) your own. You'll be able to eat for a lifetime and, when the right time comes, you'll have something of value to sell or leave to your children to fight over. During uncertain economic times, invest in a sure thing - invest in yourself! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great man, great speaker, great book!!!
I am new to the Business Brokerage arena and have recently joined a business broker association that Ed Pendarvis is a member of too.I have heard him speak multiple times and he provides humor, logic and experience each time.He is a wealth of knowledge.I just got my book and flipped it open and began reading and it too provides that same humor, logic and experience.This is a great read!If you are a Business Broker, or plan on buying or selling a business, your library isn't complete without this book.Ed Pendarvis is a legend in Business Brokerage and his vast experience is captured on these pages.Buy it!You won't regret it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Review of "Mim and the KLAN
Nicely illustrated by Quaker graphic designer, Susanna Peebles Combs, Mim and the KLAN contains twenty chapters of three to five pages each. Set in the author's home of Wabash County, Indiana in 1969, detailed descriptions of rural family farm life invoke memories of a radically different American life style. The teen-age main characters, Mim and her cousin Karen, are children of a Quaker farming family, and so their lives and conversations revolve around experience of farms, animals, extended family and their Quaker Meeting. The skeletal story of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana laced into the main story line creates a sharply conflicting value system to the rural Quakers. "I [Mim] told Karen what Grampa and Grams had told me. 'The Klan was here in Indiana - not just the South. And it was here in our county - even among our church members.' I thought we were past all that bigotry - prejudice." "Karen, I am ashamed to say this is a state that still [1969] harbors prejudice." (page 21). The story then moves smartly along, yet retains its integrity and homespun character.
Karen cans strawberries and Mim raises animals for show (4-H) at the Indiana State Fair while a parallel story finds the Klan, the Quaker Meeting and public institutions, both at county and state levels in mutual support of one another.Strange bedfellows indeed; William Penn's "Holy Experiment" failure in 17th century Pennsylvania illustrated the incongruity of Quaker values and the moral inversion of politics, but for the Klan to have gained credibility and support in a Quaker Meeting is truly remarkable. Mim does some library research about the Klan and uncovers rather embarrassing facts about their Quaker Meeting and a mob lynching of two black men a generation ago. But the Klan=s tentacles reach down through the generations, and a close family friend agonizing through serious self-examination in a context of typical Quaker sympathy, trust and cooperative association highlights the starkly contrasting values.
A new friend, Jonathan, a young African-American man and expert harness race driver, is introduced by scenes at the State Fair, while Mim and Karen challenge contemporary stereotypes and the harsh consequences of prejudicial thinking that dominate public thought. Quaker values, and Klan values which still permeate society today, conflict directly in the final chapters where Mim and Karen make assumptions about Jonathan radically different than the police.
Thematically, there are dimensions of value systems that make the book appealing to reflective people of any age.Quaker communities implicitly assume that we are spiritual beings on a human journey, and so embrace trust, sympathy and mutual support for one another. The Quaker commitment to living in community, caring for others and grounding their spiritual guidance in the form of questions (The Queries) make it natural to extend community to other people without judgment. The Ku Klux Klan on the other hand, prides itself on ethnic superiority, mindless antagonism and hatred expressed in intimidation and murder - the polar opposite of community (pages 88 - 92).Precedence for such moral inversion is as old as history itself (Isaiah 5:20), and remains with us in the form of 'market morality', 'growth and progress', 'ethnic cleansing' and other popular political and business euphemisms. The Quaker community in the story, and in reality, is in sharp contrast to political, 'market' values where mutual adversity and competition replace cooperative association; predatory economics replaces sympathy, and contractual penalty replaces trust.
Cynthia Stanley Russell's book is rich with implied questions for discussion among young people. It would work well in youth discussion groups in which each participant has read the book at least once, and enters the discussion with questions well prepared. It is also a suitable reading for university classes in ethics, Indiana history and sociology.Mim and the Klan has a nice flow, well integrated themes and is grounded in a fertile history. There are many questions elicited by this book, and thoughtful adults who look past the surface structure will find a deep, rich significance for their own lives. ... Read more

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Children learn the names of adult and baby animals on the farm.Artwork created by artist using handmade paper cut into shapes of animals and letters. ... Read more

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Aging Vermont farmer Warren Lareaux refuses to give up any piece of his land or of his life—not for love, not for family, not for the law.His brother Ty represents all three of these forces.The two men are thrown into a deadly battle that neither one wants nor can escape.Can either brother survive the magnificent forced combat?

THE FAMILY FARM is DeFilippi’s first novel set in Vermont, the state he has lived in since 1974.
... Read more