Category: Reviews

“Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: of Eastern and Central North America” offers a practical and informative resource for anyone with an interest in wild plants or foraging. It is Thayer’s third book and his expertise in the subject is evident throughout it. Covering 679 plants, it contains a wealth of information presented

“Sheepology”is a visual encyclopedia, much like its companion volumes, “Chickenology” and “Pigology.” It’s written for ages 6 to 10, but older readers will enjoy browsing through it. The table of contents divides “Sheepology” into five sections and serves as an informal index as there are no chapter or section headers. “Meet the flock” provides a

Take a walk with Susan Shetterly and expect to see more, feel more, understand more in every encounter with the wild world — with many of its fauna and flora and human defenders. Within the 32 essays of “Notes on the Landscape of Home,” the reader will find wonderful insights into the endangered among us,

“The Great Displacement” — with a title that references the Great Migration of the 1920s to the 1970s, when more than six million Black people migrated from the South to cities in the North — tells a story of widespread human relocation unfolding in real time. Journalist Jake Bittle, a staff writer at Grist, takes

The Greenhorns’ ”The New Farmer’s Almanac” has been an invaluable source of inspiration for farmers and anyone interested in the world of growing things, and its sixth volume, released in March 2023, continues to encourage and stimulate the minds of its audience. Packed with a wealth of knowledge, practical advice and personal stories, this edition

“The Devil’s Element” is a timely introduction to the nuance and complexity of the issue of phosphorus and its impacts — and should be a wake-up call for eco-conscious readers. With a biting wit and human-focused storytelling, author Dan Egan masterfully illustrates how the connection between phosphorus and human society is one of constant balance

The gathering of agricultural data, from soil types to market rates, has a long history. The earliest states sought to impact the welfare of agriculturalists and consequently the welfare of their appropriative taxation schemes. Basic cadastral mapping has developed into surveys, sampling and data collection of all kinds. In historical terms these efforts have been

As the pandemic descended on the world in 2020 and the orbits of many people shrunk to the size of their home, the busy pace of life shuddered to a standstill. For some of us lucky enough, we were granted the gift of time, a gift that we didn’t immediately know what to do with.

“Drawdown,” edited by Paul Hawken, makes an audacious claim for its subtitle: “The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming.” But, it lives up to its claim of offering a broad picture of what the Earth, and we humans, need to do if we want to reverse global climate catastrophe. What is “drawdown”?

“What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be?” is a thought-provoking book that encourages readers to consider their impact on future generations and the environment. This collection presents the idea that we are all ancestors-in-waiting and that the choices we make today will shape the world that our descendants inherit. It draws on insights