Kentucky poet, novelist, and farmer Wendell Berry has gathered essays written from 1985 through 1990 for this collection. These value-laden pieces reveal a vision of life informed by a deep love of nature, place, small-scale economies, the dignity of work, community, and wise stewardship of the Earth.
Among the best are a tribute to the cantankerous Edward Abbey, an appreciation of Wallace Stegner's reticence and regionalism, a reflection on Christianity and ecology, and a meditation on nature and measure. Berry revels in his role as a critic of what passes for progress in America. He celebrates those durable and flinty values that bespeak the best of the nation's rural past.
