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Who could have predicted that a young Michael Pollan writing about gardening would become a leading advocate for responsible agriculture and one of the country's biggest-selling writers. If you came to this book the same way I did (which is to say, after reading Pollan's more recent work, including his magnum opus "The Omnivore's Dilemma"), I think you'll find enjoyment in seeing his earlier achievement as a writer, a science journalist, and a modern environmentalist. The organization of the book by seasons is forced and the individual chapters in each section don't always belong.
Pollan shows in this gem of a book what a terrific and layered writer he is. Push through some of the more boring chapters (or skip them altogether, since the one advantage of the choppy nature of the book is that each chapter stands alone well), and you'll be rewarded with the absolute perfection of others. Just about anyone who read him then, is my guess.
Pollan makes a good effort of tying it all together with memories of his grandfather's garden (and the characters of the grandfather and his garden in the beginning narrative are worth the price of admission), but in the end the individual narratives don't hold together as well as later Pollan books manage to do.But don't let this stop you. For all the fantastic writing, the book, however, is uneven. Many of the chapters were published as magazine articles before the book came out, and it shows.
My favorite, the chapter about seed catalogs, is at once observational journalism, literary criticism, and writing master class. Don't miss it.
This is a book I wish I'd caught earlier - written in the late 80's, it displays the kind of writing that made Pollan famous. The combination of history, garden information, and good writing makes it a pleasure to follow Pollan's development of his property and his understanding of what makes his work 'gardening.'I see gardens and landscaping differently after reading this book.
No one who reads this book will ever forget his monumental battles with a woodchuck culminating in an attempt at incineration that very nearly incinerated the garden. I love those "aha" moments. Those "why didn't I think of that." moments. Admittedly, he does tell much more entertaining stories than most garden memoirists. Yawn.I'm looking forward to reading more of Michael Pollan's books and his unique perspective. Taking into account the fact that the indigenous population also had a significant impact on the local ecology, should the area be restored to the state it was before the Native Americans arrived. Well, um, actually it does. How I tried to correct them.
How I learned the "right" way to garden.Disappointed, I soldiered on until Chapter 10 when I finally had the hoped for "why didn't I think of that." moment. The question of what time period a restoration should mimic is particularly intriguing. What provisions were made for non-native plant and animal introductions.And then the book reverts right back to the standard memoir. Michael Pollan on gardening.
What I got was just another memoir of a beginning gardener. It doesn't get much better than that, right. He made me think about the environment in ways that were totally new to me. Now this is a book that I would like to read. I loved his writing style and his point of view. The story of the restoration of a woodland area in his town that had been destroyed by a tornado morphs into a discussion of restoration vs replacement vs allowing Nature to take its course and all of the consequences, intended and unintended, that could happen for each option. I was expecting a completely new perspective on gardening.
Can you think of a single garden memoir that doesn't contain a battle with a woodchuck. These are questions that have never occurred to me when thinking about our altered landscape.Ideally, I would have liked to see the "memoir" part of the book excised and this topic expanded. My first exposure to Michael Pollan's writing was an article in the New York Times Magazine. Colonial, after changes made by European settlers. Pre-Columbian. Where else in the US or even the world has this issue been addressed.
Just as Hollywood screenwriters use a predictable formula for their storylines, garden memoirists all stick to the same, tired outline: How I started gardening. The last two chapters are the obligatory catalog survey and "What my garden looks like now". And then my outlook on life and the world around me is subtly altered.So it was with great anticipation that I oopened my copy of "Second Nature: A Gardener's Education". Was global warming taken into account. Hilarious, but still quite ordinary. How I made all the newbie mistakes my first year.
What decisions were made and why. Even if it is only one or two chapters that grab me, they will be well worth it.
Another item I ordered for my partner's birthday. She is a beginning gardner and I hoped this would help her along. I have seen utube video with Michael Pollan and have loved the way he delivers his information.
However, this book disappoints. I have read most of Michael Pollans books. I think 'The Omnivores Dilemma' is a five-star plus book that should be mandatory reading for everyone who eats, and 'In Defense of Food' is almost as good.In this book, Michael talks about his efforts at gardening, both vegetables and ornamental plants. It is too vague, with few concrete examples to back up his assertions. It seems that Michael is a better writer about other peoples efforts at producing food than he is on his own efforts.
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