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THE LAND THAT FEEDS US

Name: THE LAND THAT FEEDS US
Author: John Fraser Hart
ISBN: 0-393-02954-9

by John Fraser Hart ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1991

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Hart (Geography/Univ. of Minnesota) does much more here than catalogue the risks taken by the American farmer. His analysis points the way to radical land reform and use that should, he contends, reduce both the gamble and the waste. Hart looks at the primary farming regions in the US (excluding the West), and describes the local farming history, crops, farming methods, and architecture; the governmental control that regulates crop selection; and farmers' likely profits. He revisited the same areas and, in some cases, the same farmers in the 1950's, 60's, and 80's. C.H. Tarwater, in the Great Smoky Mountain foothills of Tennessee, noted that in 1953, ``we sold eggs for 65 cents a dozen, and last year [1983] they were 64 cents.'' At the same time, his labor cost rose from $1,200 to $85,000. While Tarwater wants to continue farming, he has seen tourism drive the price of land up to $10,000 per acre—an irresistible price. Despite rising land prices, however, Hart notes that family farms have actually become bigger since WW II, and that they actually produce more. Indeed, says Hart, American farmers have become too good, too efficient: ``They are producing prodigious surpluses...but the world no longer needs the food and fiber...in such abundance.'' (He does not address the problem of world hunger or the distribution of the food supply.) Hart advocates a radical land-retirement program that takes farmland out of production to be saved for a day when it is truly needed. In order to save the ``family farm''—an agribusiness that must now gross anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million annually and competes on the international market—the necessity of subsidies not to grow crops and for long-term planning must be accepted and efficiently administrated, he says. A must for agriculturalists, geographers, and community and governmental planners. (Fifty-eight drawings and maps.)

Pub Date: June 1, 1991

ISBN: 0-393-02954-9

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.