The Unsettling of America

Culture & Agriculture

Wendell Berry

Recommended By

Book Synopsis

"The Unsettling of America" by Wendell Berry is a penetrating critique of modern industrial agriculture and its detrimental impact on the American landscape, communities, and human well-being. Drawing on his experiences as a farmer, environmental activist, and poet, Berry argues that the dominant model of industrial farming, which focuses on maximizing productivity and profits, is fundamentally unsustainable and degrading to both the land and its inhabitants.

Berry contends that this extractive and exploitative approach to agriculture has led to the erosion of rural communities, the degradation of soil fertility, the loss of biodiversity, and the alienation of individuals from both their food and the natural world. He delves into the social, economic, and ecological consequences of this system, highlighting the importance of small-scale farming, the stewardship of land, and the necessity of honoring local knowledge and traditions.

Throughout the book, Berry offers a powerful indictment of the industrial mindset that prioritizes efficiency and profit over the health of the land and the well-being of individuals. He emphasizes the need for a holistic and ecological approach to farming, one that respects the interconnectedness of all living beings and embraces sustainable practices.

"The Unsettling of America" challenges readers to reconsider their relationship with the land and to recognize the profound impact of our agricultural choices on our health, communities, and the future of our planet. It serves as a call to action for individuals, policymakers, and societies to prioritize the regeneration of the land, the preservation of local economies, and the cultivation of a deep, sustainable connection to the places we call home.

Explore More Books

See All
Liberal Privelege
Investment Biker
A Most Beautiful Thing
Viral Loop
Modernity Without Restraint
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Blackout
Clear Thinking
Women
The Blind Watchmaker
Wake Up: Why The World Has Gone Nuts
The Princeton Companion to Mathematics
The Obstacle Is the Way
On The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
One Billion Hungry
The Outermost House
God Emperor of Dune
The Fiat Standard
The Inmates Are Running the Asylum
The Fourth Turning
Educated
Planta Sapiens
Not Zero
How The Internet Happened
Rick and Morty Book Two
Count Down
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Principles for Dealing With The Changing World Order
Same As Ever
Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World
A Guide To The Good Life
Violence and Social Orders
The White Album
Syntax & Sage
The History of Money
Little Fires Everywhere
Deep Learning
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
More Human
A History of the Theory of Investments
The Trial of Socrates
How To Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck
Working Backwards
Dare To Fly
Chaos Monkeys
Rise of the Robots
On Bullshit
Startup
Maisy Mouse Collection
The Ones We Have Been Waiting For
George's Marvellous Medicine
Check Your Financial Privilege
The 5 Resets
Taxes Have Consequences
The Red Queen
100 Plus
The Emotionally Intelligent Investor
Think Again
The Meaning of the 21st Century
Autobiography of a Spiritually Incorrect Mystic
More Money Than God
Skin In The Game
Healing
Radical Son
Birth of a Theorem
High Fidelity
Acts of Love
Pride and Prejudice
The Precipice
A Bite-Sized History of France
A Life Decoded
Carry on, Jeeves
Find Me Unafraid
Everything is Bullshit
From Galileo to Newton
Tipping Points
Lessons for the Living
Parents Who Lead
Whiplash
Matter
The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition
Complexity
Plowman's Folly
The Double Helix
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Beyond Religion
Falling into Grace
Into Thin Air
The Moth Presents All These Wonders
Empires of Light
The Gift
The Martian
Self Reliance
Stories of Your Life and Others
Rich Woman
Sunset at Blandings
Tribe of Mentors
End The Fed
The Uninhabitable Earth
The Construction of Social Reality