Priscila Z. reviewed The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
A pretty quick read, the story is more focused on Alexander's experiences and self-analysis than any horticultural advice, so if your are looking to learn about gardening this isn't really the intent of the book.
Kristina C. (daala84) -
Helpful Score: 4
I loved this book. The author was hilarious! I could completely identify with his garden obsessions. The part with him battling the ground hog had me laughing until I cried. If you enjoy gardening, I strongly recommend picking up this book.
Stephanie H. reviewed The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
I really loved this book, it was quite funny. The author still has a lot to learn about gardening on a budget though. I guess with a doctor wife it is okay to spend $10,000 annually on the garden but for the rest of America that is just ridiculous. That was really the only thing that irritated me, the over spending when it really wasn't necessary. As for the title I think you will see that his math isn't so great, the tomatoes really cost him alot less than calculated, he includes the price of trimmers of the shrubs adjacent to the tomato plots in their cost, hmmmm? Anyway's, it is a good read if your an avid gardener like myself, just suspend disbelief if you can and enjoy his follies, and the lengths he goes to for his crops.
Matthew L. reviewed The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I totally agree with the review by Priscila Z. It is a quick and painless read. I enjoy first person books that have a touch of humor, but if you hope to get some gardening advice of any nature out of this book don't bother. I was hoping for grass roots gardening stories but they don't exist in this story. The writer started by having a custom garden created (for $8,500, 20 years ago!) and it went on from there.
Still, a nice diversion from the deeper non-fiction I normally read.
Still, a nice diversion from the deeper non-fiction I normally read.
Tracy O. (Ddaisy) reviewed The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
In The $64 Tomato, Bill Alexander waxes poetic in an attempt to rationalize the size and design of his garden beds and to minimize the huge job of weeding. He doesn't put the same poetic response toward his failure to remain organic. Good intentions were the road to chemical intervention in his garden as the pests got tougher and tougher - and bigger: Superchuck the woodchuck! My woodchuck visitor last year didn't come back, and didn't provide me with the same level of entertainment as Superchuck did the Alexanders, thank goodness.
If you're looking for a gardening book with straightforward advice, this isn't it. If you're looking for a good read with a fun take on the entire gardening experience, this is just right.
If you're looking for a gardening book with straightforward advice, this isn't it. If you're looking for a good read with a fun take on the entire gardening experience, this is just right.
