Susan P. (puss-in-boots) -
From Publishers Weekly
Ausubel, who produces the Seeds of Change organic seed catalogue and who founded the company of the same name with his wife, Nina Simons, observes, "Variety is not only the spice of life, but the very staff of life." Arguing in favor of biodiversity and against the dangers posed to it--and to ourselves--by agribusiness, his book is part creed, part survey and part personal history as he seeks out like-minded organic gardeners, scientists, scholars and chefs (e.g., Alice Waters, who also contributes recipes) for testimonials in pursuit of large-scale change in the way food is grown and used. It is hard not to credit his basic points, but Ausubel's style is messianic in a way that may not convince, and his attentiveness to the virtues of his own business will strike some as self-serving. His tone is hopped-up, and his words are profuse: "Life is a living, pulsing, vibrating, plasmic mystery, a spontaneous improvisation linked through time by memory."
Ausubel, who produces the Seeds of Change organic seed catalogue and who founded the company of the same name with his wife, Nina Simons, observes, "Variety is not only the spice of life, but the very staff of life." Arguing in favor of biodiversity and against the dangers posed to it--and to ourselves--by agribusiness, his book is part creed, part survey and part personal history as he seeks out like-minded organic gardeners, scientists, scholars and chefs (e.g., Alice Waters, who also contributes recipes) for testimonials in pursuit of large-scale change in the way food is grown and used. It is hard not to credit his basic points, but Ausubel's style is messianic in a way that may not convince, and his attentiveness to the virtues of his own business will strike some as self-serving. His tone is hopped-up, and his words are profuse: "Life is a living, pulsing, vibrating, plasmic mystery, a spontaneous improvisation linked through time by memory."
