On the Farm [Hardcover]

Jimmy Doherty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 27, 2004

From Delia to Michael Palin, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to Alan Titchmarsh, David Attenborough to Jamie Oliver, the TV tie-ins that sell books are those with charismatic presenters. When you meet Jimmy you'll realise that this is television's big new name. With his PhD in Entomology and his infectious enthusiasm, Jimmy has the academic weight of David Attenborough and the populist persuasiveness of Jamie Oliver (who happens to be his oldest friend). Jimmy's Farm will be a 6-part primetime BBC TV series for autumn 2004 in which we follow Jimmy realising his dream of setting up a unique farm with rare breed pigs. Unlike Hugh F-W who plays at being a smallholder, Jimmy has to face the commercial reality of farming today: this is his living - it has to work. And in the same way that Jamie Oliver inspired a new generation to love good food, Jimmy will inspire us to care about where our food comes from. Through the programme you'll learn how to grow your own vegetables, keep chickens and pick the best pork at the butchers. There will also be a directory of farmers' markets and recipes for hedgerow cooking, But the book is also about living the dream and turning your back on mass-product

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in Essex, Jimmy Doherty's passion for farming and everything to do with nature started early. By the age of 16 he was an Assistant Entomologist at the Molehall Wildlife Park and at 25 he moved to the Entomology Department at the Natural History Museum. Jimmy's love of the great outdoors has taken him all over the world in search of adventure - hiking in the deserts of Israel to trekking in the jungles of Malaysia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 222 pages
• Publisher: Ebury & Vermilion (May 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0091897858
• ISBN-13: 978-0091897857
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,596,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read on the good life, September 9, 2004

By 

Ian Barnard (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Farm (Hardcover)

A great book that follows university student Jimmy Doherty as he tries to get an abadoned farm up and running in Essex. The book starts with Jimmy's hunt for the perfect location, cleaning up and clearing the farm, getting his rarebreed pigs and other livestock and trying to set up a farm shop, all the while under a strict time and cash budget.

The book is filled with loads of great colour photo's and has great tips on keeping your own livestock, growing herbs and vegetables, country recipes, and good websites to visit for more information. The aim is to get people more aware of what they are buying from supermarkets, and to take more care and pride in their food and lifestyle. It encourages people to spend that little extra and goto farmer's markets for fresher, better tasting food.

I enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in farming or food, especially those in the city or suburbia who want to get some of the good life without having to buy a farm. The only annoying aspect is the style of writing, which can be amatuerish at times and can feel like a grade 10 report. Doherty writes like he talks, which means you have a lot of "and boy, did we ever-...", "let me tell you-...".

Overall a great read, and if you're ever in Essex be sure to drop by the farm and buy some sausage.