Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California [Hardcover]

Jonah Raskin (Author), Paige Green (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2009

"Sooner or later, nearly everyone who cares about wine and food comes to Sonoma"--so begins this lively excursion to a spectacular region that has become known internationally as a locavore's paradise. Part memoir, part vivid reportage, Field Days chronicles the renaissance in farming organically and eating locally that is unfolding in Northern California. Jonah Raskin tells of the year he spent on Oak Hill Farm--working the fields, selling produce at farmers' markets, and following it to restaurants. He also goes behind the scenes at Whole Foods. In this luminous account of his experiences, Raskin introduces a dynamic cast of characters--farmers, chefs, winemakers, farm workers, and environmentalists. They include such luminaries as Warren Weber at Star Route Farm, the oldest certified organic farm in Marin County; Bob Cannard, who has supplied Chez Panisse with vegetables for decades; Sharon Grossi, the owner of the largest organic farm in Sonoma; and Craig Stoll, the founder and executive chef at Delfina in San Francisco. Raskin also offers portraits of renowned historical figures, including Luther Burbank, Jack London, and M.F.K. Fisher. Field Days is a heartfelt celebration of the farm-to-table movement and its cultural reverberations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this rambling memoir from America's heartland of organic produce, literary scholar Raskin (For the Hell of It: The Life and Times of Abbie Hoffman) recalls a pleasant year visiting farm friends in Sonoma, Calif. Following the chronology of one season, he goes to farms, markets and restaurants, profiling Mexican workers, talking with small-farm advocates and even harvests vegetables himself. The breezy, romantic prose is peppered with literary references, and, at times, awkward academic language. His descriptions of meals seem limited to sumptuous, delicious and excellent; similarly, the analysis tends to be cursory. After listening to one industrious produce seller's story, Raskin evokes a simple Wow! The closest his research comes to a serious investigation is a description of employees at the Sonoma Whole Foods Market, a company he openly dislikes. The story's overarching countercultural bent intensifies the aging academic's apparent longing for the revolutionary roots of organic foods. The redemptive aspect of this memoir lies in its intensely local specificity—Northern California's marijuana-growing culture and a feeling of youthfulness—although the sprawling narrative imparts more of a gauzy, poetic impression than any cohesive ideas about food or farming. 22 b&w photos. (May)
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From Booklist

College professor Raskin spent a year working at Oak Hill Farm in California’s Sonoma County, documenting what makes the place a success in an era that values local, organic, sustainable agriculture. Founded by dedicated conservationists, Oak Hill Farm and the people who labor in its fields typify contemporary attitudes toward food production. He talked to farm workers from all over Sonoma, even to a couple of dedicated, knowledgeable Mexican laborers who lack legal status. Each of Raskin’s subjects has some unique history, but they are united in their love for what they perceive as a fulfilling rural lifestyle. Idealizing the role of agriculture, they formed close bonds with the land, their animals, and with those who buy their produce. As Raskin notes, with tongue in cheek, every farmer in the area claims to be a supplier for Alice Waters’ celebrated Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse. --Mark Knoblauch

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (May 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520259025
• ISBN-13: 978-0520259027
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,535,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Taste of Greatness, April 22, 2009

By 

C. E. McAuley (Petaluma, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California (Hardcover)

Jonah Raskin's newest book, Field Days, is a great affirmation of life; the life of food, of human beings connecting with the land, of people connecting with each other and, ultimately, even reconnecting with themselves.

In his words, Raskin paints the real life portraits of the the unique folks who have a passion for real farming and portrays the great bounty of the legendary Sonoma region of California, known the world over for its food, wine and uniquely attractive vibe that draws people from across the globe to visit and find out what all the fuss is about.

To read Field Days is to journey with Raskin throughout a year in the Sonoma region, deep into its richness and plenty, and to come away from the trip fulfilled. Raskin works the fields, tastes the fruits of his efforts and, along the way, gains great insights into himself and the place he calls home.

Field Days is a satisfying feast; another triumph such as one has come to expect from Raskin.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Walk Around the Farm on the Way to the Market, February 9, 2010

By 

Timothy Williams (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California (Hardcover)

Like William Butler Yeats's excursions to Coole Park in Ireland
and Henry David Thoreau's adventures at Walden Pond in Massachusetts,
Jonah Raskin's odyssey at Oak Hill Farm in Sonoma, becomes the basis
for individual change and transformation to the surrounding culture.
The descriptions of Raskin working in Oak Hill Farms magnificent organic
fields, bring the reader to the soil itself and into the hearts, minds
and dreams of the people who own, work, and live at Oak Hill, as well
as the people who flock to buy its fresh organic produce and flowers.

Field Days, takes the reader into the heart of the movement of organic
farming that flourishes in Sonoma County and around the USA.
It takes us through the toil and triumphs of the small farm,
clinging to life within a
world of totalitarian mono-crop farms that wait outside the small
farmer's gate, like those world dominators in Aldous Huxley's Island,
ready to take over at any slightest opportunity or crop failure.

In Field Days, the author writes with a farmer's guile and care.
He leads us down rows of corn, beans, and flowers, and we share
the discoveries in their planting, cultivation and harvest.
He sets us on the side
of the road to watch the crops loading onto the farm truck and
their slow drive to the barn where they are washed and readied
for market. The author also takes us deeper into the discussion
about the importance of multi-crop organic farms verses mono-crop
conglomerates. He shows the sustainability of the small farm that
does not strain the land, the soil, and the farm itself.
Jonah Raskin's book shows us the magic an organic farm like Oak Hill
produces in a community.

This is a must read for any person interested in organic farming
anywhere. It is not so much a bird's eye view as it is that the
bird carries a keen eye, a pen and a hoe, and a solution for the
preservation of delicious organic produce.

Timothy Williams

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on local farmers!, November 9, 2009

By 

Kelly S. Davis "Flowergds" (Sonoma, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California (Hardcover)

Jonah did a wonderful job of telling of the hard work and love that goes into running a small farm, as well as the love of the land that the people here have.