Customer Reviews

The Newman's Own Organics Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures That Benefit You and the Place You Live

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a good, easy read for anyone interested in making their world a safer more pleasant place to live. It covers everything a person can do to make a difference as far as helping to reverse the damage done by decades of poisoning our planet and thereby ourselves with pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. The suggestions in this book are things anyone can do. It also covers the newest degradation to our food supply, genetic engineering. Not written in words that are better left in a science lab but in down-to-earth, common sense language.

Informative, funny and inspiring, this book is a delight to read. The tone - perfection is not necessary, small changes can make big differences - is excellent and not at all preachy. I bought this book on Earth Day and couldn't put it down. I hope this is the first of a series of books by the authors.

I think the other reviews caught my key points - what I like best about this book is the positive "can do" attitude, and the fresh ideas. It's layed out well and is up-to-date with our lifestyles. It also has worst offenders lists so you know where to focus in and "10 things you can do" lists in different subject areas.

This book provides a good introduction to living a more environmentally friendly life. It covers the basics of eating, transportation, energy and water issues, investing, cleaning, shopping, gardening and pet care.

Each chapter is sprinkled with stories of organic farmers, environmentalists, or eco-friendly companies and how they are making a difference in the world. There are tips to help a person choose the most environmentally friendly way to do something. For example, in the chapter about pet care there is the story of a golden retriever with hip dysplasia who was helped immensely by a change in diet. Included are ways we can improve the diet of our pets by adding organic and fresh foods to our pets diet such as apples, pears, melon balls, carrots and even a recipe for an organic carrot juice.

Throughout the book the authors emphasize that buying products locally is best because it takes resources to move items across the country. Also emphasized is thinking more about where things come from and how they were produced. Companies that use organically grown materials and fair labor practices are emphasized. Included are many resources and web sites throughout as well as a bibliography and 25-page resource directory at the end with names, address, e-mails, and web sites of companies and organizations that correspond with the chapters of the book.

The book was an easy read full of good ideas, some of which I have already put into practice in my own life. There is a chapter on consumption, which is kind of depressing as it makes you feel guilty for shopping for pleasure. But the book makes you think, which is what Nell Newman intended. It also makes you angry that the government doesn't insist on a better quality of life for us as far as chemicals/ toxins/ produce are concerned.

Nell Newman has produced what appears to be a lovingly written appeal to live the "organic good life". I can only imagine that she's preaching to the choir here - there seems to be little that would draw in anyone who isn't already convinced that one should shop sustainably, minimize reliance on private transportation and save water.

Her suggestions are blameless - there's nothing to criticize in the ideas themselves. I just wish that she would have pushed the envelop a bit and worked outside the comfort zone of mass market cliche to try and reach those not already convinced - maybe Susie Suburban who buys some salad dressing already knows to recycle but isn't familiar with other environmentally sound measures - such as rain barrels or car shares.

Still, the text has its charms. Stories of Nell's Ma and Pa (Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman to you and me) remind the reader that this is a real person writing, one who truly believes what she says and has a stake in the information she offers. Most recommended is the essay on generosity found in the last chapter - I don't know if it was ever reprinted elsewhere, but it should be required reading for every American.

I dont know how I heard about this book but it is a fantastic gem.I had enjoyed the newman's salad dressing and the cookies (chocolate chip yum!) but never realized that Nell Newman was such a great writer along with being environmentally conscious. From the book I learned ways to ivest socially, clean my house with healthy non toxic products, and how to be efficient while helping the earth. My next car will definately be a hybrid! She acknowledges that she is not an activist, but more so a contributer to making this earth a little better then when she came onto it. I like also that she included a section on healthy pets since I am obsessed with my pooch.
This book is so simple and staight forward, and she has become a sort of role model in her ways. She is not interested in profit but that we learn the value and importance of personal and eco health. She even recommends to pass this book on then order another and kill more trees (note though this book is made of recylced paper)!

I'm not a die-hard eco-liver, but I like to be good to the environment where I can. This book gave a lot of good ideas for just that. I also bought "Green Living" by The E Magazine at the same time. This one was better. It kept my interest and wasn't just a collection of fact and figures.

Highly recommended.

Nell Newman is the daughter of actor Paul Newman and actress Joanne Woodward. Paul Newman grew up in Ohio's Amish country and Nell's grandparents no doubt gave her inspiration to appreciate nature. Nell went to college to study our precious environment, which probably accounts for her book's 26 pages of extensive resource listings at the end of each chapter.

Nell's research examines several facets of contemporary life such as food, energy, transportation, communications, investing, shopping, pet care, household cleaning, and gardening. She offers practical solutions to make changes that promote a greener, cleaner lifestyle for those of us who want to make a difference to this planet that we've been entrusted with: Buy organic, local, or fair-traded foods; Drive more fuel efficient cars; Learn about the "Green Power" energy options available in several states; Recycle old cell phones; and Buy ecologically sound stock investments. Before buying imports from Communist China, Nell advises to "Think before you buy, you might be reincarnated as a Third-World laborer".

In short, making drastic changes to a greener lifesytle is something few of us can or even want to do. Nell's book is chock full of little ways through which we can make a difference, and when you tally these up, they amount to something!

There's some rubbish going around that there are two rigidly defined, black-and-white categories of people in the USA: conservative Republicans who don't care about the environment, and Al Gore's superforce of environmental enthusiasts. Or, if you prefer, blissfully ignorant normal people vs. crazy green hippie radicals. As a moderate who likes anybody whose category can't be rhymed with 'glass bowl', I dislike any either/or mindset. It's not the reasonable people who gain media attention, it's the radicals, and they become the stereotype of what we should avoid. In this vein, the absolute worst threat to the environment today is, ironically, the most passionate of environmentalists, whose self-righteous smugness and brimstone rants turn off the average reasonable person, understandably dismissing such vile attitudes. As with religion, environmental consciousness brings the stigma of personal manipulation via shame--for there are, no question, those who try to induce and exploit guilt for a hidden personal gain. The majority recognizes such 'activism' for what it is--at its worst, the pleasure of feeling superior to the 'unenlightened masses', labelled lazy, stupid, ignorant, blind, etc. simply for living in the world as it is. Those radical environmentalists who truly care at heart must see others from an empathic viewpoint, one which doesn't include heavy-handedness or bitter judgment, and thus has a chance of actually convincing others. This is the age of the new environmentalist--common people who come together for a cause that transcends political platforms, because regardless of our personal differences, we all want the same thing: a better life for us all. And you can bet that politicians across the board will need to listen. We are the voters, we have the power here, and we can encourage each other to use it in ways that benefit our country and our families.

What's refreshing about Nell Newman's book is that it is NOT a work of self-righteous extremism. Ms. Newman, while conscientious, passionate, and very 'green', doesn't try to shove rules down the throats of readers, nor does she stand on a soapbox and rant. She takes a nonpolitical, light-handed, self-critical, practical paradigm which communicates her point better than any alternative. In fact, she acknowledges that a lot of environmental suggestions are a tradeoff, and doesn't judge the reader for their personal decisions about what is manageable for them in their everyday life. All she tries to do, in this nicely written book, is offer thoughtful and intelligent research on how we can use the cutting-edge tools of our modern age along with well-tried old-fashioned ways of living, all to make life better. And that's something that pretty much everyone, whatever their politics or age or conscience or personal beliefs, wants to do.

If every American picked just two chapters from this book, and did only about 2 of the minor ideas listed in each, not only their environment but their own personal life would improve. I've tried the Newman's Own organic answer to popular cookies, which even my large chain grocery store carries, and you know what? In my book, besides being healthier, they actually taste BETTER than the commercial brand. The chocolate in the Newman-Os had a stronger flavor; the cream was softer, smoother, more appealing. And the Fig Newmans (har) redefined my idea of the word "Fig" and what it should taste like. It's also nice knowing that the actual profits go to charity rather than an already rich CEO's pockets. Organic may be a bit more expensive--now, while the businesses are small and struggling--but that will change the more we support them, and even in the meantime, the taste and health benefits are unquestionably worth it, at least once in a while. As Nell Newman frankly says in this book, the question is more, do we want to pay up front or down the road? In other words, would we prefer to pay a little more for the health of our pets, our family and ourselves now, or do we want to make it up in hospital and vet bills later?

Part of the reason we don't eat enough vegetables in this country is because we instinctively know they don't taste right. And they don't taste right because they aren't raised right, by small farmers with natural pesticides the way it should be. That's what organic eating is all about. Not being a hippie or a radical, or nut loaf with yeast gravy. Just supporting a better way of life and a better taste. After all, why give your dollar vote to a system that only tries to phase out partially hydrogenated oils after it becomes widely known among the public that they drastically increase the risk of heart disease, and even then uses tricks like '0 grams trans fat' to blind us to the fact that they're still legally allowed to put 0.5 grams into their stragtegically chosen serving size, which still adds up to an increased risk? The oils are listed in the ingredients, but they think we won't look there, relying on consumer trust to camouflage their cheap, unhealthful choices. And though wheat is becoming more popular as a selling point, its benefits can be stripped away without any indication given if you don't know their legal trick--that's the difference between 'wheat flour' and 'whole wheat flour'--whole wheat is what gives you the benefits, and it can be one of the last ingredients while still giving them the go-ahead to blast "NOW WITH WHOLE WHEAT!" all over the front label. Only '100% whole wheat' and 'NO trans fat' really mean healthy food, and those are the brands that deserve to be bought.

Judging from my range of emotions--disturbed at what unnatural pesticides used on produce can actually do to our bodies and our ecosystem, interested at the money-saver tips for energy, then slowly outraged at what I'd been unknowingly feeding my pet in giving her commercial dog food with vegetables and healthy meat printed all over the package--I'd say Nell Newman did a pretty good job of responsibly exposing the truth, with a little humor and charm along the way, and without being paranoid or alarmist. Corporations just think what they're doing is already good enough for the common person and animal--I've got to disagree with them. I think we deserve a better quality of life. And if enough people agree with that notion, we've got a fine basis for change right there.

That's only the food sections I've covered in this recommendation. If you're interested, pick up the book--there's a lot more to be seen and known, and it's your right to know it.