Customer Reviews

Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life

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

 

 

While I applaud the authors move to a "simpler" lifestyle, I really had a difficult time wading through this book. Filled with clichés and writing that would better suited for an overly sentimental greeting card, the pace of the book really dragged. It seemed to me that the editing could have been tighter, as the timelines were hard to follow at points, even though I tried to cross reference with their website. (Is the greenhouse finished, or isn't it?) Do I really care about the fact that they like to run around naked and are experts on all things cappuccino? If they have traveled all over the planet before "going green", they have already left a rather large carbon footprint (now they plant trees to offset their carbon production).

I found some of their math to be either hard to believe or nothing to brag about. If they are consuming fair trade coffee, Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby ice cream and Stonyfield Farm yogurt, plus buying most of their grains and dried legumes in bulk (all of which are good products in general), how can they be producing 70% of their own food? Bragging about their "super efficient" Sunfrost refrigerator having a payback time of 50 years (initial cost vs energy savings) - wow - either they or the refrigerator could be dead long before then. This wasn't going to have me running out to buy that fridge.

I did like their lists of sources and resources throughout the book, a few of which I had not seen before. I think this book would be good for urban dwellers who are just starting out "going green", if you don't mind a lot of extra verbage. I was born and raised in the country, lived in the city and suburbs, and have finally moved back to the country. I know a lot of people who have done more with less, and they're not being featured in USA Today and praised up and down by other national organizations. The authors are good at publicizing what they do, which is certainly am important part of running a successful Bed & Breakfast, I was just hoping for a more "down-to-earth" story.

The best book I've read on building a simpler, more natural life. The instructions in the book are practical, everyday things that you'll need to know to build a new lifestyle. But it also goes beyond the basics that you get in every other book to include community, raising children in this lifestyle, earning money while upholding your values, and much more. The best part is the "sources and resources" sections in each chapter that help you to accomplish your new goals (for instance buying from business that use sustainable resources or are involved in free trade). Anyone interested in trading in the "American Dream" for a real life would find Rural Renaissance to be a valuable resource.

These folks actually did what many of us dream of & re-built their lifestyle based on their own personal beliefs. I was especially interested because of their location in Wisconsin, where I have lots of family & am very aware of what's happening in the agriculture portions of the state. There are plenty of do-able plans for people reading the book to follow to make their own lives more in sync with the needs of the planet without going to the extremes of buying a farm in the country & jumping into the lifestyle headfirst. Our family has instituted many of the suggestions in the book over the past few years, slowly & carefully & have been very pleased with the increased quality of life and the financial savings that have also accrued.

If you've never done much thinking or research into conservation and a sustainable lifestyle, this may be a good book for you. However, if you have, there is not a lot of new information, and the authors write in a self-congratulatory style that gets a little old. Many of these "novel ideas" are things that most cultured people are familiar with. For example, there is a section about reaching out in friendship to and learning from people who may not seem just like you -- perhaps an older person if you are young or someone who may seem eccentric. Other examples would be the couples' recommendation of staying in hostels when traveling abroad, reusing envelopes, and going to thriftshops. However, I still give the book three stars because there were tidbits of information that were helpful --like the fact that washing dishes by hand uses 70 percent more resources than using a dishwasher.

Good, if somewhat disjointed book that concentrates more on the thought processes behind going back to the land than on the mechanics of it. At times the use of third person narrative grates, but on the whole it is well worth overlooking these minor quibbles.

This is a good starting point for beginning your own journey back to the land, in that you must get your head in the right place to be able to walk the walk, so to speak. The authors give plenty of resources for further investigation of particular topics.

I enjoy reading books about changing to a simpler life..this one was no exception. It's inspiring when people walk away from good paying corporate jobs in search of happiness (and find it without ending up on the sidewalk begging for money). I wish I had the guts to do it. Although I have no interest in running a bed&breakfast it is interesting to hear what that is like and how many people get burnt out after a few years of it. The book did have references to related books, websites, etc throughout which I found helpful. Overall I wouldn't call the book earth shattering, but I'm glad I read it.

Buy this book - even if you implement just a few ideas from it - you AND the earth will be better off.

As the owner of an eco friendly bed and breakfast inn I found this book to be inspirational and informative. My wife and I follow the philosophy of Inn Serendipity and agreed with many points made.

A great book for someone seeking a simpler eco friendly way of life by starting a "mindful" business. Great advice and strategies for success.

The authors of this book go into great detail about their personal efforts to live greener, more socially and environmentally responsible lives. As a whole, the book is both entertaining and a valuable resource (the text is both anecdotal and includes lists of websites, companies, and contact information). Since the book is so inclusive of so many topics, there are certain sections that may not be of interest to many readers (e.g. the section defining the very technical process of installing a solar-powered water heating system; or the very philosophical and personal views of the authors about community involvement and the ins and outs of their daily lives). I think the book is a valuable addition to the library of someone who wants to take responsibility on many environmental and social fronts.

I enjoyed parts of this book; however, there were several sections which I felt had nothing to do with the "back-to-the-land" premise. Do I really have to wade through the diatribes against George W Bush? I thought the book would have been more effective if it stuck to the initial ideas of self-sufficiency. Then it would have reached a larger audience. I could not read the whole thing due to these rabbit trails.

I found the book _On Good Land_ by Michael Ableman to be much more helpful, or even _It's a Long Road to a Tomato_ by Keith Stewart. Back-to-the-land views are held by many across the political spectrum, as we are all called to be good stewards of this good earth.