Becoming Native to This Place (Paperback)

by Wes Jackson (Author) "In 1992, the people of the Americas acknowledged and celebrated Spain's entrada into the New World half a millennium ago..." (more)
Key Phrases: technological array, extractive economy, Wendell Berry, The Land Institute, Rice County (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Ideas seem to advance in waves upon the modern mind, and one of the concepts cresting at present is the notion of place. This recent swell could be charted back to Daniel Kemmis's 1992 book Community and the Politics of Place as well as his more recent meditation on the inhabitation of cities (The Good City and the Good Life). Wendell Berry's A Place on Earth continued the theme, as has Alan Thein Durning's recent book This Place on Earth. Wes Jackson, a bioligist by training, applies the notion of place to a rethinking of ecological and agricultural policy. His hope is that the concept of place will seep deeply into our thoughts and affect the very way we inhabit the world. In effect, Jackson argues for inverting the slogan "think globally, act locally": when we think of the whole Earth on a local level as a group of loved places rather than territory or resource pools, then we will be headed in the right direction.

From Publishers Weekly
Environmentalist and former MacArthur fellow Jackson argues for a shift to economic and lifestyle paradigms based on ecology.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint; Later printing edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887178112
• ISBN-13: 978-1887178112
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #283,882 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alternative perspective on human interaction with the earth, June 19, 2000

By	"jimgthr" (Iowa) - See all my reviews

Very easy reading, short book.

Wes Jackson describes a growing perspective that we need to interact symbiotically with the earth rather than considering the earth a "resource" at our disposal. He mixes philosophy with actual personal experiences to further illustrate the story.

The fact that he began the Land Use Institute in Kansas and is still and active participant lends credibility to his dialog.

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Principles, Little Information, December 14, 2006

By	S. Diaminah "ajagunna" (nyc) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this book because I have become very interested in agriculture and rooting it and our communities in the local ecosystems of the places we live in. I this book looked like it was going to be a good introduction to this. Well, it was a good introduction to the values of Jackson's practice but doesn't say much about the practice itself. But perhaps that's because trying to apply something other than principles from a book would be counter to the respect for local specifics that Jackson has. Either way the book is well written and inspiring, but i still wish there were more specifics.