The One-Straw Revolution (New York Review Books Classics): An Introduction to Natural Farming

I have been meaning to read this book for sometime but had preconceived ideas that it would be hard work to read. Not in the slightest and it has been a real page turner. Every page is full of wisdom and insight that is as relevant today as when it was written. Highly recommended.

Brilliant because of the impact it made in the permaculture/natural farming world, and also because he speaks a beautiful philosophy on how our farming and lifestyles need to be integrated into nature, not just for our benefit but as a necessity for healing the earth. he shows that not only does following the flow of nature work for farming, but also how it provides healthier food for us.

The original and genuine first English language publication written and published in India - the foreword talks about Masaobu Fukuoka's transformation of a Quaker settlement right across the road from where I worked. I much prefer this version to the later American one by Larry Corn. Masanobu is the father of Natural Farming and his story of how that came about and how he tried to stop profiteers charging higher prices for higher-quality food which cost less to grow than unhealthy mass-produced monoculture food is something to be aware of when we are overcharged for organic produce, and the natural methods of preventing pest and disease should be a lesson to all food-crop growers. This book should be bought by all who want healthy food and those who are interested in Natural Farming and Permaculture. Together with Patrick Whitefields 'Permaculture'in a Nutshell' and Aranya's 'Permaculture Design, 'One Straw revolution' these three little books comprehensively cover what is needed to get our food growing back to being healthy again and our bodies free of pesticides and biocides. Get all three!.

The One-Straw Revolution is not really written as a book, but as a collection of short discursions. These cover the author's life, his farming methods, his conversations with the students that visited his farm, and his philosophy on the impossibility of understanding nature. For me the book got a bit repetitive by the end, but it was never less than readable and thought provoking. With hindsight I would have simply launched straight into reading the book, and left the rather wordy introductions by other authors till later. If you are interested in the Japanese approach to life, then you might find "Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use" by Toshio Odate, of interest too. Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use I suspect that often we are striving to find a technical solution to the wrong questions, when books like this can make us wonder if maybe we should be asking a better question. File next to Thoreau's Walden. Also worth seeking out material on Sepp Holzer the Austrian permaculturist and Against the Grain by Richard Manning, if you can find a copy.

The principles espoused by Fukuoka are obviously extremely relevant on a grand scale, but I'm not sure sure that I can afford to wait as long as he did to convert my already very productive allotment to his methods. Probably more relevant to agriculture than to small scale vegetable production. Having said that, the book is very interesing and well worth reading

This is such an amazing book, all that I had hoped for and more. It's not just about farming, more about a completely different way of seeing the world. Beautifully written, the simple insights will change the way you think about the world we live in and our place with them. Highly recommended.

This book introduced me to the concept of no till farming and gardening; the notion of permaculture and how nature being in balance should be a patient aspiration.

I really enjoyed this book. Whilst I am not sure I will ever grow rice there is still plenty of technical, moral and philosophical writing to keep you entertained and thinking for years. A very profound book.

Must read. This is the book I will revisit again and again

alles super

This book is proof that fertilizers and pest control (biocides) are no good for our earth -- or for us! Good information for people interested in permaculture, no-till gardening or no-till farming, organic food production, etc.

Excellent book

Sienta las bases de la agricultura natural, inteligente y regenerativa.