Ben Hewitt

I mostly liked this book, but trying to articulate what it was even about is rather difficult, so I won't even try. I enjoyed reading about the various agricultural operations in the town of Hardwick, Vermont; however, the broader theme of "Is it possible for a town to sustain itself entirely on its own, and if so, how can we replicate the model elsewhere?" was something I had a harder time following. It just didn't seem to be organized as well. The book sometimes reminded me of [b:The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals|3109|The Omnivore's Dilemma A Natural History of Four Meals|Michael Pollan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393804353s/3109.jpg|3287769], except I liked that one much better.… (más)

I like the manifesto, and I think that this could have been a really stellar essay.

If you're into philosophical contemplations of why money doesn't matter, go ahead and pick this book up. I'm glad he finally figured out that community and relationships are important. I don't think he makes a convincing enough argument, well, about anything -- and I'm definitely a reader that would fall into the category of deeply suspicious of monetary systems. Perhaps this book would be profound if I disagreed with him on more things. Instead I found it to be an irritating flood.

It's an interesting premise, but the structure of the narrative just makes me want to bang my head into a wall. Meandering fits of story interspersed with blatant assumptions that he keeps making about his thrify friend Eric's life. Guess what? On further consideration, all of the blatant assumptions turn out to be wrong. And I can work with that as a reader, if it wasn't so darn repetitive -- First he thought this thing! which turned out to be wrong. Then he thought that thing! which turned out to be wrong. Then this thing happens, which leads him to think this other judgemental thing which, wait for it.... turns out to be wrong. *sigh* So not my thing.

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I thought this book was super cute and fun read for students when they have free reading time. It is a step-by-step book that teaches young adventurer's how to survive in the outdoors in any type of way they may need. It is almost like a boy/girl scout guide and I found it really fun to read. I could have this in my classroom library and any time my students get done with their work they could pull this and read it for some factual knowledge about surviving in the wilderness, which is something that I believe that young adults lack these days.… (más)