Rooted in the Land: Essays on Community and Place

William Vitek, Wes Jackson

Yale University Press, 1996 - Science - 285 pages

Although contemporary society seems to promote the values of individualism and mobility, this book is dedicated to the notion that human lives are enriched by participation in a social community that is integrated into the natural landscape of a particular place. The 34 contributors - who include David Ehrenfeld, Lynn R. Miller, Wendell Berry, Deborah Tall, David W. Orr, Robert Swann, and Susan Witt, as well as other philosophers, scientists, activists, economists, historians, farmers and ranchers, sociologists, theologians, and political scientists - offer an array of social and ecological perspectives on the nature of 'community.'

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Rooted in the land: essays on community and place

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This collection of 34 essays by philosophers, theologians, farmers, political scientists, economists, and academicians examines the role of the community and sense of place in our lives. Part 1 ...

Rooted in the land: essays on community and place

User Review  - Not Available - Book Verdict

This collection of 34 essays by philosophers, theologians, farmers, political scientists, economists, and academicians examines the role of the community and sense of place in our lives. Part 1 ...

About the author

Wes Jackson, the president of the Land Institute in Salinas, Kansas, has become an influential voice in arguing for an agriculture that is more conservative of land and water resources. Born in 1936 on a farm in Topeka, Kansas, Jackson was subsequently trained as a biologist and botanist at Kansas Wesleyan and the University of Kansas, respectively. He was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy for his work in genetics by North Carolina State University in 1967. After completing his education, Jackson established an Environmental Studies program at California State University in Sacramento, where he served as a professor until 1976. In that year, he resigned from his professorship to establish the Land Institute, where he has since applied his scientific training to the breeding of a perennial wheat and to developing sustainable agricultural techniques. Through his writing, Jackson has articulated a vision of agriculture that is not only environmentally sound, but also provides a basis for the reinvigoration of rural communities.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Rooted in the Land: Essays on Community and Place
• Editors: William Vitek, Wes Jackson
• Publisher: Yale University Press, 1996
• ISBN: 0300065418, 9780300065411
• Length: 285 pages
• Subjects: Science / Environmental Science