Book Description
A bold and brilliant new collection of essays by one of our most important writers of life in America today
This new collection gathers together for the first time sixteen essays by one of our most revered chroniclers of life in America, a landmark commentary on family, faith, community, and the threats of modernization.
Ranging from the devastating effects of war on children to the endless problems of industrialism and the ubiquitous need for connection and community, Dispatches From Rural America captures a country isolated from its land and beginnings, too focused on mass production and output, and perilously estranged from the spiritual centers that make up the foundation of our lives.
On the cusp of the fiftieth anniversary of Berry’s seminal book The Unsettling of America, Dispatches From Rural America is urgent and vital reading in this time of political chaos from one of our most important writers.
Praise For This Book
Time, A Most Anticipated Title for FallLos Angeles Times, A Best Book of the Month
Town & Country, A Best Book of the Month
"Long revered as a writer’s writer, the late Wendell Berry conjured the rhythms and textures of country life in a career that spanned nearly seven decades, championing agrarian folkways and environmental protections while prophesying the dangers of predatory capitalism. These 12 essays strike a political tone—gentle yet urgent, delivered in a preacher’s cadences—as he calls out gun violence, ecological ruin, urban caricatures of rural cultures, and “industrial suppliers” like Walmart." —Hamilton Cain, Time
"[Berry's] final essay collection asks many provocative questions about industrialism and apathy, but (perhaps wisely) offers no solutions to the world’s ills. After all, Berry paid attention to his own backyard. He urges us to do the same." —Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times
"An urgent, timely read, and an apt final work from Berry." —Town & Country
"Clear-eyed and plainspoken, it’s an urgent call to reexamine the origins of modern ills." —Publishers Weekly
"Berry fans will be delighted to see this new offering which continues in his best tradition, while new readers will discover an intelligent and forthright thinker whose relevance remains steadfast along with his unwavering dedication to rural life." —Booklist
