Book Evaluation: Deeply Rooted

Jillian Brodeur

Book Evaluation: Deeply Rooted

ENGL 102-016

Professor Santos

27 November 2017

Book Evaluation: Deeply Rooted

In the book Deeply Rooted, Lisa M. Hamilton gives the reader a look into the lives of a lot of small town agricultural figures that many people do not get the chance to learn about throughout the course of their lives. Lisa Hamilton goes on a journey to Sulphur Springs, Texas, Abiquiu, New Mexico, and LaMoure, North Dakota and meets with three different farmers and/or ranchers. The first agricultural figure to show up in Deeply Rooted is Harry Lewis. Harry is an African American dairy farmer that believes in the simple ways of doing things in life and he also believes that to have a credible dairy farm, pasture needs to be involved. The second figure to arrive in Deeply Rooted is Virgil Trujillo. Virgil is a rancher that takes pride in the little land he has left from when the government took a lot of land from the genízaro people in the past. Virgil believes in the land and that the land offers more than just an income. The last figure’s story that is told is the story of the Podoll family. The Podoll family believes in organic farming of crops and seeds. They also believe in farmers being the ones to do their own plant breeding in a way that will help the farmers produce the best crops for their land. All of the ideas and stories from these farmers and/or ranchers are portrayed through Hamilton’s writing. She allows the reader to see the struggles of agricultural figures today and how passionate farmers are by keeping agricultural based jobs prevalent in today’s society.

Lisa Hamilton had a different approach in writing Deeply Rooted than many other informative authors. Lisa Hamilton relayed the stories of three different people in three different areas of North America. In past texts, such as Braiding Sweetgrass, the author’s personal story was told. In Silent Spring, the author’s story was told, but a lot of factual evidence was presented as well. Hamilton gives variety by using different people from different areas. As observed from the book, all of the farmers talked about in the book have their own problems and own passions. What Lisa Hamilton shows from her three different sections of storytelling is that all of the farmers share one overall passion, which is the importance of credible farming in small areas of North America. The stories help get the message across to the reader. In one way or another a reader can connect to the personalities or lifestyles of Harry, Virgil, and the Podolls. Hamilton writes that for Harry, “What made the family proud was not money but independence” (Hamilton 30). I, as a reader, was able to make a personal connection to Harry and his family, which made me pay closer attention to the messages of the various farmers and Lisa Hamilton. People in society today often care about issues more when they affect their own lives or move them in some way. For me and hopefully other readers, the beliefs of the individuals in the book moved me. Lisa Hamilton’s strategy of storytelling worked perfectly to get her point across.

Many people could assume that Deeply Rooted would not be entertaining unless someone sought out the subject matter of issues in the agricultural world, but I would have to disagree. Hamilton’s style of writing is not hard to understand and is very engaging. She focuses on the lives of real people as well as the subject matter at hand. A reader might also think that due to the storytelling aspect of the book, there might not even be enough factual information on the issues of agriculture in small areas. Like me though, a writer from Sustainable Kentucky disagrees. Sustainable Kentucky found while reading the book, that Hamilton does a great job of relaying the factual information without sugar-coating any of it; “She puts it all out there, allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions about her subjects.” By the end of Deeply Rooted, I had realized that I was more interested in the issues Hamilton shed light on. Hamilton’s book made the reader think about why small town farmers that create a great product many of us consume, get overlooked on a day-to-day basis. Making the reader reach the point of asking an important question, in my opinion, is one of the best skills an author can have.

I would highly recommend this book to college students, adults, and even high school students. Younger people, such as high school students would be able to appreciate the messages of Deeply Rooted because Hamilton relays the messages through stories. The storytelling aspect would make it easier for high schoolers to follow along. I believe college students and adults would enjoy and benefit from this read because the subject matter is more common in our lives than one would assume. Hamilton’s book has the power to change the way many people look at farming and large corporations in this day in age.

Works Cited

“Book Review: Deeply Rooted by Lisa Hamilton.” Sustainable Kentucky, 5 Jan. 2012, sustainablekentucky.com/2011/07/26/book-review-deeply-rooted-by-lisa-hamilton/.

Hamilton, Lisa M. Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness. Counterpoint, 2009.