book evaluation deeply rooted

Alyssa LaCava

EN 102-016

27 November 2017

Professor Santos

Book Evaluation Deeply Rooted

Deeply Rooted

            In the nonfiction novel Deeply Rooted by Lisa Hamilton we are taken through the authors journey through Texas, New Mexico, and North Dakota, and the author focuses on the lives of three farmers, Harry Lewis who was known as a dairy farmer, Virgil Trujillo who was a rancher, and the Podoll family who were organic plant farmers. All in different aspects of farming, Hamilton introduces you to not only their individuality but also how they are all similar and are all striving for the success in future farming. Hamilton shows us that even though these farmers and many others might have difficult times getting by, they are still motivated by keeping farming in the business forever.

            In the article from Sustainable Kentucky, “You might think that a book on these topics might be boring or even like a textbook. While I think the information presented would probably make excellent college course material, Ms. Hamilton’s writing is fresh and almost literary. She doesn’t gloss over the ugly or dirty side of the farms she profiles either. She puts it all out there, allowing the reader to come to their own conclusions about her subjects.” This quote is something that I one hundred percent agreed with. Hamilton writes so fluently about the different topics and like most people who may just pick up and scan the book, they may find it boring. But because she has so much information, the novel is an amazing outlet to gather facts together from different points of views. Authors can sometimes try to persuade you to think how they think and may not include certain information to ensure the readers opinion is moved. Hamilton has her own opinion but she also gives you all information, even the good and bad, thus allowing the reader to make their own conclusions.

            As mentioned before by Sustainable Kentucky, the novel makes excellent college course material. This book allows you the reader to be introduced to different life styles and struggles while showing the passion to keep farming alive. The book is suited for a college course because of its ability to persuade the reader to ask questions and form their own opinions. It swayed my opinion about farming in the future because though we may not think about it now, we would not have a lot of the resources we do now without the farming industry, that is why it is so important to bring forth the aspects of it, as Lisa Hamilton does in her novel Deeply Rooted.

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.