Each month, our friends over at Austin’s Pizza select a book to read and review. This month, the book is The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming by Masanobu Fukuoka. Here’s J. D. Torian’s review:
The One-Straw Revolution is a simple book written by a simple man who lives plainly in an overcomplicated and confused world. It’s an excellent introduction Fukuoka’s very basic method of natural farming as well as primer on how to live a principled Zen life; life as an example. Think Chauncey Gardiner with actual brains. He uses farming as a tool successfully explaining, exemplifying, and testing his theories on life and humanity. One gets the feeling that he could have picked any job or profession and achieved the same great success. It’s been suggested the book should be identified by color rather than name, an honor reserved for only the most endearing literature.
Early in his adult life Fukuoka had the following revelation: “Humanity knows nothing at all. There is no intrinsic value in anything, and every action is a futile, meaningless effort.” He immediately and scientifically then goes about his life’s work: proving or disproving this revelation with farming as his means. He loses jobs, he destroys his father’s orchard, he lives as bum, etc. He’s relentless but is driven because he knows there’s a better way that involves a lot less of everything (land, effort, chemicals etc.).
The biggest problem? “There is no time in modern agriculture for a farmer to write a poem or compose a song.” What? More nuts then sense? Probably, but what a thing to say. Farmers are not enjoying themselves. They are not making their lives a good and artful existence. Work is necessary but should by no means be all that it’s about. He takes it one step further with this gem: “Could there be anything better than living simply and taking it easy?” No. No there couldn’t be…..to read the rest of the review, visit the Austin’s Pizza Blog.
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