Showing titles in Agricultural & Food Sciences

A few months of married bliss, a lovers' nest in Darrowby and the wonders of home cooking are rudely interrupted for James Herriot by the Second World War. James Herriot's fifth volume of memoirs relocates him to a training camp somewhere in England. And in between square pounding and digging for victory, he dreams of the people and livestock he left behind him.

If you've ever thought about becoming a backyard beekeeper - or have already tried a hand at it and want to be better one - then this is the book for you! In Beekeeping for Dummies, 4th Edition, you'll find everything you need to know in order to start your own colony, including how to assemble and maintain beehives, handle every phase of honey production, purchase and use all the latest tools, and what to do beyond your first season.  

In the hard-hitting, groundbreaking tradition of his NY Times best seller Fat Chance, which revealed the dangers of sugar, Dr Robert Lustig persuasively presents a stark exposé of how our addiction to processed foods (aided and abetted by the food industry, big ag, big pharma, institutional medicine and the government) is behind the lethal increase in major non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver disease, cancer and dementia. 

Bloomsbury presents The Apple: A Delicious History by Sally Coulthard, read by Deborah Balm. Sin, cider and apple crumble… the 10,000-year story of the world’s most tempting fruit. The Apple: A Delicious History takes the reader on an extraordinary journey, from the apple’s prehistoric...

In his first all-new book in 15 years, Eliot Coleman returns organic farming to its ethical roots, exploring the very soul of organic growing. In The Self-Fed Farm and Garden, he presents the organic method as a self-sustaining system rooted in soil health care and shows listeners how they can shift to a self-fed model that continually recharges the soil with organic matter, thus allowing the soil food web to provide all the nutrients crops need for healthy growth and excellent yields.

The book that helped make Michael Pollan, the New York Times bestselling author of Cooked and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, one of the most trusted food experts in America In 1637, one Dutchman paid as much for a single tulip bulb as the going price of a town house in Amsterdam. Three and a...

Ever wonder if plants sleep or why their leaves are shaped a certain way? The inner workings of the plants you love are revealed and celebrated in this guide by botany expert Dr. Scott Zona. A Gardener’s Guide to Botany is not just another book on how to grow plants. Instead, it’s a...

Call it "Zen and the Art of Farming" or a "Little Green Book", Masanobu Fukuoka's manifesto about farming, eating, and the limits of human knowledge presents a radical challenge to the global systems we rely on for our food. At the same time, it is a spiritual memoir of a man whose innovative system of cultivating the earth reflects a deep faith in the wholeness and balance of the natural world. As Wendell Berry writes in his preface, the book "is valuable to us because it is at once practical and philosophical."

With two years experience behind him, James Herriot still feels privileged working on the beautiful Yorkshire moors as assistant vet at the Darrowby practice. Time to meet yet more unwilling patients and a rich cast of supporting owners. Full of hilarious tales of his unpredictable boss Siegfreid Farnon, his charming student brother Tristan, the joys of spring lambing, a vicious cat called Boris and James' jinxed courtship of the lovely Helen, this third volume of memoirs is sure to delight hardened fans.

A DAILY MAIL AND IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A gem of a book. Full of wisdom, warmth and inspiration. I learned something from every page' NIGEL SLATER 'A delightful book - warm, witty and wise' ALAN TITCHMARSH 'A beautiful refraction of a year, encounters with plants and friends and gardens...

Higher intake of ultra-processed foods has been associated with a laundry list of ailments. It makes sense that greater consumption would be associated with more dental cavities, thanks to their sugar, obesity, thanks to their concentration of calories, and an increased risk of high blood pressure, thanks to their salt, which is linked to higher rates of cardiovascular events, like heart attacks and strokes. And, since cardiovascular diseases are our leading killers, it also makes sense that excess intake of ultra-processed foods could lead to increased overall mortality.

Growing on just one and a half acres, owners Jean-Martin and Maude-Helène feed more than 200 families through their thriving CSA and seasonal market stands and supply their signature mesclun salad mix to dozens of local establishments. The secret of their success is the low-tech, high-yield production methods they've developed by focusing on growing better rather than growing bigger, making their operation more lucrative and viable in the process.

Have you ever desired, deep within your soul, to make a comfortable full-time living from a farming enterprise? Too often people dare not even vocalize this desire because it seems absurd. It's like thinking the unthinkable. After all, the farm population is dwindling. It takes too much capital to start. The pay is too low. The working conditions are dusty, smelly and noisy: Not the place to raise a family. This is all true, and more, for most farmers.

We need land for so many of humanity's growing needs, such as food, renewable energy, carbon storage and housing. Traditionally, we've stolen it from nature, but this has led to a mounting toll of extinction and pollution that is now punishing us. So, as there's no land left to take, how do we get more from the same, or preferably less. In Land Smart, Tom Heap tours the British countryside meeting the farmers, scientists, conservationists and even warehouse managers who are solving the most pressing challenges facing our countryside and the world.

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO NUTRITION, UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU'RE EATING, AND THE FORCES DRIVING YOU TO EAT IT. **AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR** 'This is not just one of the best science books I have read, but one of the best books full stop' - Chris van Tulleken, author of ULTRA-PROCESSED PEOPLE 'In...

The war is over, the RAF uniform has been handed in and James Herriot goes back where he ought to be - at work in the dales around Darrowby. Much has changed, but the blunt-spoken Yorkshire folk and the host of four-legged patients are still the same. So is their vet, who doesn't yet know that literary success is just around the corner.

Throughout her life, Sarah Beeny has been obsessed with the idea of home. From her childhood growing up in a countryside cottage to renovating her very first flat in London to restoring a stately home in Yorkshire, she has never been afraid of the hard work needed to turn a house into a home. Now, in her most recent adventure, Sarah and her family have moved to a former dairy farm in Somerset to build the home of their dreams.

The problem of agriculture is as old as civilization. Throughout history, great societies that abused their land withered into poverty or disappeared entirely. Now we risk repeating this ancient story on a global scale due to ongoing soil degradation, a changing climate, and a rising population. But there is reason for hope. David R. Montgomery introduces us to farmers around the world at the heart of a brewing soil health revolution that could bring humanity's ailing soil back to life remarkably fast.

You may think you don’t have the time or the money to start a big permaculture project. But permaculture doesn’t need to be overwhelming. You can start as small as you like, and you can move at a pace that suits you. Don’t feel you have to learn everything in one go and rush out to transform a whole wilderness in a year. Just deal in manageable chunks, and you’ll do just fine. Even if all you have done is tend to a few tomato plants on your window ledge, you can become an expert gardener; all it takes is a little time, patience, and practice.

This fascinating yet disquieting audiobook finds that we are running out of dirt, and it's no laughing matter. An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations explores the compelling idea that we are, and have long been, using up Earth's soil. Once bare of protective vegetation and exposed to wind and rain, cultivated soils erode bit by bit, slowly enough to be ignored in a single lifetime but fast enough over centuries to limit the lifespan of civilizations.