Book Review: "Harvest for Hope" by Jane Goodall

Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating by Jane Goodall

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I want to preface this by saying that I'm a huge admirer of Jane Goodall as a person and as an activist. I'm also heavily invested in the idea that the re-examination of our societal relationship to food production is vitally important to individual and environmental health. Having said that, this book was a huge disappointment. I kept reading it, hoping it got better or more useful, and it didn't. Ms. Goodall is an incredibly admirable person who clearly has a lot to say on the subject, but the way she says it in this book is just a hot mess. She goes on irrelevant anecdotal tangents in every single chapter and, as many other reviewers have mentioned, she repeats herself continually. I felt like I read eight or nine entreaties to eat organically or buy at farmer's markets. We get it. These things are good, but did anyone picking up this book not already know this?

Furthermore, for such an acclaimed scientist, Goodall provides painfully little science to back up her claim. Despite quoting statistics and making dire ecological and biological predictions on nearly every page, her bibliography is non-existent. Worse still, a lot of her proclamations bear the rhetorical mark of people who have no scientific basis at all. There are many "It seems..." or "Some say" or "Experts think..." attached to extremely serious and debatable claims. She actually contradicts herself several times, initially saying that world hunger isn't owed to the fact that there isn't enough food, but due largely to government corruption in very poor countries; later she states that world hunger is escalating (no citation provided) because "experts say" (sans citation) that the world can't produce enough food.

Goodall also consistently presents her personal speculation as fact throughout the book; for example, she has had anecdotal experience with children preferring organic produce over nonorganic varieties of the same produce, so "it would seem" that children may be able to sense how harmful pesticides are. I'm not saying I disagree with the claim that pesticides are to be avoided - I don't disagree - but this is just sloppy for a well-respected scientist. I actually felt secondhand embarrassment for her at several points.

The last few chapters were where things got really painful. They're basically a plug for her Jane Goodall Institute and her personal political agendas. Example #1: she believes ALL governments need to "take steps" [none specified] to reduce the population. Example #2: she goes on a paragraph-long rant about how cruel the US has been to Cuba's communist regime, forcing them to encourage their people to have gardens to compensate for not being able to import stuff. Horrors! NOT GARDENS! Example #3: Multiple times, she presents an ecological problem - deforestation and its contribution to topsoil erosion - then illustrates how the Jane Goodall Institute's genius innovation has magically solved this problem in several areas of the world. How fortuitous.

Anyway. I was pretty unimpressed by this and it actually turned me off of Goodall momentarily. I still have mad respect for her work as an ecologist, animal behaviorist and general well-intentioned good egg, but this isn't a good book. Any reader would be better-informed by just reading her suggested resources titles instead. Seriously.



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Book Review: "Take Back Your Family" by Justine Simmons and Rev Run

Take Back Your Family: A Challenge to America's Parents by Rev Run

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this book. It was like having a conversation with some really smart, non-judgmental, successful friends. Granted, Justine and Joey Simmons are both a little self-congratulatory about all their monetary and personal success - to be fair, they have a lot to be proud of! - and they brag on their kids endlessly throughout, which even they acknowledge is a little annoying. However, while the title of the book may make it sound as though they've written an instruction manual, nothing can be farther from the truth. The Simmonses are determined to lead by example. Rather than tell you what to do to "take back your family" - by which they mean, strengthen your family unit, no matter what it looks like, and regardless of what "strong family unit" means to you - they just show you how THEY do it. Then they suggest how this might work for you.

The writing style was conversational without being patronizing or pandering. The book covers several topics, such as building strong marriages, imparting your values to your children, growing spiritually as a family and raising kids who are both humble and have self esteem in abundance. Rather than write it as a omniscient voice, Justine and Rev (Joey) Run decided to each write individual vignettes and segments for each topic in his or her own distinct voice. This really worked for me, because I felt very included in the conversation, rather than people just talking at me from some ivory tower. It was nice to see where they disagree and why they disagree with each other - this leads you to ponder the issues yourself and clarify your own values, which is just how it should be. Also, Justine seems to be more sentimental and compassionate, while Rev is more logical and analytical, so I think the book really profits from having topics dissected from both angles.

The book isn't exactly a blueprint, but they do provide some really positive templates, conversation starters and values clarification exercises that I think would benefit any family with kids. A lot of what they wrote about doesn't really apply to me. I mostly read this because I'm a fan of Rev's and the show, and was curious about a behind-the-scenes look at it all. For people like me, there's still a lot there and it's still worthwhile. I'm not giving it five stars because I do feel that it meanders a little and that the couple comes off as inadvertently smug a few times (I lost count of how many times Rev gleefully mentions his INDOOR BASKETBALL COURT!!! etc) but I'm still glad I read it.



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