Book Review: On Good Land by Michael Ableman

It seems like Michael Ableman wrote this book for himself primarily. Basically, it's a pleasant retrospective on an obviously formative period of his life. The farm he managed (Fairview Farms in Goleta, a suburb of Santa Barbara) is interesting in and of itself, but much of this book is about his time spent there. He keeps a pleasant balance between romantically describing the growing seasons and tribulations encountered along with the hard times suffered managing a for-profit farm in a dense suburban environment.

This book isn't a how-to for aspiring urban farmers nor is it a guide to creating community agricultural lands. He only mentions in passing how he combated peach leaf curl and the process of forming organization which ultimately managed the land for educational purposes. He roughly describes how he dealt with irate neighbors and the profusion of urban trash blowing in. Don't read this book expecting to learn anything.

That being said, it's a very short read - I finished it in one day and I'm not a speedy reader. The pages are heavy stock chocked with glossy photos and it's only about 130 pages. Where an urban diva relaxes on the beach reading a summer fluff novel, an urban farmer sits on the back deck reading this book. Simply put, it's a fun read.

I've been to Goleta. If fact, I've sat on the back-yard pool deck of a McMansion which can't be very far from Michael's Fairview Farms. What he managed to do in preserving those acres for farmland for future generations is impressive. In time, will all our urban farms end up that way? Is there any other option in this age?