Field Days: A Year of Farming, Eating, and Drinking Wine in California

Like William Butler Yeats's excursions to Coole Park in Ireland and Henry David Thoreau's adventures at Walden Pond in Massachusetts, Jonah Raskin's odyssey at Oak Hill Farm in Sonoma, becomes the basis for individual change and transformation to the surrounding culture. The descriptions of Raskin working in Oak Hill Farms magnificent organic fields, bring the reader to the soil itself and into the hearts, minds and dreams of the people who own, work, and live at Oak Hill, as well as the people who flock to buy its fresh organic produce and flowers. Field Days, takes the reader into the heart of the movement of organic farming that flourishes in Sonoma County and around the USA. It takes us through the toil and triumphs of the small farm, clinging to life within a world of totalitarian mono-crop farms that wait outside the small farmer's gate, like those world dominators in Aldous Huxley's Island, ready to take over at any slightest opportunity or crop failure. In Field Days, the author writes with a farmer's guile and care. He leads us down rows of corn, beans, and flowers, and we share the discoveries in their planting, cultivation and harvest. He sets us on the side of the road to watch the crops loading onto the farm truck and their slow drive to the barn where they are washed and readied for market. The author also takes us deeper into the discussion about the importance of multi-crop organic farms verses mono-crop conglomerates. He shows the sustainability of the small farm that does not strain the land, the soil, and the farm itself. Jonah Raskin's book shows us the magic an organic farm like Oak Hill produces in a community. This is a must read for any person interested in organic farming anywhere. It is not so much a bird's eye view as it is that the bird carries a keen eye, a pen and a hoe, and a solution for the preservation of delicious organic produce. Timothy Williams

Jonah did a wonderful job of telling of the hard work and love that goes into running a small farm, as well as the love of the land that the people here have.

Do you need a lovely read for a summer day or chilly fall evening? Pick up your copy of Field Days and go on a deeply personal, moving and illuminating journey with Raskin through the productive fields, lively farmers markets, and produce stores, of Sonoma's organic agriculture. First of all, this is one man's journey deep into his own environment. After years of teaching, writing, researching, interviewing, analyzing, Raskin puts aside his writer's tools temporarily and becomes a field worker. But he also retains his writer's eye and ear, and creates a narrative of a journey through the world of organic farms and foods. Vivid characters emerge, as he gradually makes friends with Anne Teller and other founders of the organic movement, and farm workers, produce sellers, and cooks alike. We are deeply grateful to travel that world with the author, and when we bite into a perfect ear of organic summer corn, we will always remember whose hands sowed and harvested it.

Jonah Raskin's newest book, Field Days, is a great affirmation of life; the life of food, of human beings connecting with the land, of people connecting with each other and, ultimately, even reconnecting with themselves. In his words, Raskin paints the real life portraits of the the unique folks who have a passion for real farming and portrays the great bounty of the legendary Sonoma region of California, known the world over for its food, wine and uniquely attractive vibe that draws people from across the globe to visit and find out what all the fuss is about. To read Field Days is to journey with Raskin throughout a year in the Sonoma region, deep into its richness and plenty, and to come away from the trip fulfilled. Raskin works the fields, tastes the fruits of his efforts and, along the way, gains great insights into himself and the place he calls home. Field Days is a satisfying feast; another triumph such as one has come to expect from Raskin.