Wendell Berry

The writings gathered in The World-Ending Fire are the unique product of a life spent farming the fields of rural Kentucky with mules and horses, and of the rich, intimate knowledge of the land cultivated by this work. These are essays written in defiance of the false call to progress and in defense of local landscapes, essays that celebrate our cultural heritage, our history, and our home.

With grace and conviction, Wendell Berry shows that we simply cannot afford to succumb to the mass-produced madness that drives our global economy―the natural world will not survive it.

Yet he also shares with us a vision of consolation and of hope. We may be locked in an uneven struggle, but we can and must begin to treat our land, our neighbors, and ourselves with respect and care. As Berry urges, we must abandon arrogance and stand in awe.

The Essential Wendell Berry

The World-Ending Fire

The most comprehensive―and only author-authorized―Wendell Berry reader, "America's greatest philosopher on sustainable life and living" (Chicago Tribune). In a time when our relationship to the natural world is ruled by the violence and greed of unbridled consumerism, Wendell Berry speaks out in these prescient essays, drawn from his fifty-year campaign on behalf of American lands and communities. The writings gathered in The World-Ending Fire are the unique product of a life spent farming the fields of rural Kentucky with mules and horses, and of the rich, intimate knowledge of the land cultivated by this work. These are essays written in defiance of the false call to progress and in defense of local landscapes, essays that celebrate our cultural heritage, our history, and our home. With grace and conviction, Wendell Berry shows that we simply cannot afford to succumb to the mass-produced madness that drives our global economy―the natural world will not allow it. Yet he also shares with us a vision of consolation and of hope. We may be locked in an uneven struggle, but we can and must begin to treat our land, our neighbors, and ourselves with respect and care. As Berry urges, we must abandon arrogance and stand in awe.

Mostly thoughtful, even visionary, with some “ok boomer” moments

Madi

Daryl Houston

I had never read Berry before and had always sort of meant to. I was a little disappointed in what I read of this collection (I skipped a few pieces). There is a sort of ethics in his thinking that appeals to me, but there is also at times a rigid curmudgeonliness that makes it hard for me to think of Berry as other than... "old man shakes fist at clouds." There is beauty in some of his writing, though sometimes he also belabors the extended metaphor a bit. If this book is representative of his writing overall, I reckon I'd like half or less of his writing and feel either pretty cool to or outright annoyed by the rest.

The World-Ending Fire The Essential Wendell Berry

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