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Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History Of Herding, And The Art Of Making Cheese (2009)

by Brad Kessler(Favorite Author)

4.09 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1416560998 (ISBN13: 9781416560999)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Scribner

review 1: Enjoyed kessler's jaunt through humanity's pastoral roots and his own goat-raising journey. Lots of fat to chew on and interesting especially with some practical knowledge. That said, his tone often reaches an all too 'meaningful' note that rings false (or I hope it is). A fun, informative read, even if I don't think much of kessler's stiff, over-intellectualized descriptions of transcendance through goatherding.
review 2: Don't have any idea why I enjoyed this book, but I really did. I found it fascinating and I wanted to move to a rural area and figure out how to live off the land. I really found some fascinating ideas within, like about the economics and politics behind animal husbandry. "Fredrich Engels argued that the domestication of cattle was a pivot... moreal point for human society. Once the wild bull was broken and used to plow fields he could also be used for trade. Some humans inevitably accumulated more cattle wealth than others. The spread of a pastoralist economy...led to a growing inequality between those who had and those who hadn't-between rich and poor, and men and women. The end result was a new class system...The chieftains and their herding culture survived and spread. The foraging cultures diminished and died out. In time herding cultures took over most parts of the globe..." (Pages 59-60). I loved this thought and whole-heartedly believe it to be true, "Gandhi believed that everyone...should spend at least a small part of his or her day producing the food they eat of the clothes they wear. "Bread labor," he and Tolstoy called it." (page 129). I also found this discussion to be very thought-provoking, "The nature of empathy bewilders me, how we can feel one way about certain animals and opposite about others; how we can inflict pain and death on some and shower love on others and feel more deeply for an animal than a fellow human. Do we reserve pity...only for those who suffer "undeserved misfortune?" Is that why it's easy to feel for a sick animal or an injured child, those who couldn't possibly have "deserved" their misfortune? Or is it all cultural?" (page 144). Going to rural France to try out some real cheese! less

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