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My Empire Of Dirt: How One Man Turned His Big-City Backyard Into A Farm (2010)

by Manny Howard(Favorite Author)

2.71 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1416585168 (ISBN13: 9781416585169)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Scribner

review 1: I found this book at the Dollar Tree and am very glad that I only paid a dollar for it.This book was sort of all over the place. Neat concept but Manny Howard seemed to write about the experience off the top of his head, with no attempt to order his thoughts, and frequently going off on rabbit trails (no pun intended).Kind of a bumbling sort of guy who had NO earthly idea what he was doing, but isn't afraid to reveal that to us.I learned that a can of sardines can lure raccoons into a trap, as well as a bagel spread with a little dab of cream cheese. Also, that cat food (Whiskas) can fatten up chickens. There were a few other factual nuggets that I was interested to learn about, but overall i just felt sorry for the guy.During the process of turning his small city backy... moreard into a farm, he sawed his pinky finger off, an F2 tornado leveled his crops, his rabbits died, he got very sick from eating a chicken gone bad, his little girl had knee surgery just when his crops were coming in, and a few other misadventures happened that would have caused most folks to give up.The most unfortunate thing to me about this whole book was that Manny's wife was so completely uncooperative and unsupportive of him; impatient and rude during the whole process. I do not know how he put up with her. She ought to be ashamed of her behavior. I rather think HE was the more patient of the two. She just needs to apologize if she hasn't already.
review 2: I really disliked this book. It's about a man who was asked to live off whatever he grows in his backyard for an article in New York magazine. The book is poorly written. It rambles on about topics that are totally irrelevant to the story. He seems sadistic in the way he treats his animals...brutally killing many of them because of his anger and getting animals before even knowing how to take care of them. His project seemed like a total failure and not worth reading. less

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