Book cover of The Essential Earthman: Henry Mitchell on Gardening

Book description

"The most soul-satisfying gardening book in years." -New York Times (March 1982, reviewing the 1981 cloth edition from IU Press).

"Genuinely a classic . . ." -Los Angeles Times (on the occasion of Houghton Mifflin's paperback edition, which came out in 1994).

"Is there anyone alive with the slightest interest…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Essential Earthman as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

For years Henry Mitchell wrote for The Washington Post about the agony and the ecstasy of gardening and, consequently, everything else. This classic is laced with pith, wit, gems, and instruction throughout. No one does it better or funnier. The easiest path is to quote the man himself: “Shasta daisies are far more agreeable and lovely than one thinks they are going to be.”

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