Rosie Boycott Boeken

Through long, gruelling months of learning the hard way, we follow the ups and downs of her attempt to set-up a smallholding that is self-sufficient within eighteen months. Our Farm is the story of a farm and the community that supports it- the local butcher who generously, if hesitantly, accepts their substandard pig; the Adult Education Centre who they supply with fowl and eggs that barely make a profit; the residents of Ilminster who team together to fight the alarming rise of the supermarkets. This is a book that engages as passionately with the plight of people as it does with animals, with domestic issues as much as global issues - most importantly, the environment that nurtures us that we recklessly take for granted. With wit and compassion, Boycott chronicles the struggle to come to terms with the work that goes into making pitiful amounts of money. The financial challenges are never ending, but the determination of Boycott and her local community of Ilminster never flags. Pigs get ill and chickens die. Vegetables are razed by rabbits. Cold weather means chickens lay fewer eggs. But eggs do hatch into chicks, pigs do give birth, flowers bloom and vegetables magically keep on growing.

Rosie Boycott is a well-known journalist. She is also a reformed alcoholic. This is the story of how a nice girl like her made it from the top to the bottom - and back again - during the wild and fragmented 1970s.

Climate change is currently presented by campaign groups and scientists as an impossibly daunting threat. On the face of it, it would seem we must make impossible sacrifices if we want to do our bit for the environment and lead more sustainable, less damaging lives. This book shows that isn't the case at all. It brings together household names who share a conviction that, on the contrary, living well needn't cost the earth - and will tell you why and how. Their collective vision, covering areas from architecture and politics to food and happiness, will completely reframe the way you think about climate change and what you're willing to do about it. Far from the usual doom and gloom, many here argue that climate change presents a once-in-a-century opportunity to address a whole basket of problems with energy and imagination. If we get things right, instead of an environmental apocalypse we could end up in a win-win situation - with both more satisfying lives and robust answers to these pressing, seemingly unsurmountable, problems.Contributions include: Phillip Pullman, A. C. Grayling, Oliver James and John Bird on love, happiness and telling tales Kevin McCloud, Nic Marks, Stephen Bayley and Wayne Hemingway on good design. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Colin Tudge and Rosie Boycott on good and sustainable food. David Cameron and Caroline Lucas on the politics of the good life. Tom Hodgkinson, David Boyle and David Goldblatt on having a good time. Anita Roddick, Adair Turner, Ann Pettifor and Larry Elliott on good business and work.