| View Larger Image | The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden | Paperbackby William Alexander (Author)
| List Price: | $13.95 | | Price: | $3.14 | | You Save: | $10.81 (77%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Algonquin Books | | Page Count: | 304 Pages | | Publication Date: | March 02, 2007 | | Sales Rank: | 262,922nd |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Bill Alexander had no idea that his simple dream of having a vegetable garden and small orchard in his backyard would lead him into life-and-death battles with groundhogs, webworms, weeds, and weather; midnight expeditions in the dead of winter to dig up fresh thyme; and skirmishes with neighbors who feed the vermin (i.e., deer). Not to mention the vacations that had to be planned around the harvest, the near electrocution of the tree man, the limitations of his own middle-aged body, and the pity of his wife and kids. When Alexander runs (just for fun!) a costbenefit analysis, adding up everything from the live animal trap to the Velcro tomato wraps and then amortizing it over the life of his garden, it comes as quite a shock to learn that it cost him a staggering $64 to grow each one of his beloved Brandywine tomatoes. But as any gardener will tell you, you can't put a price on the unparalleled pleasures of providing fresh food for your family. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 59 reviews)
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Gardening for Rich, Obsessive, Controlling, Dummies by Vail Ryan  1 Stars
November 06, 2009
This author and his book make Keith Stewart and his 'It's A long Road to A Tomato' shine.
He not only surpasses Stewart in cruelty and barbarity toward animals, he also is a completely inept gardener.
Did you know that almost all killers started off killing and torturing animals?
Gee, maybe I shouldn't provoke this guy.
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$64 Dollar Tomato by J. Hauritz (Priest River, Idaho)  5 Stars
October 21, 2009
Funny from beginning to end. If you garden you will love all the very familiar stories the author shares with the reader. We have been there and done that, but his retelling is bound to make you laugh.
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Prosecute this author for animal cruelty! by ROYSMOM 1 Stars
October 18, 2009
I was enjoying the book until he trapped a opossum to get it out of his garden and was too frightened to let it out of havaheart trap.
When he went up to the cage the animal beginning snarling at him. Here's what he wrote:
"I had examined my conscience, weighed my options, and decided to simply to leave him in the trap for a few more hours, leaving him to die of dehydration. This may sound heartless, but on a hot day, which this was an animal in the trap will usually die fairly quickly, within a couple of hours. In fact I ve accidentally lost a couple of groundhogs that way, and I always feel a little bad with it happens, but it seemed preferable to getting attacked by a possibly rabid opossum."
THE AUTHOR HAS A HISTORY OF LEAVING ANIMALS TO DIE IN CAGES.
Yet this possum it was still alive by sundown. He left it there for 3 days and then tried to drown it in a trashcan.
He let it stay in the trap in extreme heat-- where I live that would be a crime. Cruelty to an animal is a crime. Even a wild animal should not experience such a long drawn painful attempt to kill him.
That idiot finally drove the opposum to state park and let out the "half-drowned and half-dead" animal. He said it stumbled out of the cage into the woods.
I honestly believe he should be arrested and prosecuted. And at the very least fined and do community service at a Wildlife Care Center.
I trap feral cats so they can be spayed and neutered.
I have caught many raccoons, posssums, and even a fox and then have to let them go. Yes, they do snarl and go crazy in the cage--but you buck up your courage and let them out-- they run off as fast as they can as they can't wait to get away from you. If you are going to think every animal you trap is rabid just because they snarl at you then you should not use a trap.
The author of the book is WIlliam Alexander and I have never been so disgusted reading a book that is supposed to be a light hearted look at gardening.
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How to turn a good idea into a bad book by Erminio Di Lodovico (Caracas, VENEZUELA)  2 Stars
September 23, 2009
I bought the book right on the spot. The story sounded very interesting: A book about all the "not so good" situations that happen when gardening. So I started reading it furiously. After a few pages I was terribly disappointed, it was just a bad version of a reality show turned into a book.
First of all, I want to say that I respect how everyone lives their lives, but I must say that (sadly) the book isn't about gardening, it's just a story of a neurothic suburban guy obssesed with THE IDEA of having a garden that HAS TO look just as the ones he saw in the gardening magazines.
The guy just doesn't understand what it is "to farm" nor what it takes to do that, or what it means to work with the Earth. He considers himself as a "green" person, but his mindset is the one of the classical "modern" human who thinks (and even worst, he EXPECTS)that Nature will bend under his command. He still has the same mindset that has created the very (ecological) problem that he allegedly rejects when he defines himself as "green".
The author writes very well, no question about it (that only makes a shame the lost opportunity of making a "great"book). But there is no LOVE nor PASSION for nature or gardening, there is just OBSESSION.
Too bad. As I said, it was a great opportunity of making a wonderful book.
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Enjoyed by C. Blodgett (Fort Myers, FL)  4 Stars
September 20, 2009
I loved the gardening aspect of this book, the writer's style, and learned quite a bit as well. It does seem that they have the money to be able to spend on their endeavors in the garden which some others might not be as lucky to accomplish. Overall, I enjoyed the book thoroughly and it was a quick read.
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