Berengaria’s review of Never Out of Season: How Having the Food We Want When We Want It Threatens Our Food Supply and Our Future > Likes and Comments

Great review Berengaria. Pity it is repetitive, but it sounds like this might be right up my alley. Does he mainly look at agriculture or does he take a look at factory farming as well?

Again, thanks for sharing the main content of this book!

Great review, B! I had been looking forward to your thoughts on this. The topic is fabulous but repetition is a fairly common issue with such books, especially when the passion for the topic leads to overenthusiasm about the same points. I'm still undecided. I might try this on audio if I get it.

Hákon wrote: "Great review Berengaria. Pity it is repetitive, but it sounds like this might be right up my alley. Does he mainly look at agriculture or does he take a look at factory farming as well?"

It's only about crops and what can endanger them. He doesn't touch on animal farming at all.

I read the first 3 chapters then skipped to the one about seed saving and read on. That jumped a large amount of the repetition. I'd recommend just skipping ahead. The more varied topics are towards the end.

Rosh wrote: "Great review, B! I had been looking forward to your thoughts on this. The topic is fabulous but repetition is a fairly common issue with such books, especially when the passion for the topic leads ..."

There's *a lot* of science about crop diseases/pests, but the dramatic stories of heroic biologists keep you reading. 😲 If it gets too repetitive, just fast forward. The more varied content is towards the end!

See, this is definitely something I’d be interested in reading about! Shame it’s a bit inconsistent and repetitive as I tend to lose focus easily. I might still choose to read it. Great review, B! 🖤

Great review. I read as many reviews as I can each day, regardless of genre—it’s how I learn to read between the lines and understand what really annoys readers. Repetitive content, too much fluff/fillers, or “it was too long” come up again and again. Thanks for all your detailed reviews - they help authors become great!

Debbie Y wrote: "See, this is definitely something I’d be interested in reading about! Shame it’s a bit inconsistent and repetitive as I tend to lose focus easily. I might still choose to read it. Great review, B! 🖤"

There is a LOT of information in this book and it's easy for your vision to blur from all of it. I know mine did at times!

But it's only repetitive in the middle. The stories he tells of the dramatic, high-stakes circumstances of saving people, animals and crops from total destruction really are gripping and the focus international, so there is no concentration or focus in one country/culture. I found that a huge plus.

Fine summary review, Berengaria! Unfortunately, Big-Ag (farms and food manufacturers primarily owned and controlled by "stakeholders" of Vangard and Blackrock), with the inception of GMO technologies and earth-scortching monocrops, isn't only about profit over people it's also about the concept, "he who controls the food supply controls the people."

Looks like this tome does a thorough job of covering "farming and food security in a time of massive climate change and international travel", a small part of a much bigger picture and well worth a read, onto my tbr it goes 💛🧚‍♀️🙋🏼👍!

Looks like one of those titles to drag you in, and one that misses the real value of the book. Fine review, Berengaria.

Terrific review! I recently heard two presentations from organic farmers. One is committed to no tilling. I did not know that carbon resides underground and farming that uses tilling stirs up the underground carbon. I appreciate your honest review about what you liked as well as what you didn't like.

Valerie Book Valkyrie wrote: "Fine summary review, Berengaria! Unfortunately, Big-Ag (farms and food manufacturers primarily owned and controlled by "stakeholders" of Vangard and Blackrock), with the inception of GMO technologi..."


Dunn sticks to science and history only in this one. His POV is also global -- so American Big Ag only is dealt with for a fraction, as that wasn't there in pre-war Russia or 1950s Brazil or in many countries today.

He says science is only 2 years ahead of crop pathogens, so constantly has to be running to stay just that little bit ahead. Global travel and shipping worldwide has caused this rapid increase in the rate of pest and pathogen spread.

Paul wrote: "Looks like one of those titles to drag you in, and one that misses the real value of the book. Fine review, Berengaria."

Indeed, but then maybe not so many people would want to read about pests and crop disease? 😂

Sharon wrote: "Terrific review! I recently heard two presentations from organic farmers. One is committed to no tilling. I did not know that carbon resides underground and farming that uses tilling stirs up the u..."

What an interesting set of talks! That's a very good point.

Thanks for this detailed review, Berengaria. Would you recommend this book to someone interested in the topic, or do you think another book covers it better?

Walter wrote: "Thanks for this detailed review, Berengaria. Would you recommend this book to someone interested in the topic, or do you think another book covers it better?"

I've just started to read about this topic, so I don't really know of many other books. Sorry!

But I found this one very informative about what threats to crops and thus the global food supply are out there. Some you can immediately think of, like insects. Others you wouldn't, like sabotage or crop diseases weaponised by governments or what civil wars do to agriculture.

I also liked that it took a global perspective. It's not focused on the USA like many books are. The 3.5 stars is because of the repetition in the middle of the book and the huge amount of information given, which is sometimes a bit overwhelming (I found).

Thanks! My first book on this subject was The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles Mann. It has a more global perspective, but I really enjoyed it.