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The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry Paperback – May 14, 2019

by Wendell Berry (Author), Paul Kingsnorth (Introduction)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 543 ratings
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Now available in paperback, the most comprehensive―and only author-authorized―Wendell Berry reader.

"America's greatest philosopher on sustainable life and living." ―Chicago Tribune

In a time when our relationship to the natural world is ruled by the violence and greed of unbridled consumerism, Wendell Berry speaks out in these prescient essays, drawn from his fifty-year campaign on behalf of American lands and communities.

The writings gathered in The World-Ending Fire are the unique product of a life spent farming the fields of rural Kentucky with mules and horses, and of the rich, intimate knowledge of the land cultivated by this work. These are essays written in defiance of the false call to progress and in defense of local landscapes, essays that celebrate our cultural heritage, our history, and our home.

With grace and conviction, Wendell Berry shows that we simply cannot afford to succumb to the mass-produced madness that drives our global economy―the natural world will not allow it.

Yet he also shares with us a vision of consolation and of hope. We may be locked in an uneven struggle, but we can and must begin to treat our land, our neighbors, and ourselves with respect and care. As Berry urges, we must abandon arrogance and stand in awe.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Counterpoint
  4. Publication date
    May 14, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1 x 8.1 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1640091971
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1640091979
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

New & Noteworthy, The New York Times Book Review
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
One of Spirituality & Practice's Best Spiritual Books of the Year

"If these essays were required reading, I think our society would be in a lot better shape." ―Nick Offerman, Entertainment Weekly

"Here is a human being speaking with calm and sanity out of the wilderness. We would do well to hear him." ―The Washington Post Book World

"America’s greatest philosopher on sustainable life and living." ―Chicago Tribune

"A fascinating tribute to the life of the land . . . Berry's writings are timelier than ever." ―Laura Garmeson, Financial Times

"Berry reminds us that to take small solutions off the table is also a kind of giving up. Some conservationists believe that because ecological problems are structural, there is no point in growing and cooking your own food, in setting down roots in a community, in being kind to your neighbors . . . You may as well drive as much as you want, waste paper towels, and buy meat from corporations that keep pigs in excrement-coated cages. Berry reminds us that to live this way is to forfeit our souls. It is important―no matter what is going on at a macro level―to be kind to your family, your neighbors and the land." ―The New Republic

"Compelling, luminous . . . our modern-day Thoreau. He is unlike anybody else writing today. He writes at least as well as George Orwell and has an urgent message for modern industrial capitalism . . . nobody can risk ignoring him." ―Andrew Marr, New Statesman

"This collection sees the American published on these islands for the first time, and now he has finally stepped ashore, it's worth getting to know him . . . Berry overturns plenty of thoughtful topsoil on environmental issues with a precise pen, and clears any thicket of cosy consensus with a clear eye and cutting hand." ―Irish Times

"It’s no great observation to note that we live in an incredibly polarized time, but, curiously, Berry doesn’t fit neatly into the conservative or liberal camp. There is just enough in his writing to both satisfy and provoke those of all ideological allegiances. Thanks to the Library of America’s efforts to reissue his writings beginning with the first half of his Port William novels and stories as well as his long-time publisher Counterpoint releasing The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry, a collection of his non-fiction edited by the aforementioned Kingsnorth, it’s never been easier to find a place to start . . . In these times we could all use his patient instruction." ―Psychology Today

"The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry is a selection of 31 essays spanning five decades of his works, and it could not have come at a better time as our nation thrashes about in search of a voice of reason. Who better than Berry to explain to us 'who we are, where we are, and what we must do to live'? . . . [It] ought to be required reading in every classroom . . . Wendell Berry is our National Guardian Angel!" ―The Christian Science Monitor

"[Berry] speaks out powerfully and poignantly on behalf of family farmers, their land, and their small towns. His spiritual vision of life is informed by a deep love of nature, a profound regard for the details of place, a respect for small-scale economies, and an advocacy of wise stewardship of the earth. Paul Kingsnorth chose the 31 essays for this handsome collection as ample evidence of Berry's inspiring defense of character qualities like rugged individualism, diligence, loyalty, and reverence for nature." ―Spirituality & Practice

"Whether you’re new to the words of Wendell Berry or a longtime fan of this Kentucky poet, farmer, and land-protector, you’ll want to add this tome of unforgettable, earth-moving Southern outdoors writing to the shelf." ―Garden & Gun

"These works are mostly about small-town America, and mostly set on Berry’s farm at Lane’s Landing, once a riverboat stop on the Kentucky River near Port Royal, Kentucky. But not one word stoops to smug nostalgia. He is instead trying to prove that science and economics happen in a place: he draws endlessly and non-repetitively on the deep well of the lived truth of farm life, which delivers up sweet, clear lines of poetry and local lore and a kind of immediate authenticity . . . In writing about the fate of the natural world, Berry is a prophet of the domestic. These essays are about how to make a household here on Earth. That project is made of the 'unrelentingly practical' things that can be done and that give us hope. Feel the dirt under your feet. You have the power." ―Los Angeles Review of Books

"A pleasing selection of essays from the lifelong farmer and award-winning writer . . . A great place to start for those who are not familiar with Berry's work; for those who are, it will be a nostalgic stroll down a rural, wooded Memory Lane. In this day and age, his writings are must-reads." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Wendell Berry’s admirers―a loyal band several generations deep―may blink at the subtitle of this selection of his essays. 'Essential? What’s not essential?' To read or reread these pieces is, however, to warmly affirm editor Kingsnorth. Berry is the philosopher and the prophet of agriculture, community, stability, and friendship, and there is nothing sentimental or utopian anywhere in his advocacy of those things." ―Booklist (starred review)

"Berry’s graceful essays have long been models of eloquence, insight, and conviction . . . Newcomers will find the works exceptionally timely, and the book as a whole a thoughtful introduction to Berry’s writing." ―Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Wendell Berry is the author of fifty books of poetry, fiction, and essays. He was recently awarded the Cleanth Brooks Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Fellowship of Southern Writers and the Louis Bromfield Society Award. For over forty years he has lived and farmed with his wife, Tanya, in Kentucky.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Counterpoint; Reprint edition (May 14, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1640091971
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1640091979
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 543 ratings

About the author

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Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry

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Wendell E. Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. A prolific author, he has written many novels, short stories, poems, and essays. He is an elected member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, a recipient of The National Humanities Medal, and the Jefferson Lecturer for 2012. He is also a 2013 Fellow of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Berry was named the recipient of the 2013 Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award. On January 28, 2015, he became the first living writer to be ushered into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Guy Mendes (Guy Mendes) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
543 global ratings
Good content, poor publishing
2 Stars
Good content, poor publishing
I enjoy Wendell Berry, so I recommend a collection of his essays. This one as publishing issues. One of the folios in my copy was upside down when it was glued in. I believe none of the pages are missing, but the order of the book is now all scrambled. I expected better from Counterpoint.
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Top reviews from the United States

Bruce Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2024
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"Be a giver, not just a taker." Growing up, this was my father's chief advice. Berry has expanded that phrase into an entire corpus of work.
This collection of essays is a powerful call for all people to reconsider the dominant cultural narratives about progress, technology, and the "good life." In the past 100 years the American dream has become extractive. It takes but never gives back. By no one in particular, we were all convinced that the "good life" is one of material abundance, individual autonomy, personal expression, and personal advancement. Without the heir or ignorance or self aggrandizement that so many conservatives wear, Berry retrieves what we've lost by reflecting upon the small communities of mid 1900's America. He presents a vision of the good life centered on good character, strong communities, rich friendship, the dignity of human labor, and the interdependence of people upon their land.

If you read this entire book, and it doesn't change your life, ask Amazon from your money back.
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Daniel McGregor
5.0 out of 5 stars A great Collection
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2024
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Wendell Berry might be the most thought provoking grump you will ever read. He is also a prophet that we need to listen to carefully. There are no big or easy solutions only the persistent call to pay attention to the places we inhabit.
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Flying Scot
5.0 out of 5 stars A Man For Our Times
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2019
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Wendell Berry is not a man of our time but he is most certainly a man FOR our time. Berry is old-fashioned in the best sense of that overused word, but a man whose ideas should be most fundamental to a nation who is often at sea, wandering in the wilderness and unable to find its way back home. This book is a collection of essays imbued with Berry's profound convictions concerning the significance of community, of a sense of place and belonging, and of the need for infinitely sustainable land use practices. Too often he is a voice crying in the wilderness, but his is a voice we forsake at our own peril. He is both a superb farmer and writer. He deserves a wider audience than his already substantial and devoted one.
22 people found this helpful
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AccentJim
4.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading - Repetitious
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2022
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Berry's essays are important and insightful reading, and I very highly recommend them. This is mostly an excellent collection of some of his writing, but there is quite a bit of repetition, covering the same ground a number of times in various essays. I would prefer that an "Essential" reading collection like this take greater care in editing the collection together to avoid this. That said, WB's writing is very much worth it.
5 people found this helpful
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Ginger
5.0 out of 5 stars Berry is the voice we need . Excellent collection
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2021
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Wendell Berry’s call for living with care and caring with love for the beautiful Earth and for one another is essential reading. He points to how we are injuring both earth and ourselves and gives information, knowledge, and wisdom to help us.
7 people found this helpful
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Kathleen Nicastro
5.0 out of 5 stars Rich in Remembrance
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2018
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As a reader of Berry for over 30 years this new collection of essays brought to light amazing pieces (like the first essay, written in 1968) that I had never seen before. It is a treasure-trove of work for those who know well, and don't yet know, Berry's exceptional work in this genre. A must have for Berry fans and new readers alike!
23 people found this helpful
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Annie DeMille
5.0 out of 5 stars His poetry is very human, sensual, and evocative.
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2020
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I love his romantic poems to his wife. He also did a mini play about a couple whose ghosts visit the place where they lived and loved. Very nice.
6 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing.
Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2021
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Wonderful perspectives. Philosophical, yet accessible. Spiritual, but not preachy.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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B. Bachand
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding practical rumination and reflection from a 'deep soul'...
Reviewed in Canada on May 15, 2021
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Highly recommended for your mind to chew upon...
One person found this helpful
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Tombo
5.0 out of 5 stars Wendell Berry poet, prophet and farmer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2023
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Wendell Berry is a Kentucky farmer and poet, in his eighties. His essays voice his concerns about land use, farming and our planet's future. He is a unique American voice and should be more widely known. He restores your faith in American ideals and its future. His concerns are also ours in Britain. You must discover Wendell Berry.
One person found this helpful
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Raffaele Placucci
4.0 out of 5 stars Interessante
Reviewed in Italy on February 18, 2018
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Offre riflessioni non “mainstream” . In particolare fornisce all’idea della protezione e salvaguardia delle natura un approccio non ideologico ma basato sul buon senso
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Anthony Henry
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling reading
Reviewed in Australia on December 26, 2018
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This a compelling collection of essays describing a world that may be slowly slipping beyond our grasp. The writing is beautiful and well worth the read regardless of your ultimate acceptance of the arguments
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R.A.F.
5.0 out of 5 stars Think Little
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2020
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Think Little is just one of the essays in the collection. It's the one that I found way back in 1970 when it was written and published in the hippies companion The Whole Earth Catalog (amongst other places). I was sold on his ideas and have recently re-read it twice. Twice, because Wendell Berry's ideas about how the world is run, how agriculture is practised are as relevant today as they were when he wrote in 1970. Visionary writing can so often look misguided after half a century - this really doesn't because his views are now so evidently correct - well to me, and certainly to a great many others. I recommend that if you are interested, you should start by reading Think Little and consider it in view even of the recent Extinction Rebellion movement. Here is a man with a view which shows how things might have been and how they could be. It makes for inspiring and interesting, educational reading, even though, to my mind, there is faint hope of it coming to pass - but every little helps. His words and this work must be passed on.
9 people found this helpful
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