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
by William Alexander
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 403)
Read in February, 2008
I have taken some time away from reading, just a week or so because I think I over killed on my ability to retain information. I attempted to read a very long and in depth book about Mark Twain and failed miserably. Not that the book was not interesting or validating, but reading is definitely a lover affair. You have to be in the right mind set to read a certain book. Tolstoy is not to be read as light reading before you go to bed. Light reading is easy to pick up and finish, while heavier...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Erikka by:
Noelle Tannenbaumrecommends it for: Gardners, memoirists
This book was everything Doug Fine wished his book (Farewell, My Subaru) could be and more. The man posed in the author's photo on the back dust cover is a HOT older man, just adding a little more...motzy to the witty tone and intelligence apparent in all the writing. I laughed aloud many times, jotted down a few notes on future gardening techniques, and enjoyed the read.
In one sense, Alexander is a little like Fine in that he takes on a bigger garden dream in the financial realm than most ...more
In one sense, Alexander is a little like Fine in that he takes on a bigger garden dream in the financial realm than most ...more
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This book is mostly about what happens when the garden we want is confronted by the garden we have. Alexander is an ambitious gardener and committed to organic gardening. But his ambitions are constantly thwarted by pests, critters, contractors, landscape designers, neighbors, his wife and kids, and his own aging body. He has to retreat from his organic principles to get the produce he wants. He has 22 full-size raised beds, basically for his wife and child. I have four beds, and a smatteri...more
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Read in July, 2007
I started gardening up a storm last year. I think that my tomatoes only cost about $8 a piece.
It is about a man who decided to garden, not realizing that it is trickier than it seems. He keeps buying stuff to counteract problems. The very best part is when he is fights a squirrel (or some kind of rodent, I forget which exactly) and ends up putting in an electric fence.
Anyways, if you like to garden, this book will make you smile and say, "Yup, I totally know about that!" ...more
It is about a man who decided to garden, not realizing that it is trickier than it seems. He keeps buying stuff to counteract problems. The very best part is when he is fights a squirrel (or some kind of rodent, I forget which exactly) and ends up putting in an electric fence.
Anyways, if you like to garden, this book will make you smile and say, "Yup, I totally know about that!" ...more
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Read in October, 2007
I've always aspired to have a garden....you know, a few herbs, some tomato plants, an assortment of peppers....but THIS guy. Talk about ASPIRING to have a garden! I recommend this little memoir, I really enjoyed it. I felt for the author (and his wife at times) as he toiled for the fruits of his labor. I wanted to ask him at the end "Was it all worth it?" and half expected him to hang up his shovel once he figured out how much the fruits of his labor were costing him. But he didn'...more
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Read in July, 2008
Who among us hasn't dreamed big when it comes to planting a garden or doing a bit of landscaping? This funny book chronicles the author's own dreams and resulting mega garden, complete with Superchuck (an unkillable groundhog), multiple pests, weeds, and the realization that "organic" isn't as easy as one might think. I loved that in the end, he had to come to terms with not only what to do with all of his produce, but with what the dream was costing him. I'd actually give it a 3.5 ...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
gardeners, city folk with romantic ideals of gardening
This is a very lighthearted look at the romantic idea of living off the land and growing your own food. The author has a regular job and his garden is his hobby so eating locally isn't his full time job/obsession/ gimmick for a book idea.
Anyone who has tried to garden or grow anything in a rural or some suburban area will appreciate his battles with the deer and the woodchucks.
Its an easy, quick read and I think a good book for anyone that would like to get "back to the land&quo
Anyone who has tried to garden or grow anything in a rural or some suburban area will appreciate his battles with the deer and the woodchucks.
Its an easy, quick read and I think a good book for anyone that would like to get "back to the land&quo
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Read in August, 2006
recommends it for:
gardeners
I wanted to read this book because I was curious how Mr. Alexander managed to grow a tomato so cheaply! It was entertaining enough for this rabid California gardener but his East Coast gardening didn't quite fit with my suburban style gardening - don't have deer so don't need a electric fence which was, to me, was the main feature of this book - how high to make those volts to keep deer out..... A lot more humor for this catchy title would have made it a more endearing read.
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
gardeners, quirky souls
This book was a completely spontaneous purchase, but is proving to be quite enjoyable. It chronicles a man's journey to build and maintain the perfect garden in his 3-acre backyard. Supporting cast includes his sharp-witted wife, Anne, and his two garden-apathetic kids, Zach and Katie. Our hero faces violent purslane invasions, caterpillers, clayey soil, cedar-rust, and a creature he refers to as "SuperChuck." Very humorous and cleverly written, as well as completely charming!
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Read in June, 2006
recommends it for:
even the most casual gardener
This is possibly one of the funniest works of nonfiction I have ever read. I wept. It's been a while since I read it so forgive the spotty details in this review, but William Alexander takes readers on a surprisingly fast-paced excursion from casual backyard organic gardener to freakishly obsessed borderline nut case. I suppose one would consider this part memoir, part gardening guide, part cautionary tale. It's gardening as a full-contact sport.
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
foodies, gardeners
I remember gardening as a child, and I agree with Alexander that children have no idea where the good food comes from -my memories are of snapping green beans and shucking corn, fun at times - but certainly hard work! However, I was fascinated with Alexander's garden: with the time and effort he took, his honesty in his faults, his good natured attempts to do the right thing, and his very, very amusing tone. Another great home & garden memoir!
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
gardeners
This book annoyed me.
The author, who tries to present himself as a "gentleman farmer" comes across as a yuppie homeowner fighting off that very image.
He claims to find watering boring and weeding torturous, but he somehow loves gardening? His adventure stories in the garden sound more like complaints.
On the other hand, I'm a slow reader and finished it in under 2 weeks. Some entertaining moments, but by no means a favorite.
The author, who tries to present himself as a "gentleman farmer" comes across as a yuppie homeowner fighting off that very image.
He claims to find watering boring and weeding torturous, but he somehow loves gardening? His adventure stories in the garden sound more like complaints.
On the other hand, I'm a slow reader and finished it in under 2 weeks. Some entertaining moments, but by no means a favorite.
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Susan:
If you are an obsessive gardener or lives with some one who is, READ THIS BOOK. I laughed and nodded in agreement from beginning to end. Gardeners and definitely in a class of their own! Why does the obsessive gardener wage war with every critter known to man, all for the sake of the perfect summer tomato? Gardeners have a quirky sense of optimism that if it doesn’t grow one year, next year is a new start.
If you are an obsessive gardener or lives with some one who is, READ THIS BOOK. I laughed and nodded in agreement from beginning to end. Gardeners and definitely in a class of their own! Why does the obsessive gardener wage war with every critter known to man, all for the sake of the perfect summer tomato? Gardeners have a quirky sense of optimism that if it doesn’t grow one year, next year is a new start.
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Read in November, 2006
I had high hopes for this book when I first saw it at Elliott Bay this summer, and I did enjoy it, but not so much that I regret waiting for it to come up on the library reserve list. The chapters on different aspects of his creation and tending of a large suburban garden were amusing, but didn’t compare with “Suburban safari”, which I read earlier in the summer.
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
gardeners who have dough
The storytelling was somewhat engaging, however the author's quirks were so irksome that it made this read a bit painful. At times I wanted to pull him aside and tell him what an arse he is but, all I could do was roll my eyes and flip the page.
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
those with a green thumb, or who wish they had one.
Good book, easy enough read. William Alexander moves to the country with his doctor wife and starts building a garden. He covers his follies and successes. From his fight with groundhogs, to beetles, to his favorite leek soup. An entertaining read. Read it in the winter and it will make you start dreaming of tilling a garden come spring.
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Read in May, 2008
I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone because there were some boring parts but it was totally worth a read for me. He's kind of funny but then he'll go on about kinds of apple trees and I would sort of glaze over some. Still, I enjoyed it!
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
gardeners
This was a great book - especially for anyone who has ever had a vegetable garden and discovered how easy it is to take it too seriously and for it to start to take over your life. I couldn't stop laughing over the tale of his vendetta against groundhogs. I am currently having my own war on that front, which is incredibly frustrating!!
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Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
gardening buffs
A rare foray into non-fiction and I enjoyed every minute of it. I laughed out loud at parts of this book and could relate to many gardening mishaps. I wish my dad were around to read this, after his battles with backyard squirrels, he would have enjoyed the battles launched in this book against various yard invaders.
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Read in March, 2008
An enjoyable, hilarious, quick read! I'm not a laugh-out-loud-while-reading-a-book type of person, but I found myself doing just that very thing - not because of intentioned comedy, but because I saw quite a bit of myself in the book: the wannabe gardener who desires to have a perfect garden meeting with reality.
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