The Newman's Own Organics Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures That Benefit You and the Place You Live

by Nell Newman, Joseph D'Agnese

It’s fairly obvious that one can’t be a ‘perfect’ environmentalist. But that’s okay. Perfection isn’t the goal. A good life is. And a good life has as much to do with your intent as with the end result.” —from the Introduction

The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life is the essential book for those of us who can’t live in an organic hemp tepee but do care about our quality of life, global warming, clean water, and disappearing resources.

Nell Newman shows you how to do what is within easy reach. Along with realistic, practical advice, she shows how and why living a more environmentally conscious life benefits you and your immediate surroundings. In addition to recycling and reusing, the book covers consumer-related steps such as

• how buying and eating organic food supports small farms (and tastes better, too)
• how you can buy clean power through your regular power company
• which long-distance telephone companies offer competitive pricing and service while returning a portion of their profits to environmental and educational organizations
• where to buy everything—from pots and pans to pet food—so that you can “vote with your dollar” and feel good about your purchases

Packed with profiles of fascinating—and sometimes zany—people and a heavy dose of sanity, this book is organized according to the way you really live, making it easy to identify what areas of change are viable for you. A resource directory of publications, retailers, groups, and associations is included in the back of the book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Environment, Cooking, Green, Gardening

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Joseph D'Agnese is an author and journalist whose articles have appeared in the popular science magazines Discover, Seed, and Wired, as well as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. His work was twice named to the annual anthology Best American Science Writing. He is author of The Indiana Jones Handbook with co-author Denise Kiernan, and the upcoming children's picture book, Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci, from Holt for Young Readers. He lives in North Carolina."

Reviews

[Ashes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a delightful book written by Newman's daughter. After reading it, I wanted desperately to own a chicken and a backyard full of peach trees. A lovely, positive book with tips and real life advice without the oppressive guilt often emitted towards suburbanites.

[Denise Elerick · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first reaction to this book was "oh great another book that will make me feel guilty, inadequate and like I am doing everything wrong." No fear, I read the prologue by Nell and it was so reasonable. Basically, "Look, we can 't do it all perfectly so if you take one or two things here and incorporate some change and awareness in your home, you will be making a difference. For every "good" thing we do there is a side effect that may not be perceived as good. And likewise , for every " bad " habit there is a good upside. She gives great examples and real life people. It is good to hear that living a better with a smaller"footprint" so to speak is not all or nothing , black or white. Okay I admit it, we have an SUV but we recycle a lot and will never vote republican as long as we are breathing. Is it kind of like going for a run and doing a Pilates before you go out and get drunk. One cancels out the other ???? I am inspired to dump some of my intense household cleaning methods and explore some gentler kinder ways. I tried the www.opt-out.crt.org but it is more hassle than I thought it would be. I thought I could opt out of junk mail with one click. It is many many clicks to many many companies. I will revisit when I am more focused with kids asleep and tons of patience.

[Nina Mcdaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

very balanced! in a world of unrelenting standards concerning what it means to be "green", "healthy" or "a responsible consumer", this book takes a reasonable approach- live the good life! do what you can, when you can, but remember why you are doing it- because you want to live a pleasant, holistically healthy and simple life. there will be give and take, you can't do everything right ALL of the time.

[Barbara Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A positive approach to understanding environmental issue and improving our lifestyle. I would like to see a new edition with additions of recent more recent technology and websites. I especially like the epilogue: Generosity.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nell Newman wrote a book long ago about ecology, a sustainable lifestyle, and gardening. The main topic is generosity in one's lifestyle. The book is fantastic, covering lots of topics about living our daily lives. The only bad thing about it is that it is quite dated!

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting tidbits about various aspects of life and how to improve our place....reduce our carbon footprint.....

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with tons a practical and user friendly suggestions. As an added bonus, it's realistic. We may not be about to do it all but we can do something and that something is what matters.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and informative. Still use some of the tips.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good info, especially how to save $ and do what is right.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple steps one can take to become more environmentally conscience from buying groceries, furniture to solar panels. I liked her short essays on each topic and the web resources included.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is average because there are a lot of books just like it. Once you have read books about simple advice to save the world, they all tell you pretty much the same thing. Good things, but the same things as other books.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information. Not as deep or eyeopening as I had hoped. The best part for me was the forward written by Scott Chaskey. I had just finished his book "This Common Ground". Newmans own is a good book for housewives looking to go "green"

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great starter book for anyone interested in going green and organic. Not to mention that the proceeds still go to charity.

[Liz W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but dry reading.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good basics book, clearly written with enough whys and hows. I would recommend it to anyone just getting interested in the green or organic life.

[Kristal Stidham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only good for a little bit of food for thought. It's disturbing how many of these ideas for living gently on the earth have gone by the wayside in the 14 years since this book's publication. 

[Zac Mabry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful guide to organic living. Good practical tips.