Author Description

Science in modern times is increasingly becoming an esoteric enclave for a select few, a domain of formulas and jargons as remote and impenetrable for most of us as medieval metaphysics. In Altars of Unhewn Stone, Wes Jackson restores the critical link between science and cultural wisdom, showing that recent findings support traditional attitudes about farming, land and resource use, and the interrelations of cultural and biological communities. Jackson, founder and director of the Land Institute, an experimental research and educational organization located in Salina, Kansas, issues an urgent call for a new view of contemporary agricultural problems, arguing that agribusiness interests have appropriated scientific contributions piecemeal, destroying much of what our traditional farming had respectfully preserved. With eloquence, wit, and charm, Jackson advocates an agriculture that is whole and healthy, sustainable and sustaining.