Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm

Adult nonfiction. The book begins with the author's vision of a world without his Sun Crest peaches--a variety that packs tons of juice and flavor but that is unable to compete in today's marketplace, which demands longer shelf-lives and more color. After his essay is published in newspapers across the nation, letters from all over start pouring in, begging him not to destroy his orchard of Sun Crests, and so the author spends another year attempting to create a niche for his specialty peaches. This book provides lots of interesting insight into the life of a farmer; I even learned a bit about pruning peach trees (which is something I need to do in my own yard).

It's unfortunate I didn't write a review while the book was still fresh in my mind. From what I remember, it was a well-written account of the author's experience as a third-generation Japanese farmer in Central California. The memoir offers a glimpse into the difficulty of farming today. The discussions of immigrant farming, pesticides, and the role of consumer demands were interesting, and the scene of the author and his family rushing to save their crop of raisins from the rain is one that stayed vivid in my mind.

The memoir / reflections of a small fruit farmer in California who decides not to bulldoze an orchard of trees that produce yummy peaches that can't be easily placed in the market because they are too tender to be easily shipped. It's a quiet and thoughtful book about farming and families and our attitudes toward food.

Lyrical story of family farmers struggling to preserve heritage, organically-grown peaches in a time of mass production.

Great agricultural premise, very good prose, solid voice, lacking in organization , interesting Japanese-American background