Agricultural Revolution of the 20th Century, The

NACTA Journal, Sep 2003 by Ricketts, John

The Agricultural Revolution of the 20th Century by Don Paarlberg and Philip Paarlberg, Iowa State University Press, 2000, 154 pages, paperback $29.99 "Not evolution, but revolution" is the assertion of this historical account of agriculture in the twentieth century. The advances in nearly every discipline of agriculture over the past century can be likened to a good "science-fiction" film. The authors bring to light the revolutionary changes that have taken place in agriculture in a short 154 pages and 12 chapters. The 19th Century is discussed, followed by Mechanized Agriculture, Chemical Advances, Biological Changes, Information Explosion, and the Management and Economics of agriculture. The text also considers the personal dimension of the Agricultural Revolution as it relates to producers, the industry, and consumers. Last, but not least, the historical text even makes an attempt at describing the "sci-fi" possibilities of the future.

The primary strength of the book is that it covered many aspects of the Agricultural Revolution. Sometimes it was a personal account of the authors' experiences, sometimes it was from a review of one of the classic pieces of literature in agriculture, and many times the scholarly repertoire of the two authors was the primary source of documentation. The writers do a good job of representing different views for many of the controversial issues during the Agricultural Revolution. They are able to refrain from telling only one side of the story. As historical research should be, it was not biased and the text was stronger for it. Coming from an interpreter's perspective, my favorite part of the book was the time appropriate black and white photos that supplement the book. They tend to help the reader enter certain time periods as they are reading.

The book covers an abundance of information, but the depth of background and information is seemingly lacking for most of the issues presented. The topical frame that was thoroughly represented seemed to by Agricultural Economics. Readers with a basic understanding of Agricultural Economics should be able to read the text more easily and feel that historical depiction of the events in their particular discipline was completely represented in the account.

Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business teachers looking for a supplemental text to introduce the wide array of events in The Agricultural Revolution of the 20th Century with an economic perspective would well advised to require this book of their students. The chapters are contextually separated and short enough to use them as discussion pieces that would promote dialogue and critical thinking in the classroom. Other teachers looking to offer students a quick way to understand the Agricultural Revolution should also recommend the book as it is a quick, fairly easy read offering a nice depiction of where we have been, where we are, and even where we might go.

John Ricketts

Graduate Teaching Assistant

University of Florida

Agricultural Education and Communication Department