This book is interesting I think. I couldn't finish it and it didn't resonate with me. I try to read all formats and genres of books, but this one did nothing for me,
Maybe I'm the wrong audience but I wouldn't recommend it.

Poems and insights of a visionary farmer - not a description that ordinarily would call to me. Yet something about it attracted me. Philip Britts sounds like a fascinating man - I would be very interested in reading a full biography. In any event, this tome is fascinating in its own right - a combination of photos, prose and, of course, poetry. Britts was a strong Christian and his writing reflects that. However, he doesn't push it into your face - he's gentle with it. One gets the strong sense that he had inherent gentleness in all aspects of his life. I have especially enjoyed reading this at night before sleep because of the feeling of peace it engendered in me.
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Thank you to Net galley for ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

One of the great tragedies of the modern world is the complete divorce of the city dwellers from nature and the land. . . .



Water at the Roots: Poems and Insights of a Visionary Farmer by Philip Britts is partially a collection of poetry and partially a biography.  Farmer-poet Philip Britts was born in 1917 in Devon, England. Britts became a pacifist, joined the Bruderhof, and during World War II moved to South America. There, in 1949, he died of a rare tropical illness at the age of 31, leaving his wife, Joan, with three young children and fourth on the way.

Water at the Roots is a collection of poetry about a simpler life.  The introduction is written by David Kline an Amish farmer from Ohio who is editor and author.  Britts is described as having a human touch, a love for the land, and working with nature.  He was a nurturer and not an exploiter.   The poems reflect a simpleness that is missing in agriculture and in life today. Although very religious, his tone is welcoming and not critical.  A communal life is exercised in the Bruderhof. The Bruderhof is a Christian communal colony described in Acts 2, 44-47 and Acts 4.  

Outside of religion and farming Britts' main passion was peace.  He was a conscientious objector throughout WWII.  Many who did not want to fight eventually did so once Britain was attacked.  Britts remained against the war.  He saw the good that could be done with the resources and lives destroyed by the war.

His song shall shake the souls of politicians,
And while the craven church still watches, dumb,
The hands of men shall grasp at tools, not weapons,
And womanhood shall sing that peace has come.

The poems alone will take the reader back a couple hundred years in their tone and style.  Without the biographical information included on Britts, one would no guess these poems were written in the 20th century.  The love of the land and the lifestyle are far removed from today's industrial agriculture, GMOs, profits, and chemical fertilizers is a refreshing change.  The religious aspects are gentle and open to all regardless of belief. Britts is a man who brought out the best in human nature and invited others to follow.

Available March 20, 2018