Buy new:
$16.46
FREE delivery Friday, May 3 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
List Price: $17.95 Details

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Save: $1.49 (8%)
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Friday, May 3 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 2. Order within 17 hrs 46 mins
In Stock
$$16.46 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$16.46
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$3.98 delivery Tuesday, May 7. Details
Used: Acceptable | Details
Sold by glenthebookseller
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comment: Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc...
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

David R. Montgomery
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life Reprint Edition

by David R. Montgomery (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 354 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$16.46","priceAmount":16.46,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"16","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"46","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"HC9s59dVMWmQex2EBTmX0%2Fg9AGm51sD0xz0eipXRUzN%2Fj37W2rDOMqzb%2FpMEAKxksC2jl2ck0RlKJJqa6dWUeKWaABFid41HtvZvt5miyn%2BUzkqQbraFG4dnu46OHkKaFIwjEU%2BdHspmsbduogvlzA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$6.47","priceAmount":6.47,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"47","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"HC9s59dVMWmQex2EBTmX0%2Fg9AGm51sD0CpB%2ByhPEJQSRCnkj8tD1A2E%2B8fMukBjtUvNRF%2FQU6bEZoAsunFp6aACmyjRxqs90g9Uhthx0qYvXnLhM5Yvi%2B3Orkxsgjk5kyypkshVoF3wB82P4AjajAK0owa1itIef9kmq7jjWJtEy%2BPlGtfSOAqwnmsllKdKI","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

"A call to action that underscores a common goal: to change the world from the ground up." ―Dan Barber, author of The Third Plate

For centuries, agricultural practices have eroded the soil that farming depends on, stripping it of the organic matter vital to its productivity. Now conventional agriculture is threatening disaster for the world’s growing population. In Growing a Revolution, geologist David R. Montgomery travels the world, meeting farmers at the forefront of an agricultural movement to restore soil health. From Kansas to Ghana, he sees why adopting the three tenets of conservation agriculture―ditching the plow, planting cover crops, and growing a diversity of crops―is the solution. When farmers restore fertility to the land, this helps feed the world, cool the planet, reduce pollution, and return profitability to family farms.

Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    0393356094
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0393356090
  3. Edition
    Reprint
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    July 10, 2018
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
  8. Print length
    320 pages
  9. See all details
Next page
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Frequently bought together

Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life
$16.46
Get it as soon as Friday, May 3
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture
$17.31
Get it as soon as Friday, May 3
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health
$13.98
Get it as soon as Friday, May 3
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Choose items to buy together.

From the Publisher

Dirt by David R. Montgomery The Hidden Half of Nature by David Montgomery and Anne Bikle Growing a Revolution by David R. Montgomery What Your Food Ate by David Montgomery and Anne Bikle
Dirt The Hidden Half of Nature Growing a Revolution What Your Food Ate
Customer Reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
426
4.6 out of 5 stars
342
4.8 out of 5 stars
354
4.7 out of 5 stars
107
Price $22.74 $13.98 $16.46 $17.85
Also by David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations explores the compelling idea that we are―and have long been―using up Earth's soil. The Hidden Half of Nature reveals why good health―for people and for plants―depends on Earth’s smallest creatures. In Growing a Revolution, geologist David R. Montgomery travels the world, meeting farmers at the forefront of an agricultural movement to restore soil health. What Your Food Ate is a must-read for farmers, eaters, chefs, doctors, and anyone concerned with reversing the modern epidemic of chronic diseases and mitigating climate change.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A Sand County Almanac of agriculture, a Walden Pond of loam and tilth."
― Paul Hawken, author of Drawdown and The Ecology of Commerce

"The insights gleaned add nuance to [Montgomery’s] pointed critiques of agrotechnology and organic farming, but it’s the findings on rapid soil restoration that compel."
― Nature

"In his reader-friendly style, Montgomery describes the environmental crossroads at which we stand, and shows us not only the devastation, but the potential solution, that exists right beneath our feet."
― Hope Jahren, author of Lab Girl

"In the past couple of years, an awful lot of smart people have started talking very seriously about the state of the planet’s soil. If you want to understand what’s at stake, and learn about the exciting possibilities, this book is a fine starting point."
― Bill McKibben, author of Falter

"A wonderful read on how to make soil rich and prosperous!"
― Estella B. Leopold, author of Stories from the Leopold Shack: Sand County Revisited

"This is a such an important book…thanks to those who told me to read it…Everyone interested in what we should eat and how we should farm should read it."
― James Rebanks, author of The Shepherd's Life

"Brilliant, well researched, eloquent, and deeply hopeful."
― Denis Hayes, founder of Earth Day

"Montgomery has the rare talent of making complex scientific topics not only understandable but truly fascinating. Growing a Revolution is both exceptionally enlightening and tremendously enjoyable. Highly recommended reading."
― Nicolette Hahn Niman, author of Defending Beef and Righteous Porkchop

"Being a long time ‘doom bat’ regarding the fate of the natural world, Growing a Revolution gave me hope that there is a real possibility of revolutionizing agriculture with the result of growing more food, employing people, and putting carbon back into the ground."
― Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia

"Montgomery has written another classic. Growing a Revolution is one of the most important books ever written―an engaging and revealing service to human society and our planet."
― Amir Kassam, professor of agriculture, policy and development, University of Reading, UK

"Growing a Revolution presents a clear-eyed examination of a solution to the challenges we face in feeding the world. A joy to read with the bounce and flow of a great biography. I couldn’t recommend it more."
― Jerry Harrison, keyboardist and guitarist, Talking Heads

"From Plato to FDR, from George Washington to Gabe Brown, Montgomery shows how all roads lead to the soil―and the potential it holds to redress some of our greatest challenges in the twenty-first century."
― Woody Tasch, founder of Slow Money and author of Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing As If Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered

About the Author

David R. Montgomery is a professor at the University of Washington and a 2008 MacArthur Fellow.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (July 10, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393356094
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393356090
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 354 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
David R. Montgomery

David R. Montgomery

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

David R. Montgomery studied geology at Stanford University before earning his Ph.D. in geomorphology at UC Berkeley. He teaches at the University of Washington where he studies the evolution of topography and how geological processes shape landscapes and influence ecological systems. He loved maps as a kid and now writes about the relationship of people to their environment, regenerative agriculture, and other things that interest him. In 2008 he was named a MacArthur Fellow. He lives with his wife Anne Biklé in Seattle, Washington.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
354 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Rachel
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
I cannot thank David Montgomery enough for writing this book and the other three. Past one year I am volunteering with Conscious Planet, who started Save Soil movement. In my quest of understanding more on the subject I came across Mr. Montgomery writing and I haven’t stopped recommending him to anyone who care about Soil Health, although everyone should in an idealized world should do. I came out more informed and equipped to be talking about Soil Health after this book.

Currently I am reading another book of his and Anne Bilke ( his wife) book - What our food ate? Another brilliant and must read book.

Thank you so much David for your shared knowledge and effort.
Helpful
 Report
Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring tale of a growing revolution in agriculture
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2018
Verified Purchase
I teach a freshman course in natural resource conservation so I am always on the lookout for books that will inspire my students. This is very readable, introduces lots of concepts in soils and agriculture, and demands nothing short of a revolution in agriculture. What student doesn't love that? Montgomery helps us care about soil organisms like they were our favorite pets. "Soil health is built on the backs of soil organisms" from moles to mice to earthworms, beetles, bacteria, fungi and more. These organisms have myriad jobs to perform, and conventional agriculture's heavy use of plowing, fertilizers and pesticides undermines their ability to do their jobs. You learn how greater diversity in cover crops and crop rotations improves the biodiversity below the soil. And you'll discover that fallow fields are every bit as bad as they look. Nature doesn't leave soils exposed to the elements. Why should we?
This book is packed with great ideas and examples of a new form of agriculture much more in tune with nature.
If you care about healthy food, healthy soils, sustainability, climate change and agriculture based more on ecology than industrial chemistry, this book fills the bill. My students were excited about it, and they're a hard bunch to please.
19 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
RJ
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for its purpose
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is not an academic study (although there are numerous references to many academic studies) in the book. Rather it is an effort to disseminate information to the lay reader about how conservation agriculture can reverse the degradation of soil that results from conventional agricultural practices. Conservation agriculture, which includes three elements -- minimal soil disturbance, i.e. no tillage, integration of cover crops, and diverse rotations of crops -- can achieve multiple objectives. These are restoration of soil fertility to allow increased productivity in agriculture, both in the U.S. and in other countries; increased soil carbon i.e. using conservation agriculture to develop an effective carbon sink; and the reduction in the use of agricultural chemicals (both fertilizers and pesticides). The author makes a persuasive case through a series of case studies of farmers who are practicing conservation agriculture. I recommend it to anyone who is concerned about how we are going to simultaneously feed a growing world population and address climate change.
24 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Douglas P. Frantz
4.0 out of 5 stars Not a how to book for farmers
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2019
Verified Purchase
I was really hoping for more technical solutions than just ideas. It had enough to encourage some further reading but overall not a huge help for the farmer, but rather for those seeking talking points to complain about big ag looking from the outside. They're valid, but not enough meat to really present a solution.
12 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
C. Meeks
5.0 out of 5 stars Now I want to be a farmer.
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2017
Verified Purchase
I've been interested in gardening for a few years now. My dad gardened when I was young, but only recently have I owned land to garden.

I first heard of this book from an Urban Farming podcast, and I was intrigued. Soil science has been a new interest of mine, and I had never heard of most of the methods and practices in this book.

I'm not a true environmentalist, I don't fight for the whales, or boycott slaughtering animals, but anyone would want to be a good steward of the Earth. The philosophies in this book demonstrate that you don't need to sacrifice profits for 'going green' on the farm. In fact, it seems it might be more profitable. Shock, shock.

I'm inspired now to not only continue gardening, but to save up and buy some land! Hope my wife agrees with this whim.
30 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening read
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is very good. I have now listened to it 2x in the audio version and bookmarked several pages in the book. It is more for the farmer than the gardener but the philosophy of soil renewal is also a gardener's subject. Exhausted soil is a huge problem that we as a species need to solve so we can continue to eat. That urgency is entwined in the changes in global weather cycles. The author makes a good point for how to sequester carbon, improve fertility, reduce the need for oil and grow food that is denser in vitamins and minerals than what we get in markets today.
Helpful
 Report
Cindy
5.0 out of 5 stars Sustainable agriculture explained to city slicker
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
Dr. Montgomery gives very understandable examples from both U.S. and Africa of how conservation farming practices can both increase crop size and rebuild soil back into its natural highly productive condition, at a lower cost than our post- war industrial agricultural methods popular in the U.S. Beautifully written. To understand the extent of the problem, read Montgomery's earlier book "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations", first published about 2007, updated in 2012. Author a scientist studying world farm land use history over centuries. These two volumes provide a good understanding of this massive problem, and how farmers
are gradually learning, by trial and error, a better way forward.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
John A. Leraas
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent discussion of the movement in agriculture to reclaim productive land
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
Written by the author of "Dirt" this is an excellent discussion of the effort to restore the fertility of the land and move toward a sustainable food production.
Well researched and nicely documented, this work takes us on a tour of discovery through our agricultural system and the efforts to improve on it and make it more sustainable.
This is an important work and very timely with the global warming problem coming up hard on us as a planet.
The writer is thorough, clear and remains adept enough to stay very readable.
Recommended for anyone who likes to eat.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
anthony
5.0 out of 5 stars Soil building science
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2024
Verified Purchase
As a citizen scientist I found that this book confirms my theories on adding organic matter to the soil essentially feeding microorganisms and fungi to build soil. Also confirms that soil needs to be kept covered with plants that nurture and feed minerals, carbon stores and shares exudates with micro organisms. the Oi and Oa horizons need to be maintained.
Report
Ricardo Michel
5.0 out of 5 stars Su concepto de agricultura orgánica. Muy bien documentado y explicadp-En resumen, muy convincente.
Reviewed in Mexico on January 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
He estado siguiendo sus consejos para la fertilización y enmiendas de los suelos. Excelente libro y a un precio realmente económico, considerando su gran utilidad práctica.
Report
Martina Schoppe
5.0 out of 5 stars Pflichtlektüre für
Reviewed in Germany on November 19, 2019
Verified Purchase
jeden Landwirt und Politiker. Es klingt zu einfach, um wahr zu sein, aber einen großen Anteil an den derzeitigen weltweiten Problemen, wie Klimakrise, Artensterben und "wie ernähren wir zukünftig die Welt, würden sich quasi von alleine beheben, wenn die Industrielle Landwirtschaft umgestellt würde auf regenerativ, ohne Pflügen, ohne "-zide", ohne Kunstdünger, ohne Monokulturen. Aber dafür mit Polykulturen, Düngung mit natürlichen Materialen (Mulch, Gründüngung, Tierdung, Humanure), die den Boden nie "nackig" liegen lassen und abwechslungsreichen Fruchtfolgen. Und dann ist es auch noch kostensparend für die Bauern bei vergleichbar hohen Ernten.
Jetzt muß es nur noch überall umgesetzt werden.
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect sequel to Montgomery's "Dirt"
Reviewed in Canada on July 20, 2017
Verified Purchase
The perfect sequel to Montgomery's "Dirt". I just wish many more farmers would take the time to read these two books because it would help making their operations profitable while making the crops they grow healthier for the consumers, maintaining or restoring the productivity of the soil and recapturing a good deal of the carbon from the earth's atmosphere thereby mitigating the global warming phenomenon. I would also suggest that these books should be recommended reading for all premiers, prime ministers, kings and other leaders of the world. The adoption of the three tenets of conservation agriculture (minimum disturbance of the soil, keeping the soil covered at all times with crops and/or crop residues and the use of crop rotations) has the effect of reducing and even progressively eliminating the need to use chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides because it allows Mother Nature to do what it was meant to do since the creation of the universe. The soil flora of bacteria and fungi has a chance to grow again and to perform the function of extracting from the soil all the nutrients that the plants need to grow and to provide such nutrients to the plants in exchange for the carbon that the plants absorb from the air through the process of photosynthesis. Any wise leader of a nation should see the enormous benefit of improving the quality and the quantity of the food that our agricultural soils can produce while reducing the cost of production. To put it in simple terms: healthy food, healthy people, lower health care costs and more funds available for the betterment of society!
Report
FUNDACION INFANCIA Y APRENDIZAJE, PABLO DEL RIO PE
5.0 out of 5 stars Growing a Revolution
Reviewed in Spain on December 15, 2018
Verified Purchase
Una panorámica muy informativa y magníficamente expuesta mediante visitas inteligentes a los principales artífices de la renovación. Lo he leído de cabo a rabo
Report