• The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck — Published in 1931, the novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author tells the story of Chinese peasant farmer Wang Lung and his family and their struggles with the sweeping changes of the twentieth century.

• The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan — Pollan writes about how our food is grown — what it is, in fact, that we are eating. The book is really three in one: The first section discusses industrial farming; the second, organic food, both as big business and on a relatively small farm; and the third, what it is like to hunt and gather food for oneself. — The Washington Post