The Apple Orchard: The Story of Our Most English Fruit

I am spending time to write about this book because it has so annoyed me wasting my time and destroyed my faith in Penguin Books.The poor apple in is overshadowed by the megalomania of the author. You hardly read anything of worth in the first 3 chapters but a lot about how the author managed to cross a dual carriage and at exactly what time and in what state of mind woke up in the morning to go about researching about apples!The book is filled on every page with passages such as 'we are left to make tea and small talk for twenty minutes, because this has to be built into the schedule of any organized group event and any kind in England. One man - tall, blond bearded and shaggy-haired - wonders over to me.'I wish there was this much details about any apple in this book.Thanks to this book I have also lost faith in the 'reviews' noted people write about books. Sheila Dillon of such pillar of British society the BBC Radio 4 writes ' Wonderful, revelatory ... very moving'. I find such words describing this book scandalous.Dr. Mansur Sultani

It may not be for everyone, I gave it to my mum to read and she couldn't get into it as 'it was all about apples'. Apparently, there's a certain amount of NerdAlert needed to read this.The book is sorted into sections titled Blossoming, Fruiting, Ripening, Harvesting, Celebrating, Transforming, and Slumbering. These are all pretty self-explanatory and nicely echo the rhythm of the yearly cycle in the orchard. The chapters are a good length, perfect for reading a couple before bed or during your morning commute.Pete's writing style is excellently engaging. The unexpected F-bombs remind me of chatting with a friend rather than being lectured at by a professor which would have been a risk had the tone of the book been more traditional. I like it. It's so much more approachable and will win over someone not sure how much they're into non-fiction books. The shortish chapters and humorous observations, akin to Bill Bryson, make it very easy to plough through the book faster than you'd like. I even put it down to read a magazine for a few days just so I didn't rush it.At the end of the book is a reading list should your interest be peaked. This is a nice touch. After getting all fired up with optimism about small-scale private growers (not the bits on commercial farming and the general public's changing tastes - that's truly depressing) it would have been nice to have a list of UK growers if you wanted to source your own orchard. I suppose ten minutes on Google would probably give you that.Simultaneously informative and enjoyable, this book did exactly what I hoped it would, but in a style that was refreshing and engaging. I've not read his other works on Cider and Beer but that matters not when this book is so good. I'm glad I went for the hardback.

Wonderful book...local library could not find it ! Thank you Amazon.I heard this on Radio 4 and it reduced me to tears in parts.Valuable tips on grafting, and a description of a fire back I found on a market in France .

I wish there were a few illustrations of apples or orchards. The print is lovely and clear and big enough so you don't have to strain your eyes to read it. A bit more technical than I expected but a very interesting book. First heard of it via Book at Bedtime on the BBC.

What a beautiful book. I first came across it when I heard it being read by the author on Radio 4. I immediately bought this as a present for my husband, who is delighted with it. I shall enjoy reading it too. It was promptly delivered and was well packaged.