ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE is entirely inspiring. It has enough facts about the food industry to make you think, but not the gross-out shocks that some other local-types seem to focus on. As Barbara Kingsolver and her family got through the year of eating local and home grown, I felt like I was growing with them. The monthly summaries about what plants were shooting their heads out of the ground when were delightful, and made me think about what I'm really getting when I go to the grocery store. By the end, I felt like Ms Kingsolver and her family were dear friends, and I was pleased at my efforts of growing a few veggie plants in containers and shopping at the farm market more often. I read a copy from the library, but I'm going to buy my own as soon as I can. Highly recommended.