Wow, interesting reading, we all can appreciate Johnny Appleseed stories. Can't wait to visit some places I read about here. Thanks to the author and all those dedicated people,farmers that have planted apple trees for our future!

In Wisconsin, a surprising number of heritage apples show up. This book led me to discover a local heirloom apple grower. I had grown tired of the apples in our supermarkets. What a surprise to learn that there are still apples out there that taste like apples did when I was in knee pants and they are available. The book is a good guide to finding varieties, but also a help in identifying unknown apples.

Having read numerous apple books the particularly good thing about this one is the author really tries to tease out descriptions of flavor and texture from the apples. He catches many subtle dimensions of flavor that were "on the tip of my tongue" but I couldn't quite put into words. Apples are many worlds of flavor and texture, the spectrum is quite stunning and this book begins to make a step in getting a deeper understanding. Another distinguishing feature is the writer can actually write and "old saw" apple stories I have read dozens of times before become fresh again. It would be a great book for any foodie-type that likes apples.

The book is not perfect however. While it has some very good descriptions about what part of the country the various apples do well in, it is not a book for the grower in that disease propensity etc is not discussed. While it tries to be an American Apple Book, it is more focused on New England than other parts of the country. Its probably for the better though as the descriptions show the varying degrees of familiarity the author has with the different apples - the ones he knows best just sing from the page while some I get the feeling are only vague acquaintances. I also really don't know why mediocre apples are intentionally covered, there are fantastic apples that were left out (including two of my favorites, Hoople's Antique Gold and Freyburg) so we could learn how bad 20-Ounce Pippin is.

A short Apple history, apples listed in sections by type (usually 2 pages to the Apple- 1 a portrait example) telling you such things as appearance, taste & texture, season and uses. Several recipes too, for some apples.
If you actually want some of these apples, "Resources" pages 306-07, has places to mail order apples (2 have websites that don't seem to support online orders, 2 a limited-expensive- selection and Tree-Mendus Fruit, lots of varieties to choose from (not very cheap either).
7 places to order trees, 40-400 varieties depending on which site you choose, all have addresses and websites.
1 source for boiled cider, 9 for hard cider.
"Resources" ends with a listing of festivals and events.
Get this book and "Apples of North America" by Tom Burford and you'll have a good start towards beginning your orchard.

This book should be required reading for everyone with an interest in putting historically healthy, storeable food in their bodies. The pictures, descriptions, and history are so enjoyable. Growing up in New England I frequented orchards in the Fall with my mom and dined on Jonathan's, Baldwin's, and Blue Pearmain's. There were literally hundreds of varieties at my fingertips. As an adult, I've noticed a definite change in the grocery store apples. I'm limited to just a handful of varieties and I've developed an allergic reaction to either the pesticides or the protective wax put on the apples. I can't eat them, but thank the heavens for the old orchards and hobbyists that are preserving the old varieties and ways of growing tasty apples. This book inspired me to plant some old varieties in my own yard. Looking forward to harvesting and eating Blue Pearmains, Gray Pearmains, Cox's Orange Pippin, D'Arcy Spice, Baldwin, and Asmead's Kernel. As the author states, we're in a new golden age of apples with a renewed interest in old heirloom apples and the explosion of the hard cider industry. Buy this book, you won't regret it!