I much prefer Logsdon's non-fiction writing to his fiction. In fact, I re-read his non-fiction books multiple times, perhaps the greatest compliment I could pay to his writing, since I hardly ever re-read anything in any genre of writing. (Nor do I watch many movies a second time.)
Among my Logsdon favorites (roughly in order) are:
Perhaps my favorite of all time, a classic:
The Contrary Farmer (Real Goods Independent Living Book)
The first edition of this book that is scheduled soon to be released in a second edition: Small-Scale Grain Raising, Second Edition: An Organic Guide to Growing, Processing, and Using Nutritious Whole Grains, for Home Gardeners and Local Farmers
And, of course, Living at Nature's Pace: Farming and the American Dream
That having been said, The Last of the Husbandmen is a good, quick read. There are some wickedly humorous scenes and accompanying dialogue, and some poignant moments (though most of these cross over a little too much for my taste into the sappy and syrupy). Some of it comes across as preachy, something I can take better in a non-fiction than in a fiction setting. Mostly, though, Logsdon knows rural Ohio in his bones and it shows in thoroughly likable characters and pretty good verisimilitude, even if he's telling a parable about the old ways of living and caring for the soil at a time of utter disruption and upheaval.
If you have never read Logsdon, start somewhere else. If you've read everything he's ever written twice, here's a great new story that you'll gobble up like biscuits and sorghum molasses.
