I was (and still am) intrigued by the book's premise that farming is an art in and of itself and is inextricably linked with the visual arts, music and literature. Logsdon takes an unconventional approach when exploring this premise, however, choosing to focus largely on artists, musicians and writers whom he knows personally or to whom he has some personal connection. On the one hand, this approach makes the book very accessible and allows him to offer unique insights on great artists and writers like Andrew Wyeth and Wendell Berry. On the other hand, it leads him to spend many pages and chapters on relatively unknown or amateur artists, some of them relatives. I understand that he uses many of these lesser-known artists as examples of how the creative impulse in farming and rural people isn't limited to a few exemplary artists - rather, it suffuses the daily life of all farmers and rural communities. However, I would have liked to see more effort on his part to research and include more well-known artists with whom he isn't already personally familar, especially women. Logsdon spends no significant amount of time discussing any female artists, musicians or writers - when they do come up, they are often mentioned as the spouses of men whom he discusses at length. My frustration with this pattern reached a boiling point when, in the introduction to the chapter on "New Agrarian Writers," he spent a sentence each discussing Barbara Kingsolver and Bobbie Ann Mason before turning to lengthy profiles of four male authors. This book was definitely a worthwhile read that turned me on to many other agrarian writers, artists and musicians that I would like to explore further. However, had Logsdon made the effort to make the book more comprehensive, particularly with respect to women, I probably wouldn't be the only person with The Mother Of All Arts in her LibraryThing library! ( )