Good Life: The John Seymour Story

This book was originally published by The Good Life Press, and has been re-edited. "A Good Life" is a celebration of John Seymour: self-sufficiency guru, political activist, environmental campaigner and author of "The New Complete Book of Self Sufficiency", a book together with the man, that became in the inspiration for a whole generation. Through interviews with family and friends and archival research including hitherto unpublished material this important book details the larger than life character of John Seymour and describes his passions and philosophies that helped inspire, amongst others, the writers of the popular 1970s BBC Television situation comedy, "The Good Life", starring Felicity Kendal and Richard Briers. Paul Peacock charts John Seymour's early childhood years dreaming of being a cowboy, his life in Africa, his early farming experiences and the gradual formulation of his philosophy. He discusses at length the all-important later years with the move to Ireland and his part in the infamous Arthurstown Monsanto Trials in the 1990s when, in his eighties, he argued passionately and eloquently against the rise of Genetically Modified crops."A Good Life" analyses the extent of John Seymour's influence. How his farm became a beacon to many who had read his book and how they travelled from all over the world to work with him. These included such visionary thinkers as Leopold Kohr and E F Schumacher. It takes an objective look at many of his thoughts on the future of the developed world, his fears about the rising dominance of supermarkets and their ultimate stranglehold on agriculture and the land, his major concerns about genetically modified crops and intensive farming and his impassioned and reasoned stance on animal welfare issues.