1. You Can Farm: the Entrepreneur's Guide to Start and Succeed in a Farming Enterprise by Joel Salatin - 437 pages - The book you NEED to start with, because it explains the path to get to the career field of farming from the outside. Every other book will assume you are already in it - Joel is an excellent communicator, and easy to read. You will not get caught up in too much mulling over the meaning of his sentences like other authors in this space. - This book is even more relevant today than when it was written. I am an example of the premise of the book being true. - Need a Mentor to "Translate Farmer to Civilian" Score: 4/10 2. Fields of Farmers: Interning, Mentoring, Partnering, Germinating by Joel Salatin - 308 pages - No I am not a Joel Salatin stan. But he pushes concepts to the noob the best, and you should understand apprenticeships before moving any further forward. - Again easy to understand writing style. The concepts of this book are made infinitely easier with the internet to find apprentice/ master relationships. - This community you are in was designed with the idea to get someone who is interested in farming to their first master. - Need a Mentor to "Translate Farmer to Civilian" Score: 2/10 3. The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture by Wendell Berry - 234 pages - This book largely has you escape the tactics of the past two books and look at the forest through the trees. Understanding the concepts in this book will result in paradigm crushing weights put on your back about the state of Ag in America. - The best way to describe Wendell is a philosopher. So you will not be able to cruise through this book quite like Joel's books - The "people and politics" in the book may seem outdated, but they reign even more true today. It takes time to prove cultural ideas, and unfortunately Mr. Berry's theories have all been shown to be accurate after 5 decades. - Nick Offerman (the actor who masterfully plays Ron Swanson on Parks and Rec) was apparently friends with Wendell and performs the audiobook. I would highly suggest getting that while reading through your hard copy. - Need a Mentor to "Translate Farmer to Civilian" Score: 5/10