Apples are so ordinary and so ubiquitous we often take them for granted. Yet it is surprisingly challenging to grow and sell this beloved fruit. Good Apples is for anyone who wants to go beyond the kitchen and backyard into the orchards, packing sheds, and cold storage rooms; into the laboratories and experiment stations; and into the warehouses, stockrooms, and marketing meetings, to better understand how we as citizens and eaters can sustain the farms that provide fruit and food for our communities.

Susan Futrell has spent over thirty-five years working in sustainable food distribution, including more than a decade with apple growers in the Northeast. She shows us why producing diverse, tasty apples for today’s market requires almost as much ingenuity and interdependence as building and maintaining a vibrant democracy.