David Grene devoted his life to two things: farming, which he began as a boy in Ireland and continued into old age; and classics, which he taught for several decades that culminated in his translating and editing the "Complete Greek Tragedies". This memoir which he wrote before his death weaves together these interests to tell a quirky story.

"An illuminating read for every classical scholar engaged with the current quest for the subject's roots, and the excavation of the way that it has evolved over the past century and a half." - Edith Hall, Times Literary Supplement "David Grene reminds us of two crucial aspects of modern life exemplified by this rare individual. First is the symbiosis between the life of contemplation and action - and just how it is that hard physical and dirty work offers real value in rediscovering nature, bringing with it a certain pragmatism that permeates reading and thinking.... Second, Grene reminds us of what constitutes success in life." - Victor Davis Hanson, New York Sun "Grene was as much part of the rural farming community in Ireland as of the academic community in Chicago, and Irish people found it as hard to imagine him as a professor of Greek as his academic colleagues found it hard to imagine him as a dairy farmer." - Irish Times "David Grene could easily be described with the cliche 'last of a breed,' but he was also the first of his kind. Or at least, the first in a long time.... His personal style reincarnated that of the Roman artistocrats, with their love of the soil and taste for good books." - Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune"