I have never tried composting before, so I wanted the big picture. I researched online and this seems to be the undisputed classic book on the subject. It seems to tell ALL you need to know to manage your composting, and in as few words as possible.

This book is a quick crash course on composting. I learned things about composting that I never new before. The other great thing, it is an easy to read book! Totally satisfied!

I bought this for my husband as he went crazy on composting. I read it as well. And it provided more info. A must read for anyone wanting to start or even seasoned rotters. Good book to leave on the table gets lots of funny looks

Composting, in case you aren't terribly familiar with it yet, is simply the practice of allowing waste matter to rot and decompose until it's fit to be tilled right into the soil. However, while the basic concept is as old as mother nature and often very easy to execute, it also helps to know more about it. What materials should you compost, and which should you avoid? Do you have to worry about animals or flies in your compost? How do you make sure your compost will turn into dirt and not a slimy, stinky sludge?

While nearly every gardening book these days has a section on composting and most of these are enough to get you by, Stu Campbell's Let It Rot! is an entertaining, folksy and in-depth take on the art that will see you through nearly any foreseeable difficulty. I was certainly able to successfully compost with the simpler directions in other books, but there's information in here I wish I'd had back when I first started. For instance, now I know the cobweb-like stuff that I feared was mold was the natural activity of Actinomycetes, a part-bacteria, part-fungus organism that aids decomposition in certain parts of a compost pile.

Mr. Campbell's book also introduces a great many different types of compost piles and composters that you can use, depending on what you're trying to accomplish, what area you have to work with, or what you're trying to decompose. He also suggests many ways to use compost in and around your garden, and how to get the most out of it. I'm glad I picked up Mr. Campbell's book, because I learned an incredible amount of new material!