This Blessed Earth A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm [Paperback]

A real eye-opener. Genoways presents a very Steinbeckian story: Americans struggling heroically against forces outside their control.A history book, an economics text, even a soap opera of sorts. If we eat, we should know.Clear-eyed and unsentimental.& [Genoways] writes with authority.& [and] comes from a long line of Nebraskans himself.Everyone who eats in America should read this lyrical and often heartbreaking book about life on a modern American farm. It will change the way you look at what is on your plate.In an impressive and compelling work of literary journalism, Ted Genoways dives deep into the heart of an American farm family, illuminating critical issues troubling our complex food production system. But he also describes in intimate detail the very human struggles of the workbetween husband and wife, parent and child, father-in-law and son-in-lawin one family committed to growing our food and passing the work on to the next generation.Its not fair to claim that you are concerned about the countrys food system unless you truly understand the millions of unsung conventional family farmers who produce our corn, soybeans, and beef. Genoways portrays just such a family in a book that is factual, rich in history, and filled with characters you will come to know as friends. He writes with an investigative journalists mind and a poets soul.Ted Genoways brings a lifetime of knowledge to the complex story of modern agriculture. His depth of understanding is evident on every page as he follows the Hammonds through a year on their Nebraska farm, examining the way they are not only at the behest of traditional challenges such as weather and time, but also subject to international trade agreements, worldwide competition, and the challenges of scale. InFarming, family, and food all come together in this beautifully written story of what it takes to work this blessed earth.Winner of the Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize