Preserving the Family Farm

Neth does not romanticize the hard work of farming in its less industrial stage; nor does she smooth over the deep division of class, race and ethnicity that existed in rural communities. Her careful and very human portrayal of the impact of these circumstances on the lives of farm women and men provides insight into the complexity of such communities, illustrating how the intersection of home, work and community is constantly changing, negotiable and gendered.

This book is not just for historians but also for those who care about rural people and places and their meaning for America.

In this fine book, Mary Neth looks at the economic and cultural world of farm people... She writes from the inside, showing us its attractions and especially its dependence on family and engagement with community... Her book, like the farmers she writes about, defends a world that does not share the dominant American values. She is to be congratulated. She has done a thorough, thoughtful, and provocative job of it.

Preserving the Family Farm is well written, meticulously researched, and extremely useful for anyone interested in agricultural, rural, midwestern, or women's history. Neth does a good job of making abstract issues personal... Neth has done much to refocus rural history and give it a richness that it should, but often does not, have.