Iowa Books

The book arrived quickly, and in great condition! I wouldn't hesitate to shop this retailer again! As for the book, it would have been nice to have seen a bit more of the inside before buying--but I remedied that by doing what I usually do--get it from the library so I can see if it is worth buying.

I loved this book! This book addressed EVERY area that I was doing wrong. I started writing my book without a guide and something in me told me to get a guide just in case. So after browsing on amazon, I found this book and immediately ordered. I stopped writing and immediately began to read and study the tips in this book. I was thrilled to see a couple of pages on how to select the right nutritional software, because I was struggling about how to select the right vendor! I did exactly as recommended and found a great source. If you are writing a cookbook, stop writing and purchase this book before you go any further!

Wow! That's all I can really say. You think you know everything; you know your conversions, you're totally informed about your ingredients, you've made the recipe a dozen times.... BUT... just because you can follow the recipe doesn't mean other people can. This book will help you make your recipes standardized, readable, and useful for everyone from your daughter who can't cook to save her soul to your sister, the professional chef.

You don't have to be a food service pro to appreciate this book. If you've ever considered cataloguing your family recipes, making a church or community group cookbook, or submitting your famous chicken-artichoke lasagna recipe to Better Homes and Gardens, start here. It's an easy read and an invaluable reference. Wonderful!

I purchased this book while writing a book proposal for my children's food cookbook "The Petit Appetit Cookbook". This book saved me many potentially embarassing food writing faux pas with my editor. The pages are bent and highlighted, but I still rely on it when writing articles and recipes for publication.

Great Book, I can't put it down. Great job, this book has everything needed to write recipes, what they couldn't put in they gave resources to find. I have used some of those suggested resource books, and am pretty amazed so far.

This is a classic texbook. If you collect introductory statistics textbooks, this is a "must have" for your collection.

This book review all common technique of statistical methods - from t-test to factorial design and regression. Also, it also introduces non-parametric statistics. Detailed examples in each chapter are helpful to read the book.

This was the core text for both semesters of my graduate level statistics classes back in the '70s. The text was very understandable and the examples were most helpful. I am now an MD doing clinical research at a medical school and this is STILL the best statistics reference I've ever come across. ...

Snedecor first wrote this excellent elementary applied text while at Iowa State (late 1940s or early 1950s). When Bill Cochran arrived in Iowa he helped out with the revision. It was very popular and was revised by Cochran many times even after Snedecor died.

Well written and often used in elementary courses this book is also a good reference source for statistical methods. Empahsis in applied statistics in those days was in agricultural experiments and that is the reason statistics was prominent at Iowa State University in those days.

I found the writing clear and easy to follow. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an excellent introducory text in statistics.

One of the best contemporary poets writing, and a force to be reckoned with. Buy this book.

This is a world of brilliance--but also with great weird humor.

The feeling grows as one turns the pages that Peter Shippy is one of the most original poets now writing in American. While the external surface of the poems is busy--byte-n surrealism to sci-fi baroque--they are secure and madly intelligent. No matter how wild his reality--and we have lovesick aliens, chop-socky crickets, a brain in a vat, a dog who digs Pier Paolo--these poems are a grand thing happening. A virtuoso verbal performance.

Shippy puts the anti back in anti-poet. Daring and glorious.

Funny, eccentric, very smart. Tough, too. But I like my poems tough. ...

This is a great book. It covers all the subject areas for the young aspiring pilot or for the seasoned veteran pilot. I've been an airline pilot for over twelve years and I find this book to be a must read. I highly recommend it regardless of experience.

This is a fantastic book that comprehensively covers the areas pertaining to flying large aircraft. It is well written and interesting to read and follow. Few books cover this subject so expertly and clearly as this one.

The areas covered range from aircraft performance to instrument flying and weather. The experienced pilot as well as the newly minted ones will benefit immensely from the enlightening and erudite presentation.

Overall, an excellent book that every career minded pilot should possess and thoroughly read.

As a Check Captain for a major airline I have to stay up on procedures and techniques. This book has been my constant reference source for over 18 years. Every time I pick up my dog-eared copy I am astounded at the wealth of information that is contained between its covers. It is a postgraduate course in flying in the real world and should be on every pilot's bookshelf. I recommend it to all the new hire First Officers I work with. The other book that belongs on your shelf is Robert Bucks "Weather Flying".

I have read many books from introductory student pilot texts to Operating Manuals for the A-320, L-1011 and B-747-400 in my aviation career, but if I had to pick any one book that best explains the nuts and bolts of advanced turbine flying, this is my pick, with no close second. This book has no peer.

Jim Webb makes this information come alive and makes often difficult to grasp (or remember) concepts like weather and aircraft performance second nature. I have instructed in many models of jet transports, and when I can't find an answer to a tough question, I never fail to refer to my well used copy of "Fly The Wing." Many of Webb's examples reference information specific to the DC-9 and L-1011, but understand that the general points being made translate equally well to all commercial jets. As a side note, I have been to school on both the DC-9 and L-1011, and Webb's information is as good as gold, which reinforced the solidness of the underlying text for me.

If you are a turbine pilot now or have any interest at all in becoming one, this book is absolutely indispensable to have on your bookshelf. If you are a student, private, or new commercial pilot, this book has loads of accessible, relevant, and important information for you. Don't worry about the turbine specific information and you will still find this a most worthwhile book to read. No pilot should be without it!

"Be your own greatest critic. Accept each flight as a challenge. . . . Work to your maximum ability; endeavor at all times to fly clearances exactly; stay right on your heading and course and altitude; try to fly so smoothly that the passengers will never know when you've made a mistake. You will know when you've flown a good flight, and your self-satisfaction will surpass any complement that may be given you."

Where 'Stick and Rudder' is perfect for a Cub student 'Fly The Wing' is perfect for the SAAB 340 or B-757 student. It's one of my most dog-eared books, as I try to read it before every training session. Covers in detail all major procedures required to master handling a large airplane. Written by a master who learnt to fly with a barnstormer, earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses flying B-24's, and retired as an airline check airman with 35,000 hours and 500 students taught. If you are going from a Cessna to an RJ, buy this book now.

Reading MY NAME IS ESTHER CLARA was like listening to a woman in an old folk's home tell you about her life. The only difference is that you never want to make an excuse to leave the room. I read this wonderful book in one sitting. The stories are well thought out and researched and it is so easy to forget they are being told by one of Esther's granddaughters and not Esther herself. What a loving tribute to a woman who shows grit and a resilience that is enabled by her great sense of humor.

Laurel Johnson has managed to capture my heart once again with her newest book. Each of this author's books are distinct, original, and captivating. I was not sure what to expect before reading MY NAME IS ESTHER CLARA. I ended up with a narrative that I could not put down. When I finished reading it, I couldn't stop thinking of this marvelous woman, Esther Clara.

Esther is a non-fictional character. Her loving granddaughter tells her story from material collected over the years. And what a story this is! Esther's life spans almost a century and the tales she reminisces about will strike a chord with all readers. You will be taken back to years gone by when running water and electricity were not available. You will feel her pain when she suffers loses and silently cheer for her sheer determination while attacking life.

I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. The pages seemed to melt away as the years of Esther's life flew by and her family started to feel like my own. This book will certainly become a welcome addition to my home library to be read again and again.

This is a will written story of the life of a woman as it evolved across almost the entire 20th century. Her childhood antics and accomplishments on an Iowa farm will make you laugh outloud. Her strength, dedication, & love of her family will bring joy to your heart and tears to your eyes. It is a story of the spirit of American women & a life modern women will never experience but can learn from.

Laurel Johnson's ability to captivate a voice from memory and paint it for the rest of the world to hear is an irreplaceable gift. Reading the family tales and yarns of Johnson's grandmother in My Name Is Esther Clara is to come to know and love Esther. Her voice with its deep dialect can be heard jumping off the page through Johnson's talent and first hand knowledge.

The freshness of the frolicking years of child's play through the graying of maturity with the hard lessons of life are woven through Esther's personal dialogue. Heartwarming and charming, it is like standing at a neighbor's fence with ease and down-home familiarity.

Antics that will split the reader's rib cage for laughter and hillarity tell of historic perspectives of much simpler lifestyles and the priorities that had to match for survival. Esther's journey will give social awareness to an agriculturally oriented lifestyle in the plains of America. Character is built and personal strength must evolve from determination in the face of hardship and loss. And yet, always Esther has a yarn to tell and a country idiom to explain.

Laurel Johnson simply radiates her talent in her tribute to her grandmother Esther Clara. This is a book I will pick up again and again for fun and the value inside. I will give it in abundance to friends, and recommend it not just to readers, but to students as well. It will give anyone the reason to pause and think of the value of heritage.

Stephanie S. Sawyer, reviewer and author

Laurel Johnson speaks for her grandmother, Esther Clara Sanow Ford, with this - what the author refers to as creative nonfiction - first-person tale of a woman's journey through life. The reader relives history through the eyes of Esther, who experienced the hardships of World Wars I and II and the Korean War, the discord of the Vietnam War, and the worst depression this country has experienced to date. Esther's life evolved from one extreme to the other, from having to cook on a wooden stove, read by kerosene lantern and use an outhouse to one with all the luxuries electricity and running water have to offer; and from riding in horse-drawn carriages to traveling by automobile. How delightful to read about her antics as a child and terribly sad to learn of the death of a beloved child during her marriage.

Esther was a forward-thinking woman who lived during an exciting, progressive time in our nation's history. Her love and devotion to her family, especially her husband Herb, was her number one priority. It is through Esther one is reminded of the basics of life: enduring hardships with bravery and positive thoughts, loving with all one's heart, showing kindness toward others, and above all, being true to one's self.

It's a rarity when a book of this quality crosses my desk. It seemed as if Esther sat across from me, talking directly to me. I didn't want to put the book down, nor did I want it to end. Although Esther may not have had a documented impact on the history of America, she certainly made an impact on this reader and, I imagine, many others.

In a recent interview with Samantha Bravo the author of TEACHING LIFE answers some questions about his writing of the book:

Bravo: In TEACHING LIFE: LETTERS FROM A LIFE IN LITERATURE, each letter to Kelly addresses a different aspect of education, literature and life. How did you decide which topics to address? How do you think the book's organization of these topics affects the reader?

Salwak: The topics suggested themselves to me as I moved ever deeper into the project. I knew I had to write "When a Parent Dies," for example, because the day after my father's funeral I returned to my class to discuss "Hamlet" and saw my father sitting in the back of the room. The chapter on "Marriage" suggested itself because I was struck by how many of my colleagues across the country wrestle with balancing the academics with family life. Many questions emerged over the years from discussions with my parents, both educators, as well as from my students. Overall I answer questions that many teachers (and students) ask of themselves and that I continue to ask of myself.

Bravo: Why did you choose to format the book as a series of letters?

Salwak: To avoid the risk of coming across as "preachy" or dogmatic. That's not my style. Writing letters "to" a former student was an indirect way of reaching my potential reader. Also, this format helped me to establish a warm, personal tone that is the voice I try to maintain in the classroom. I am speaking to teachers, yes, but I am also speaking to students as well as to the general public - and I don't want to alienate them.

Bravo: In the book's summary it says that "'Teaching Life" is an effort to impart lessons to the next generation
of teachers." Would you also agree that these lessons are equally benefiting to students who read this
book? What sort of insight should a student expect to gain in contrast to a teacher?

Salwak: Yes, most definitely. Letters as personal as these permit the student to slip away from present concerns, open the door, and step inside the secret life of a teacher. Happiness is a gift, not a right, and most of us as teachers have been so gifted. Perhaps some students themselves will carry from the book the thought of entering this noble and personally rewarding profession. At the very least I hope they will find here some useful suggestions for getting all they can from their educational experiences.

Bravo: You say that Kelly has become a metaphor for all your students. Could you explain this in more depth?

Salwak: Every semester my classrooms are filled with Kelly's - bright, eager-to-learn men and women who are giving me three hours a week of their most precious possession - their time. What I say "to" Kelly in the letters I say to all of my students: make the most of your allotted time, seek the best in everything you do, and keep growing. My challenge is to find a way to connect with them, to encourage them to care about the material, to think about some of the deep issues of life, and to have a good time while doing so. That's part of what keeps me coming back day after day, month after month, semester after semester. Though Kelly didn't live to realize her potential as a teacher, my experience of knowing her and thousands of students like her continues to inspire me every day.

Bravo: Thirty years after Kelly's death, why did you believe that this was the right time in your career to publish "Teaching Life?"

Salwak: There were many months, even years when I didn't know when (or even IF) I would complete the book. Coincidentally I did so while approaching my 35th year of teaching. To borrow from Samuel Johnson, I believe that into every teacher's life there comes a "time to be in earnest." This is such a time for me.

"Teaching Life: Letters from a Life in Literature" is sure to leave an indelible mark on you, whether (or especially if) you are a teacher (first-year or veteran) or simply a lover of books, literature, and learning. I doubt I will ever be as well-read as the author, or acquire such rich and varied life experiences. But reading this book has inspired me to try. Reading this book was also a way of renewing my own vows to my students: to honor and respect their time, to be an example of curiosity and knowledge, to listen and learn from them. When I finished the last page, I was eager to find a quiet place to sit and reflect on everything I'd read. I'm sure I'll continue to do so for a long, long time.

After having been a college Professor for over 16 years myself, I thought I knew all (or at least most) there is to know about my profession. Dr. Salwak's book has provided me with a tremendous amount of knowledge and inspiration. I am humbled by the realization that there is still much to be learned and very appreciative by the warmth and insightfulness with which the book is written.
This book is a masterful piece of literature that can be of tremendous inspiration for readers pursuing a number of different careers.
Letters from a Life in Literature feels like a warm cup of tea in a cold rainy day. I highly recommend it.

I am an elementary school teacher and School Board member for the Claremont School District. I had the privilege of listening to Dr. Salwak give a presentation about this book. The parallels between educating the college student and grammar school student were striking.

As a classroom teacher for over 20 years, I deeply appreciated this book. Dr. Salwak's perspective and insights gave me a new look at teaching. The advice to any educator and the interplay between instructor and student are thoroughly enlightening. His light touch on the role of pedagogy in education during a time of increased concern over test scores portrays many of the highs and lows involved in teaching. Many K-12 school districts adopt curriculum where all teachers must be on the same page on the same day regardless of their class's composition or achievement. Such an approach is anathema to instilling the love of learning that is portrayed in this book.

Dr. Salwak is an antidote to the factory worker approach to teaching. His passion for education and his passionate reflections on teaching should be required reading for all policy makers who shape education. The letters addressed to Kelly also include good advice for students and their families. His love of reading is a great model for his students and all of us.

Letters from a Life in Literature is a must read for anyone who loves books, values education, or is involved in learning. Dr. Salwak is a shining example of the "lifelong learner" so many schools and college want to produce. This book is a real treat.

This book has an incomparable value to me that is hard to explain with words. It has provided me with very valuable insight that I certainly could not obtain from any other source. As a future teacher, it was very important to me to experience through Dr. Salwak's words all what this wonderful profession of teaching involves. Before reading the book, I certainly thought of teaching as my career goal, but now, I have come to realize that it is my vocation and my passion.

I enjoyed each and every single chapter in this book, from the interesting classroom anecdotes to the sad and reflective moment that the death of a father represents. However, I think that for people like me, whose journey into the wonderful profession of teaching has just began, the chapter about "Transition" is a must read because it explains in detail the challengeable "transition from feeling like a student to living fully as a scholar-teacher." The book also covers other important subjects for early teachers, such as the art of lecturing, reading, and, the most important (I think), how to connect with students.

I would definitely recommend this book not only to anyone in the teaching profession but to everyone who wants to learn more about life from this wonderful professor and person: Dr. Salwak. As his former student, he has changed my life in ways that I would never imagine and I am pretty sure that anyone who could have the chance of reading this book will certainly agree with me that his knowledge and wisdom are without comparison.

Hi - I'm the illustrator that did the cover. Had to read the whole manuscript first - Lee's a sweetly demented fellow, his tales of full of sadness, regret and wicked observation.

Had to get a drunk a couple of times just to start work on the cover art.

Lee - you never said whether you liked the cover or not?

Simply THE BEST. Every book by Lee K. Abbott reads like a chapter in a BIG AMERICAN NOVEL. I mean: each one of his short-stories is more nutritive than most novels published these days. I already wrote a review as a READER FROM BARCELONA, SPAIN but forget to put my e-mail there in case Mr. Abbott wants to send me the promised out-of-print-book (if you're there, Lee, knock three times). In a world where everybody seems to fall for minimalists, Mr. Abbott is a maximalist with a vengeance. Lucky us.

Simply THE BEST. Every book by Lee K. Abbott reads like a chapter in a BIG AMERICAN NOVEL. I mean: each one of his short-stories is more nutritive than most novels published these days. I already wrote a review as a READER FROM BARCELONA, SPAIN. In a world where everybody seems to fall for minimalists, Mr. Abbott is a maximalist with a vengeance. Lucky us.

Lee K. Abbott is the King of Kings and the true heir to John Cheever's crown as the ruler of the short story as Big Art. I once phoned him while doing a stage at the University of Iowa International Writers Workshop and he promised to send me "The Heart Never Fits its Wanting" (his only title I didn't have); he never did but it's okay: still looking for it and proud to be his only fan born in Argentina.

Some of these stories are not in Abbott's newest collection, one of which is the humorous and unforgettable "A Creature Out of Palestine." The first two pages introduce us to the world Abbott has created, characters speaking with his strength and natural humor, the landscape and characters as unique as Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, but in the desert of the American southwest. When I first read Abbott, I thought, "Wonderful. Who IS this guy?" Answer: an original, and per William Giraldi in "The Georgia Review", "Abbott fuses a poet's purpose with a fiction writer's, the lyrical with the narrative...[but it would be] impossible to sustain that level of stylistic fervor, those orgasms of language for more than twenty or twenty-five pages." The limitation of length in the short story challenges a writer to create a world peopled with three dimensional characters in conflict, and yet to make the story whole, with synergy. Abbott is the master, doing so with beauty, pathos, and most especially, humor.

I read these stories years ago and still can't get them out of my mind. Chetkovich has the rare ability to completely transport a reader in the space of a brief paragraph. Often, she does it with one sentence. All I can say is, "More please."

The work here is so strong, funny, insightful. She seems to only choose her best work for publication. All of it is top flight. This can hardly be said for so much that is printed and puffed up these days. She is great.

I admit having learned about this book only because I was looking up something on Jonathan Franzen, who happens to be Chetkovich's boyfriend since about the time of this publication. Although the amount of publicity for their respective work could not be more disparate, Kathryn Chetkovich is a talented, sensitive and perceptive writer in her own right. So impressed was I by her short but uncannily emotive stories that I would personally fire off a marketing campaign for her if she asked me to. Calling her glimpses of young women's ambivalence towards the ties with family, friendship, love and adulthood "enigmatic" or "mesmerizing" would be trite. But how she nails feelings I thought reserved to myself, moreover, why no one has brought her ability to broader recognition IS a riddle to me.

Her style of accentuating the marginal while letting the essential speak for itself appeared, albeit later, in a few German women authors' stories that I liked in varying degrees (Zsuzsa Bank, Judith Hermann). Likewise, Chetkovich's stories are not all of the same sterling quality to warrant a full five stars--some are just a little too slight--, but 4.5 stars and rising.

I came across a Kathryn Chetkovich story in the Houghton-Mifflin annual collection of best short stories (1998 edition), and knew I had to get my hands on "Friendly Fire" as soon as I could so I could read more of her writing. And I wasn't disappointed -- all of her stories are beautifully crafted and have an wonderfully understated wryness and insight -- you will be delighted, amused, and often moved by the perfect turns of phrase that Chetcovich finds to illuminate even the smallest incident or observation. Can't wait for more from this writer.

I consider myself a reader and am usually aware of all the new books coming out. I picked this book up having heard nothing about it. I sat and read the first story of this collection and before I was even done the first page I knew Kathryn was a discovery. This is her first book and she has me for whatever else she writes. These stories about real struggle and emotional entanglements of the family. Having grown children I loved reading them. I don't usually write these reviews ; I don't feel competent ; but it is a crime to me that I hadn't heard of this book. FRIENDLY FIRE is so WONDERFUL. When I think of the books out there that receive so much attention. Kathryn is a gem. Support her work and you will not regret it!

I have wanted to get this book for many years now. I read it while going to college. It is a story that has been in my memory for a very long time. It was a shock for me to see (after I read it) that it is much longer than I remember it to be, even though it is short as books go. It is a sad story. Let's hope that things don't work out the way that Mr. Thurber tells us they will. But maybe that's the whole idea: for us to read THE LAST FLOWER, then make sure that its ending doesn't happen. So, everyone, buy the book, and you can help out.

This book had the most impact on my 1940s and '50s childhood. I grew up with it, looked at it time after time, pondered it, felt it. Who said "A picture speaks a thousand words"? James Thurber had a wonderful silent way of reaching the heart. I recommend this book to all parents with children, and to all grown-ups. Of everything I have ever read or seen, this is my #1 book of all time! Please have it out on your table always!

This treasure of humanity was practically a Bible and also a constant "coffee table" book in our household when I was growing up in the late 50's and 60's. This is one of those rarest of books that will simultaneously break your heart and make your spirit soar. It only offers (see Thurber's dedication to his daughter) "a wistful hope" - but it will inspire you to nurture every ounce of genuine hopefulness you can muster.

This book had the most impact on my 1940s and '50s childhood. I grew up with it, looked at it time after time, pondered it, felt it. Who said "A picture speaks a thousand words"? James Thurber had a wonderful silent way of reaching the heart. I recommend this book to all parents with children, and to all grown-ups. Of everything I have ever read or seen, this is my #1 book of all time! Please have it out on your table always!

E. B. White thought this was Thurber's best book I agree that it is among the best. Written for his young daughter, it is an anti-war book of the right sort, emphasizing both the inescapability of war hostility and the devastation war causes. It is a perfect book for an adult to read to a thoughtful child--or for any adult to read in any circumstance. The line drawings (cartoons is not quite the word for Thurber's unique visions) are simple and eloquent throughout. The book was prescient when it appeared just at the outset of WWII. The story ends with hope symolized by the one surviving flower that may restore happiness and beauty to the world. It is the flower we still enjoy contemplating, sixty years after Thurber drew it.

If you grew up on or currently live on a farm this is an interesting read. Even if a farm life is not your experience this book gives great insight to farm life before all the modern conveniences became common. You will enjoy it. Once upon a Farm

We bought this and "Christmas on the Farm" especially for our grandchildren who love farm animals. They thoroughly enjoy reading these books with Grandpa and talking about the wonderful pictures. What a great contribution to remembering things the way they used to be. Thank you Bob Artley!

Bob Artley is so talented and gives you the feeling you are back on the farm again. Brought out so many wonderful memories that I had forgotten. Great book!

My mother is in her eighties and her dictum has become (for gifts),
if I can't wear it, eat it or spend it, don't give it to me. I
broke the rule when I gave her this book for Christmas, and she
loved it so much it brought tears to her eyes.

Bob Artley came from a town not more than 50 miles from my home
town and his age is not that far from the mother's age, and since
my mother also grew up on a farm, going through the book was like
going back into her own very real time. Unlike Mr. Artley and
probably nearly all girls who live on farms today, my mother did
not do chores connected with the farm. That was a guy-thing.
Girls worked in the house. Period. But she certainly had
brothers a-plenty who did those very same things in very similar
ways as did Mr. Artley. The illustrations are wonderful,
so realistic you can almost smell the hay, and other things
not quite so fragrant connected with farms.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever lived on a farm, lived near a farm, driven by a farm. It is a document of
a way of life that is swiftly leaving the scene, more's the
pity. It should also be in school libraries.
Even very young children can get a real sense of what it was like
to live on a farm through the marvelous illustrations

This is a beautiful book written by a writer and illustrator who grew up on an Iowa farm in the 1930's as the "age of the horse" was giving way to the "age of the tractor." The author, Bob Artley, illustrates with detailed sketches and color drawings of such things as walking through the spring mud from barn to barn carrying a bucket of feed, a birds eye view of the farmstead, one of father and son cleaning oat seed with a hand powered fanning mill, planting corn behind a team of horses, milking a cow the old fashioned way, the details of a cream separator, threshers at harvest time and much more. Mr. Artley writes a description of the work they did, what was hard, what was fun and a few of his personal memories of the feelings that he as a child had living this life. It is a touching book written with love and realism describing a lifestyle that has passed by. I especially loved his description of the barn chores where each cow had her chosen place where they were fed silage topped with ground oats and linseed oil, and where they would bed down in the straw with their heads in the stanchions feeding on clover hay. Mr. Artley is not overly sentimental in his memories. He also explains the distastefulness of cleaning out the gutters, working in the cold and the heat etc. He gives us a balanced look at farm life prior to telephones, electricity and indoor plumbing. This is a wonderful book for both those who also experienced farm life in the 1930's as well as younger people like myself who are simply interested in the lives of an older generation.