Richard Rhodes' book, Farm: A Year in the Life of an American Farmer reveals the human side of farming. Rhodes lived for a year with the pseudonymous Bauer family (note that Bauer is German for farmer.) Tom Bauer is a 47-year-old Missouri farmer who raises hogs, cattle, grain and a family in western Missouri. The family's tribulations, the son with sight problems, the other son whose schoolwork is not up to par, are an integral part of the chronicle. Rhodes records the daily life with wit and detail. (I have to applaud the Bauers for their patience, even while anonymous, in putting up with their urban visitor. Rhodes remains in the very deep background, never identified, except in one incident where a "city visitor", clearly Rhodes, almost blows off the head of Bauer's cousin while deer hunting.) Farm should be required reading for all urbanites; who, if nothing else, will learn about the sexual proclivities of corn, not to mention the difficulties encountered by a hog with a prolapsed uterus (having had to deal with this myself in a dairy cow I found myself in complete sympathy.)
Rhodes is an expert at explaining the arcane and enigmatic in very clear and precise prose. When Bauer needs to replace a screen in his combine the process becomes almost visual. His descriptions of the various farm programs, their implications, and the choices the Bauer family must make are the clearest I have read anywhere. I look forward to reading Rhode's [b:Making of the Atomic Bomb|16884|The Making of the Atomic Bomb|Richard Rhodes|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q21FYMMEL._SL75_.jpg|105195] which won numerous prizes for nonfiction.
