The Bookshelf: May 31, 2017

Trib+Water is joining with respected books authority Kirkus Reviews to bring you select reviews of books of note in the field of water studies. For more book reviews and recommendations, visit Kirkus.com.  

THIS BLESSED EARTH: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm

by Ted Genoways

Journalist Genoways returns to further study farming in America. The author’s latest book is quieter and more meditative, as he chronicles his immersion in the seasons of a Nebraska family trying to survive on their family acres. Some of the mood conveyed by the up-close narrative reflects the quietness of desperation, as unpredictable weather, international market fluctuations, the changing practices of seed suppliers, the availability of water for irrigation, and government agricultural supports conspire to create greater-than-usual questions about whether patriarch Rick Hammond, his daughter, Meghan Hammond, and her husband, Kyle Galloway, can pay their bills in rural Nebraska. … Genoways memorably captures the difficult lives nonindustrial farmers lead in order to feed the world.

For the full review, visit kirkus.com.