Ronald Jager

It's been a long time since I read this book, but I always recommend it to anyone who is interested in farming, the Depression, family life at its best or simply good writing. EIGHTY ACRES is a modern classic of family farming as it was several decades ago. The Jager farm was near McBain, Michigan, which is less than an hour from Reed City, where I grew up - both towns in Osceola County. I have read this book a couple times in the past ten years, and will probably read it again one day. It ranks right up there with a few other farming memoir classics: Curt Harnack's WE HAVE ALL GONE AWAY, Curt Stadtfeld's FROM THE LAND AND BACK and Anne-Marie Oomen's PULLING DOWN THE BARN. All four of these books are better than the recent bestseller of Iowa farm life in the Depression, LITTLE HEATHENS, which ain't a bad book itself. Nuff said. Loved this book.… (mehr)