Rural Development in the United Statespresents a comprehensive evaluation of the economic, environmental, and political implications of past rural development and a thorough consideration of the directions in which future development efforts should go. The authors have assembled the best of what is being thought and done with regard to rural development in the United States, and place it in a broad theoretical, historical, and geographical context. The book provides: a summary of the key findings in rural development research of the past twenty years an integration of development theory and practical experience a bridge between the related but often isolated disciplines that inform rural development a catalyst for new thinking in the area of rural development analysis of the key economic sectors in rural areas: natural resources, the service sector, elderly services, telecommunications, manufacturing, tourism, and high-technology It includes important information about how national and international trends affect rural communities and development strategies and will help guide rural economic development policy in the United States during the 1990s and beyond.