When a dream dies Agriculture, Iowa, and the farm crisis of the 1980s

Forty years after the farm crisis of the 1980s, Riney-Kehrberg (Iowa State Univ.) provides a much-needed historical perspective on that period. She lays the groundwork by looking at trends in the previous decade, particularly the opening of foreign markets, commodity prices, and optimism among farmers that growth and expansion were good. As the book's subtitle signals, the focus is trained on Iowa. Though viewing the farm crisis from a broader perspective could also be valuable--because of subtle differences between various population centers, markets, mixes of crops and livestock, and both urban and rural environments of other midwestern locales--the Hawkeye State was essentially the epicenter of the farm crisis. Riney-Kehrberg does an excellent job covering macroeconomic issues while seasoning the text with poignant individual, family, and community illustrations. Aside from depicting individual actors, the author demonstrates that the crisis involved a complex set of corporate players: various universities, the extension service, ad hoc activist organizations, established community entities, and state and federal government organs. Riney-Kehrberg fruitfully mines a rich vein of primary materials, including examples from the papers of two governors. She also draws significant material from the national farm press at the time to capture the full impact of the crisis. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Lynn S. Cline, emeritus, Missouri State University