Books by J. L. Anderson

From the late 1940s to the early 1970s, farmers in the Corn Belt transformed their region into a new, industrial powerhouse of large-scale production, mechanization, specialization, and efficiency. Many farm experts and implement manufacturers had urged farmers in this direction for decades, but it was the persistent labor shortage and...

Historians have long viewed the rural Midwest as a place more representative of "Real America" than any other region from New England to the Deep South. Though the rural Midwest contains many cultures, a commitment to modernity and progress are a common element among them. In this book, contributors present the myriad distinctions of the area.