My vision of flying started with C. Lindberg flying solo across the Atlantic and the pictures of him landing in France at night, I believe. I believe there was also a fellow by the name of Chamberln not sure of the spelling on his name who had planned the same trip, but Lindberg beat him to it; I believe he was from Iowa. And then there was Col. Roscoe Turner, who held world's speed record at, I believe it was, 300 mph sometime in the early thirties. And then there was Wily Post one-eyed pilot, who, with Will Rogers, a humorist from Oklahoma, attempted a round-the-world flight and crashed; and both were killed in Alaska. And then the China Clipper on its maiden flight John Music I used to; believe me. And then there was Amelia Earhart. Flying was in my blood, until I did not get to attend high school; so my flying dreams went out the window, knowing that I would need all the education to get there. So WW II came along, and as you see, my dream did come true to come out of service and to be qualified to fly any aircraft that was being flown in the world. And now you would wonder: why would anyone pass up an opportunity such as that? Good question . . . you were allowed only twenty hours a week flying time . . . free time that bothered me; being a farmer, we had no free time to speak of. There was nothing more boring than flying hours on end with nothing to look at. It was not boring on the way to a target but on the way back to base five hours of blue sky and water. We did not fly every day, maybe three missions a week. There was no recreation down there, believe me. Since I was the youngest, it was expected of me to take care of my parents on the farm.

The story of the Versatile Tractor company, long recognized for its innovation and its product dependability. The book is well-illustrated with contemporary and archival photographs as well as selections from company catalogs.

My vision of flying started with C. Lindberg flying solo across the Atlantic and the pictures of him landing in France at night, I believe. I believe there was also a fellow by the name of Chamberln not sure of the spelling on his name who had planned the same trip, but Lindberg beat him to it; I believe he was from Iowa. And then there was Col. Roscoe Turner, who held world s speed record at, I believe it was, 300 mph sometime in the early thirties. And then there was Wily Post one-eyed pilot, who, with Will Rogers, a humorist from Oklahoma, attempted a round-the-world flight and crashed; and both were killed in Alaska. And then the China Clipper on its maiden flight John Music I used to; believe me. And then there was Amelia Earhart. Flying was in my blood, until I did not get to attend high school; so my flying dreams went out the window, knowing that I would need all the education to get there. So WW II came along, and as you see, my dream did come true to come out of service and to be qualified to fly any aircraft that was being flown in the world. And now you would wonder: why would anyone pass up an opportunity such as that? Good question . . . you were allowed only twenty hours a week flying time . . . free time that bothered me; being a farmer, we had no free time to speak of. There was nothing more boring than flying hours on end with nothing to look at. It was not boring on the way to a target but on the way back to base five hours of blue sky and water. We did not fly every day, maybe three missions a week. There was no recreation down there, believe me. Since I was the youngest, it was expected of me to take care of my parents on the farm.

Homosexuality is often seen as a purely urban experience, far removed from rural and small-town life. Farm Boys undermines that cliche by telling the stories of more than three dozen gay men, ranging in age from 24 to 84, who grew up in farm families in the midwestern United States. Whether painful, funny, or matter-of-fact, these plain-spoken accounts will move and educate any reader, gay or not, from farm or city. “When I was fifteen, the milkman who came to get our milk was beautiful. This is when I was really getting horny to do something with another guy. I waited every day for him to come. I couldn’t even talk to him, couldn’t think of anything to say. I just stood there, watching him, wondering if he knew why.”—Henry Bauer, Minnesota “When I go back home, I feel a real connection with the land—a tremendous feeling, spiritual in a way. It makes me want to go out into a field and take my shoes off and put my feet right on the dirt, establish a real physical connection with that place. I get homesick a lot, but I don’t know if I could ever go back there and live. It’s not the kind of place that would welcome me if I lived openly, the way that I would like to live. I would be shunned.”—Martin Scherz, Nebraska “If there is a checklist to see if your kid is queer, I must have hit every one of them—all sorts of big warning signs. I was always interested in a lot of the traditional queen things—clothes, cooking, academics, music, theater. A farm boy listening to show tunes? My parents must have seen it coming.”—Joe Shulka, Wisconsin “My favorite show when I was growing up was ‘The Waltons’. The show’s values comforted me, and I identified with John-Boy, the sensitive son who wanted to be a writer. He belonged there on the mountain with his family, yet he sensed that he was different and that he was often misunderstood. Sometimes I still feel like a misfit, even with gay people.”—Connie Sanders, Illinois “Agriculture is my life. I like working with farm people, although they don’t really understand me. When I retire I want the word to get out [that I’m gay] to the people I’ve worked with—the dairy producers, the veterinarians, the feed salesmen, the guys at the co-ops. They’re going to be shocked, but their eyes are going to be opened.”—James Heckman, Indiana

In a novel as stunning and heartbreaking as his acclaimed debut work, Grimsley recounts the story of a painful first love--between two adolescent boys who bravely sustain each other in a world of domestic disintegration.

"Riley, a Manic Pixie Dream Boy, lives in Trope Town, where he makes a living appearing as a side character in novels--until he and his fellow manic pixies must ban together to save themselves from retirement"--

Booklist Editors’ Choice “Best Books of 2019” An intimate portrait of the joys and hardships of rural life, as one man searches for community, equality, and tradition in Appalachia Charles D. Thompson, Jr. was born in southwestern Virginia into an extended family of small farmers. Yet as he came of age he witnessed the demise of every farm in his family. Over the course of his own life of farming, rural education, organizing, and activism, the stories of his home place have been his constant inspiration, helping him identify with the losses of others and to fight against injustices. In Going Over Home, Thompson shares revelations and reflections, from cattle auctions with his grandfather to community gardens in the coal camps of eastern Kentucky, racial disparities of white and Black landownership in the South to recent work with migrant farm workers from Latin America. In this heartfelt first-person narrative, Thompson unpacks our country’s agricultural myths and addresses the history of racism and wealth inequality and how they have come to bear on our nation’s rural places and their people.