Back from the Land: How Young Americans Went to Nature in the 1970s, and Why They Came Back

In this informative account of the young idealists who sought oneness with the land in the 1970s, Agnew, who with her husband, Kent, created a homestead in Troy, Maine, examines the beauty and the danger of living so close to nature. Full of interviews with other homesteaders and commune builders, and research from old editions of Mother Earth News, this account finds many intriguing ironies: It was""the strong post-WWII economy in the United States... that allowed us to drop out."" Their chosen frugality brought people together, and Agnew reports that most back-to-the-landers, even those who left, have fond memories of potluck dinners, warm wood stoves and the moon shining on the snow. Community, however, clashed with strong individualism:""We back-to-the-landers clearly identified with the ethos of the Old West"" and transcendentalism, and the strain of embracing these conflicting powerful American currents took its toll (e.g., peace-loving counterculture youths had trouble slaughtering pigs and turkeys). Some of the best writing is from Agnew's own memories: one turning point came when she spent an afternoon in the kitchen only to produce half a jar of ketchup. Like many others, the Agnews returned to the mainstream with a wiser sense of balance, which is reflected in this intriguing study.