North America - History - General & Miscellaneous, Agricultural Produce - Wheats & Grains, Regional Studies - Midwest U.S.
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Overview
Every spring, as the wheat begins to ripen in Texas, harvesting crews gather, load trucks, trailers and enormous combines, and head to the southernmost wheat fields of Americas great midwestern "breadbasket" to begin the annual harvest, an undertaking that will literally feed the world for the coming year. Here Richard Higgs depicts that season of harvest in words and photographs. In this vast landscape he tells the story of the wheat itself, and the elements that challenge those who come to cut it. Higgs also writes with a keen awareness of the history of the wheatlands, the places where for centuries open prairies welcomed bison and plains Indians before American farmers came to break the sod and plant the wheat.Editorials
Library Journal
Higgs offers an autobiographical account of his travels primarily with a custom harvester crew from May to August 1992. Hired on by Alan and Leota Nusser of Alva, Oklahoma, he begins harvesting with the crew in the Red River Country in Texas. Unfortunately, "El Nio" strikes, and the men spend several weeks in a small, cramped trailer watching the rain fall. Then they head north, following the ripening wheat crop. Higgs describes the Great Plains in a lyrical voice. His story is that of one man and his quest to enact the role of his modern-day herothe harvester, battling thunderstorms, machinery breakdowns, and the wheat itself, ripening under the hot sun. Black-and-white photographs set the stage for the text, though a map would have helped. Recommended for libraries with Great Plains collections.Katherine Ellerton,Wayne, Neb.Book Details
Published
June 1, 1996
Publisher
Council Oak Books
Pages
128
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781571780263