Ivan R. Dee
Pages: 288
Trim: 6½ x 9¼
978-1-56663-580-6 • Hardback • July 2004 • $27.50 • (£19.99)
978-1-56663-664-3 • Paperback • July 2005 • $16.95 • (£12.99)
978-1-4616-3485-0 • eBook • July 2005 • $15.99 • (£11.99)
Eleanor Agnew received her Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. She has also written My Mama's Waltz, a book for which she appeared on Oprah. Ms. Agnew is literacy coordinator for the Savannah-Chatham County Public School system. She is married with three sons and lives in Savannah, Georgia.
Interesting for anyone who has fantasized about country life.
— Baltimore City Paper
Back from the Land . . . details these visionaries and their movement. . . . Provides an excellent survey.
— Midwest Book Review
Agnew offers a balanced, critical view that conveys both the profound rewards as well as the stresses that the 'simple life' brought.
— Booklist
Eleanor Agnew's lovely memoir of this movement of primal innocence is at once honest and hilarious. . . . She recaptures the period with unerring skill.
— Christopher Hitchens; The New York Times
If you’ve ever indulged fantasies of . . . living off the land, Agnew’s new book . . . might make you regain an appreciation for your Maytag.
— E-The Environmental Magazine
Agnew . . . understands these well-meaning people, and never patronizes them. . . . Charmingly told.
— Jim Motavalli; Dragonfly Review
A valuable personal and historical pilgrimage through one of US society’s countercultures. . . . For nostalgic reading as well as for the scholarship of culture.
— J. H. Smith; Choice Reviews
A balanced, perceptive portrait of the [back-to-the-land] movement.
— Leonard Quart; Berkshire Eagle
Agnew has managed to recreate a compelling chapter of American history.
— Christine Mangan; Whole Life Review
Her work reflects her gift for storytelling . . . a compelling read.
— Encyclopedia Of Chicago
In Back from the Land, Eleanor Agnew weaves together an intriguing mix of her own first-person experiences and those of like-minded idealists. . . . Its value resides in its insights into the painful struggles individuals and families are forced to go through as they attempt to break away from the materialism of a consumer society in order to leave a lighter, sustainable, footprint on this earth.
— Jeffrey Jacob, University of Calgary, author of New Pioneers
Eleanor Agnew has captured the excitement and idealism of the back-to-the-landers of the 1970s and has followed their countercultural dream full cycle. . . . Agnew’s mixing of her personal history with the stories of others gives this book extraordinary warmth and vitality.
— Tim Miller, Department of Religious Studies, University of Kansas
Informative account . . . intriguing. . . . Some of the best writing is from Agnew's own memories.
— Publishers Weekly