This interdisciplinary collection of 26 readings in rural studies aims to address the paucity of information and absence of informed people to advise public debate about rural issues. Sections of the book examine the pastoral tradition in literature; the changing nature of the countryside; money, jobs, and space; distress and poverty; regional and ethnic diversity; and the rural social and institutional context (including education). Chapters are "The Forgotten Hinterlands" (Emery N. Castle); "Land and Word: American Pastoral" (William Howarth); "The Urban Invasion of Rural America: The Emergence of the Galactic City" (Peirce Lewis); "'Rural' and 'Farm' No Longer Mean the Same" (John Fraser Hart); "Population Change in Nonmetropolitan America" (Glenn V. Fuguitt); "The Location of Economic Activity in Rural and Nonmetropolitan United States" (Edwin S. Mills); "The Use and Management of Rural Space" (Pierre Crosson); "Extractive Industries and Rural-Urban Economic Interdependence" (Bruce A. Weber); "Finding Rural Success: The New Rural Economic Landscape and Its Implications" (Mark Drabenstott, Tim R. Smith); "Understanding Trends in Rural Labor Markets" (Gene F. Summers, Francine Horton, Christina Gringeri); "Persistent Rural Poverty" (Gene F. Summers); "The Determinants of Rural and Urban Poverty" (Thomas A. Hirschl, David L. Brown); "Why Rural Poverty Is Growing Worse: Similar Causes in Diverse Settings" (Janet M. Fitchen); "Conflict and Change on the Landscapes of the Arid American West" (Paul F. Starrs); "Rural Latinos: Evolving Conditions and Issues" (Refugio I. Rochin); "American Indian Economic Development" (C. Matthew Snipp); "The Rural South: A Historical View" (Charles S. Aiken); "African-Americans in the Rural South: The Persistence of Racism and Poverty" (Bruce B. Williams, Bonnie Thornton Dill); "The Rural People of the Midwest" (Sonya Salamon); "Social Organization in the Countryside" (Daryl Hobbs); "Structures and Patterns of Rural Governance" (Ronald J. Oakerson); "Rural Education and Training: Myths and Misconceptions Dispelled" (Ruy A. Teixeira); "Linking Education and Community Development: Rural and Inner City Strategies" (Joan Fitzgerald); "Rural Education: Decentering the Consolidation Debate" (David R. Reynolds); "Living with the Minimum: Rural Public Policy" (William P. Browne, Louis E. Swanson); and "An Overview" (Emery N. Castle). Contains over 700 references, nearly 100 data tables and figures, photographs, profiles of contributors, and an index. (SV)