This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

On the outskirts of west Belfast in Northern Ireland, and in the shadow of the Black Mountain, is situated the predominantly Catholic community of Andersonstown. Between November 1971 and March 1972 this small area of land, which is just two miles long by one mile deep, became the scene of many gun-battles between the men of 9(Plassey) Battery, Royal Artillery and 1st Battalion Belfast Brigade, Irish Republican Army. This book is a record of the violent clashes which took place on an almost daily basis on housing estates which looked no different than those found on mainland Britain. After the events of ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Londonderry on the 30 January 1972 in which thirteen civilians were shot dead, the attacks against the soldiers intensified to an unprecedented scale. The whole community of Andersonstown appeared to rise up against the small band of men from 9 Battery. There are truly terrifying accounts from twenty of the men who took part in the struggle to maintain the peace on the streets of Andersonstown. They describe how it felt to face the rioters, and how it felt to be under attack from the Provo gunmen. Contemporary newspaper reports have been used to illustrate the viewpoints of both sides involved in the conflict. The book contains many recently discovered photographs of the arms and explosives found by the battery in their searches. None of these images have ever been published before. There are also reproduced statements issued by the Provisional IRA which originally appeared in the ‘Volunteer’ news sheet issued around the estates, and these serve to corroborate some of the astonishing tales told by the soldiers. This is the only book about the Troubles in Northern Ireland which covers just one single tour of duty as seen through the eyes of the men who were there. By the end of the tour in March 1972 the IRA in Andersonstown had been almost completely destroyed as a fighting force. The 110-strong unit of men of 9 Battery were given a task to do, to crack The Toughest Nut – and they gave it their all.

At a time when food is becoming increasingly scarce in many parts of the world and food prices are skyrocketing, no industry is more important than agriculture. Humans have been farming for thousands of years, and yet agriculture has undergone more fundamental changes in the past 80 years than in the previous several centuries. In 1900, 30 million American farmers tilled the soil or tended livestock; today there are fewer than 4.5 million farmers who feed a population four times larger than it was at the beginning of the century. Fifty years ago, the planet could not have sustained a population of 6.5 billion; now, commercial and industrial agriculture ensure that millions will not die from starvation. Farmers are able to feed an exponentially growing planet because the greatest industrial revolution in history has occurred in agriculture since 1929, with U.S. farmers leading the way. Productivity on American farms has increased tenfold, even as most small farmers and tenants have been forced to find other work. Today, only 300,000 farms produce approximately ninety percent of the total output, and overproduction, largely subsidized by government programs and policies, has become the hallmark of modern agriculture. A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929 charts the profound changes in farming that have occurred during author Paul K. Conkin's lifetime. His personal experiences growing up on a small Tennessee farm complement compelling statistical data as he explores America's vast agricultural transformation and considers its social, political, and economic consequences. He examines the history of American agriculture, showing how New Deal innovations evolved into convoluted commodity programs following World War II. Conkin assesses the skills, new technologies, and government policies that helped transform farming in America and suggests how new legislation might affect farming in decades to come. Although the increased production and mechanization of farming has been an economic success story for Americans, the costs are becoming increasingly apparent. Small farmers are put out of business when they cannot compete with giant, non-diversified corporate farms. Caged chickens and hogs in factory-like facilities or confined dairy cattle require massive amounts of chemicals and hormones ultimately ingested by consumers. Fertilizers, new organic chemicals, manure disposal, and genetically modified seeds have introduced environmental problems that are still being discovered. A Revolution Down on the Farm concludes with an evaluation of farming in the twenty-first century and a distinctive meditation on alternatives to our present large scale, mechanized, subsidized, and fossil fuel and chemically dependent system.