Review by Choice Review
The Montague Farm, a western Massachusetts commune founded in 1968 by idealistic young people committed to social activism, underwent a bitterly divisive struggle over the next three decades. Fels, a resident during the farm's early years, traces protracted disputes that challenged assumptions of what the farm stood for, and who ultimately owned it. After antinuclear protests in the late 1970s, most significantly against the Seabrook nuclear power plant in New Hampshire, most of the original "farmers" scattered, pursuing careers independent of the farm. Differences among remaining farmers, including two new arrivals, intensified as the population dwindled. By the mid-1990s, two early leaders became adversaries backing rival contestants for control. Intervention of the seven original trustees complicated the dispute and led to litigation. In retrospect, Fels argues, the debate hinged on whether the farm would be defined as the property itself, or the ideas behind its founding. Real-world problems undermined ideals, and ultimately, the trustees could agree only to sell the farm to a like-minded organization of American Buddhists, the Zen Peacemakers. Unfortunately, by 2010, the Zen Peacemakers had to put the property up for sale, raising anew the question of the farm's legacy. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. A. J. Dunar University of Alabama in Huntsville
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
