Stolen Fields
Jean Boggio
Colerith Press
175 Dickey Mill Road, Belmont, ME, 04952
978-979933042, $15.95, www.colerithpress.com
The family farm, providing sustenance and income for their legacy
and kin for generations upon generation--is no more. "Stolen
Fields: A Story of Eminent Domain and the Death of the American
Dream" is the story of author Jean Boggio and her ancestors and
their former farm on Neville Island in Pennsylvania. A somber and
somewhat depressing story about losing ones livelihood to circumstances
beyond their control--the construction of a munitions factory for World
War I, claimed by the government by eminent domain. It becomes more
tragically pointless as the factory is simply never built and the land
is auctioned off to the highest bidder, Boggio's family helpless
against a financial juggernaut of Carnegie steel. Not completely living
in the depressive past, Boggio tells the tale of her family moving on
and doing what they can to succeed in life. "Stolen Fields: A Story
of Eminent Domain and the Death of the American Dream" is highly
recommended for any biography collection and for anyone who wants a look
at the shadier practices of the government against it's own
citizens.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Midwest Book
Review Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights
reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.