The Last Farmer: An American Memoir

by Howard Kohn

Howard Kohn’s The Last Farmer is a memoir of his father’s last seasons working the Michigan farm where they both were raised. It is a place that Kohn, a former editor at Rolling Stone, has left many times but keeps coming back to. Fredrick Kohn farmed the family homestead in the Saginaw Valley since his return from World War II. After forty years, with advancing age, failing health, bad weather, falling prices, pesky oil drillers, creeping suburban sprawl, and the exodus of his children, he starts to wonder if maybe the time has come to stop. The habits of a lifetime of hard work and economy are not easy to give up. Nor are the independence, the small gratifications, and the countless responsibilities that are the traditional farmer’s lot.

The Last Farmer is a rare story of a father’s determination and adaptation, a son’s realizations about his father, and a family’s love for the land that leads to understanding rather than tragedy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, American History

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Last Farmer" by Howard Kohn is a delightful little find. Billed as An American Memoir, it is just that. It is a personal tale of the author's experience being raised on and then leaving his family's midwestern farm. In a larger sense it is a story of how we lose farming families each year, and how that occurs. How the children of farmers grow up and leave for something bigger, and don't return to the farm - sounding the death knell for that style of life.

In the author's case, he left for college ... married and got a job in another city ... and only returned to the farm for visits. All the while, his father and mother continued on because that was their way of life. And they knew there was no one to carry on after them. While this all sounds sad and depressing, the tale does not present it as such. It is simply a fact of life, and it is presented in just that fashion. If the "independent farmer is a vanishing breed," it is just one more part of the evolution of commerce in the world ... but this story helps mark what is lost when that happens.

Kohn does a masterful job with this tale. This is a moving story, and the author does his father proud in how it is presented. The book is a slim rendering - small text block and only 270 pages long - but we get everything we need to understand. The tale is engaging and a page turner.

Highly recommended.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a touching story about an old-school farmer who is stubborn in his ways and struggling to make his way of life survive through the tough economic times of the 1980s. The book is also interesting in that you watch the author try to tell his father's story, but end up learning more about himself and his own priorities in life. The book was a bit slow in parts and included some descriptions and anecdotes that were not necessary to the story, but overall it was sweet and heartfelt.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last in the line of German Lutheran farmers in his family, Howard Kohn's father is forced to make decisions about his farm he'd rather he didn't. The story of his father's life, as well as parts of his own, Kohn leads us through rural Michigan to get answers about family and their tie to the land. A touching book that tells a common story in a time where small farms struggle to survive.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommend this book for people who live in the Tri-Cities. Excellent. The book is a son's look at his father's farm. The hardship of farming is very clear. Learned about the German Lutheran beliefs. Strength of personality.

[Barb Flory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary book! He writes a memoir of his father, a German farmer in the Bay City area. Wonderful reflections on his Germanic heritage and his life growing up on the farm.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. What a great writer, I found the theme of change in this book compelling, and Kohn's dad--an iconic farmer. This book was also good the second time around, all the details of farming made me feel as if I was there on the farm where a handshake can seal deals. I liked the author's comparisons between his dad's farming and the author's writing. The only aspect that bothered me at times was the length of paragraphs. Give a reader a break and write a few shorts ones once in awhile, otherwise this is still five star writing.

[Lori Shriver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an intriguing read and speaks of family dynamics and sacrifices. It mentions many places I have been to and it is a reminder that families are sometimes so focused on the differences that we may forget to look at our similarities.

[Frank R. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely boring. There is some interesting historical information and bits of crisp nostalgic vignettes, but ultimately, this is a long and dragged out anti-climactic memoir of a man who labels all things “Germanic,” attempts to insert “down Home humor” into repetitive scenarios, and leads the reader on to think he will accept the farming lifestyle over his writing career only to discover that he is simply a child who can’t let go of his father’s land!

[David Krajicek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This insider examination of family farming holds up well, 30 years after it was first published. And the pressure on small farmers--and the supersizing of corporate farms--has only intensified since. Kohn's deep contextual reporting on those issues is woven seamlessly into his family's personal story.

[Robert Roller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was raised on a farm in Iowa and was gifted this book by my brother. I understand the struggles of Kohn's family and greatly appreciated seeing situations I've known first-hand experienced by others and described with skill in print. Well done.

[Shandy Potes mangra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story that weaves both the present with the past in a remarkable comparison of how familial roles and relationships evolve over generations. I initially picked up the book because of my fascination with the effects that modernization had on farmers who retain there traditional practices.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for Michiganders

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I am half German, and grew up on a farm, this was an interesting read on so many levels. Perhaps bittersweet best describes the feelings it stirred in me.

[Mk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. See Amazon for my review.

[Jay Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written personal true story about a writer and his farmer father. Bogs down frequently.

[Luan Siqueira De Souza]

Unpredictable!