Following the Harvest

by Fred Harris

Following the Harvest tells the story of sixteen-year-old Will Haley, who journeys north in the summer of 1943 as a member of a wheat-harvesting crew.

Traveling with his father, along with a hump-backed hired hand, a whiny truck driver and his pretty wife, two cousins from Mississippi, and his father’s best friend, Will makes his way from Vernon, Oklahoma, to Rhame, North Dakota. Not everyone will make the return trip to Oklahoma, and when an accident claims a crew member’s life, Will is forced to take charge and become mature beyond his years.

“A well written, fun read that will make you understand why Harris is being included with the likes of Willa Cather and Larry McMurtry. He is truly that good.”—Tulsa World

Fred Harris, author of Coyote Revenge, Easy Pickin’s, and sixteen books of nonfiction, has also had a distinguished career in politics and higher education. Twice elected to the U.S. Senate from Oklahoma, he is now Professor of Political Science at the University of New Mexico.

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Paul Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story about a teenage boy forced to mature before his time. Harris draws understandable characters in realistic places that make the story come alive (except maybe for that one rodeo). Very entertaining.

[John Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a great amount. It is a treasure chest full of a time that made our country. Hard work, injunity, risk taking, hardship, love; it is all there.

[Alan]

The author, Fred Harris, is a 2 time ex-senator from Oklahoma who teaches political science at UNM. This is a story about a young man, between 10th and 11th grade, traveling with his father and crew to harvest wheat in the Great Plains. Starting in Oklahoma and finishing in North Dakota, it chronicles his becoming a man and a responsible member of the combine crew. Far more responsibility than kids take today, but it takes place during World War II when there is a shortage of able bodied men. Well written and a fine if somewhat predictable story.