Rural Communities Legacy and Change Author:Cornelia Butler Flora, Jan L. Flora, Jacqueline D. Spears Rural America is a complex mixture of peoples and cultures struggling for survival through innovative approaches to their problems. These people range from laid-off miners in West Virginia to Laotian immigrants relocating in Kansas to entrepreneurs planning a world-class ski resort in California's Sierra Nevada. These rural Americans are seldom ... more »heard of in the mass media but are deeply reflective of the legacies left by those who settled the land. This revised and updated edition of Rural Communities focuses on the various problems of rural America and offers communities and students a framework for understanding rural society based on the concepts and explanations of social science. Issues covered include racial and cultural diversity; governmental, economic, and social resources; and how communities organize for action and change. The book is a companion text to a PBS college-level telecourse and television series, which details the experiences of fifteen rural communities across the United States. It can also be used as a textbook for courses on American society, social problems, and communities.« less