Against All Odds: Rural Community In The Information Age

The authors' model orients this community in the vortex of contemporary forces, pointing up, for example, the need for face-to-face interaction among residents versus the larger society's demand for electronic communication. With increasing conflicts between the culture of rural communities and that of the "outside world" occurring, small towns all over the United States are losing their businesses, their doctors, and their sense of community. Yet the town described in this study is thriving.Against All Oddsidentifies pride, determination, and a sense of belonging that must be nurturedand the local organization that binds all of these factors togetherin order to keep a small town alive in the face of powerful disruptive forces. Not since Vidich and Bensman's landmarkSmall Town in Mass Societyhas such a thoughful examination of a contemporary rural community been available.

John C. Allen is assistant professor of rural sociology at the University of Nebraska.