American Agriculture in the Twentieth Century. By Bruce L. Gardner. Cambridge MA and London: Harvard University Press, 2002. Pp. ix, 388. $49.95

With meticulous detail, Bruce Gardner provides insight into the evolution of U.S. agriculture over the 100-year period between 1900 and 2000. In doing so, Gardner reflects on several facets of agriculture, such as innovation, on-farm productivity, the declining number of farms, the income status of U.S. farmers, and the role of government agricultural policy. Much of Gardner's analysis relies on census data, which are fraught with shortcomings. Definitions that seem straightforward, such as “farm†or “farm operator,†are actually quite complicated, so even a seemingly simple task such as tracking the number of farms over time is not trivial. Gardner skillfully addresses the challenges presented by the deficiencies of census data.