In 1985, a group of rock, blues and country musicians put on Farm Aid, a benefit concert for family farmers that brought the United States agricultural crisis into the spotlight. But lawyer Sarah Vogel had already spent years defending U.S. farmers in court. In The Farmer's Lawyer: The North Dakota Nine and the Fight to Save the Family Farm, Vogel details their class-action lawsuit against Farmers Home Administration, the federal office designed to support farmers with low-cost loans. The Reagan administration's efforts to cut costs put thousands of family farms into foreclosure, and Vogel knew it would take a national effort to stop FHA from driving farmers off their land.

Never a trial attorney, Vogel claims to be a "writing" lawyer, focusing on case law and logically constructed briefs. While there is plenty of law in The Farmer's Lawyer, Vogel is a gifted writer, weaving history, politics and vivid descriptions of the people and landscape with personal challenges like her financial turmoil as a single mother in a male-dominated field. Both in court and in this book, Vogel is able to bring the farmers she works with fully to life, including the devastating heartbreaks they experience. When she asserts, "You didn't need a law degree to understand injustice. Farmers like [these] felt it acutely," readers will agree, celebrating as Vogel and her team defeat the giant, giving farmers a fighting chance. Farm Aid may have provided the spotlight, but it was Vogel who gave the farmers hope.

I found this a fascinating read Sarah Vogel writes in a brave strong voice as a young lawyer her bravecfight to save foreclosure of family farms.This is an emotional moving story of fight for the average citizens rights.a book I will be recommending.#netgalley #bloomsbury

3 solid stars

Not quite the book I was expecting, but very good nonetheless. I can really see this book appealing to a broad range of readers and historians alike.